Industrially Important Microorganisms and Their Screening and Selection

Industrially Important Microorganisms and Their Screening and Selection

Industrially Important Microorganisms and Their Screening and Selection

Industrially Important Microorganisms:

1. Yeasts:

Yeasts are microscopic, unicellular fungi.

They have true nucleus, devoid of chlorophyll.

 They are important for their ability to ferment carbohydrate in various substances.

Most cultivated yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2. Molds:

Molds are a group of eukaryotic organisms.

They are filamentous multicellular fungi.

Devoid of chlorophyll.

Have true cell wall.

Example.  Aspergillus niger, Penicillum notatum.

3. Bacteria:

They are unicellular, prokaryotic, microscopic, cell wall made up of peptidoglycan.

Example.  Bacillus,  E. coli

4. Algae:

 Eukaryotic, chlorophyllus, unicellular or multicellular.

Example. Spirullina, Chlorella.

Screening and Selection of Microorganisms for useful products:

Industrial microbiologists can manipulate the growth and environment to increase the synthesis of a metabolite.

Industrial fermentation begins with cells acting as living factories.

Microbial fermentations are the driving force of industrial microbiology.

Industrial microbiological production is based on the intentional use of

fermentation by microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, algae as well as other

eukaryotic cells like CHO cells and insect cells to make products useful to humans.

Some commodity chemicals such as acetic acid, citric acid, ethanol are made by fermentation.

All chemically produced enzymes such as lipase, invertase and rennet are made by fermentation with microbes. 

Microbial cells or biomass is sometimes the intended product of fermentation, for example, single cell protein, Baker's yeast.

It proves that microbial fermentation is

the driving force of industrial microbiology.

When exposed to optimum conditions, the organisms multiply and synthesize large amount of desired product. To produce appropriate levels of growth and fermentation the microbes must be cultivated in a controlled environment. This process is very similar to culturing bacteria in the test tube of nutrition broth in laboratory.

It requires these components -

a) Sterile medium containing appropriate nutrients.

b) Prevention of contamination.

c) Provisions for introduction of sterile air or total exclusion of air.

d) Suitable temperature

e) Suitable pH.

Many commercial fermentation processes have been worked out on a small scale in a lab and then scale up to a large commercial scale. An essential component for scaling up is a fermenter, a device which in which mass culture are grown, reactions take place and product develops.

There are different types of fermenters, some are large tub, some are flask type, 

some are vat. Most industrial types are metal cylinders with built in mechanisms for stirring, cooling, monitoring and harvesting product.

Fermenters are made of materials that can withstand pressure and are rustproof, nontoxic, leak proof.

The size of fermenters range in 250 million to 500 million.

The Daily Youth- tdy24.com Present

" Industrially Important Microorganisms and Their Screening and Selection "

Written By

Sadia Akhtar

Student of Department of Microbiology

Jagannath University.

Email- sadiabd810@yahoo.com