Strategies

Question 1

What role do microorganisms play in industrial processes?

Answer 1

Microorganisms are used in the production of a wide variety of products such as pharmaceuticals, biofuels, enzymes, and chemicals

Question 2

What is genetic engineering in the context of microorganisms?

Answer 2

It involves altering the genetic makeup of microorganisms to enhance desirable traits such as increased yield or better tolerance to environmental stress

Question 3

What is recombinant DNA technology?

Answer 3

A technique that allows for the insertion of specific genes into microorganisms to enable them to produce desired proteins or enzymes

Question 4

Provide an example of genetic engineering in microorganisms.

Answer 4

Production of recombinant insulin using Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria

Question 5

What is Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE)?

Answer 5

A technique that subjects microorganisms to controlled selective pressures over several generations to promote the survival of strains with enhanced traits

Question 6

How has ALE been applied to improve industrial E. coli strains?

Answer 6

E. coli has been evolved to better tolerate high concentrations of ethanol during biofuel production

Question 7

What is metabolic engineering?

Answer 7

The modification of an organism’s metabolic pathways to improve the efficiency of its production of specific compounds

Question 8

Give an example of metabolic engineering in biofuel production.

Answer 8

Klebsiella pneumoniae engineered for 2-butanol production

Question 9

What is the significance of synthetic biology?

Answer 9

It combines genetic engineering, bioinformatics, and systems biology to create new biological systems or redesign existing ones

Question 10

How has synthetic biology been used to produce high-value chemicals?

Answer 10

E. coli has been engineered to produce vanillin from glucose

Question 11

What is the purpose of improving stress tolerance in microorganisms?

Answer 11

To maintain high productivity and stability under harsh industrial conditions

Question 12

Name a thermophilic microorganism and its application.

Answer 12

Thermus aquaticus, used in the production of thermostable enzymes like Taq polymerase

Question 13

What is co-culturing or consortium engineering?

Answer 13

Using multiple microbial species in tandem to produce complex compounds that a single organism may not be able to produce efficiently

Question 14

How is co-culturing applied in bioremediation?

Answer 14

Co-cultures of bacteria and fungi degrade complex pollutants like oil spills or pesticides

Question 15

Fill in the blank: The production of _______ is a well-known example of genetic engineering.

Answer 15

recombinant insulin

Question 16

True or False: Metabolic engineering can only be applied to yeast strains.

Answer 16

False

Question 17

What is the relationship between metabolic engineering and antibiotic production?

Answer 17

Metabolic engineering is used to enhance the synthesis of antibiotics by modifying metabolic pathways

Question 18

What is precursor-directed biosynthesis?

Answer 18

Adding modified biosynthetic precursors to antibiotic-producing strains to create modified antibiotics with altered bioactivity

Question 19

What is mutasynthesis?

Answer 19

Generating a mutant deficient in a key step to reduce competition between natural and unnatural precursors

Question 20

Fill in the blank: _______ is an anticancer compound produced by the marine bacterium Salinispora tropica.

Answer 20

Salinosporamide A

Question 21

What is the goal of improving the stress tolerance of microorganisms?

Answer 21

To enhance their ability to survive and function under industrial conditions

Question 22

List some products produced by microorganisms in industrial applications.

Answer 22

• Pharmaceuticals
• Biofuels
• Enzymes
• Chemicals

Question 23

What is the function of Taq polymerase?

Answer 23

Essential for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in molecular biology

Question 24

How can cyanobacteria be utilized in biofuel production?

Answer 24

Genetically manipulated to produce biofuels like ethanol

Question 25

What are Biobricks in synthetic biology?

Answer 25

Various ‘parts’ taken from other organisms to create novel biological systems