Industrial Microbiology

1.Introduction (definition and history: from traditional industrial microbiology to microbial biotechnology). This lecture highlights many fascinating aspects of microbial biotechnology. The impact of functional genomics, proteomics, metabolomics on the future prospects of fermentation microbiology are discussed.

2.Industrially important microorganisms i.e. bacteria (actinomycetes), yeasts and molds. Characterization of microorganisms which play a central role in the production of a wide range of primary and secondary metabolites, enzymes, antibiotics and other industrial chemicals. Description of the metabolic routes. Primary and secondary metabolism - current advances and future prospects.

3.Microbial enrichment, isolation, screening and selection of useful microorganisms. Genetic engineering for strain improvement. Applied aspects of genetic engineering and basic biotechnology techniques for the construction of industrial microorganisms and strains producing high-value recombinant products.

4.Characteristics of large scale fermentation. The type of culture, fermentation methods, fermentor design, instrumentation, sterilization, downstream processing and product recovery.

5.Major products of industrial microbiology. Antibiotics, their isolation and characterization - the mode of action, and spectrum of activity. The biosynthetic pathways of natural and semisyntetic compounds belonging to the class of b-lactams, tetracyclines, macrolides, aminoglycosides and polypeptide antibiotics.

6.The phenomenon of feedback mechanism responsible for the regulation of anabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of amino acids. Amino acids used in the medicine, food and chemical industry. Biosynthesis of L-glutamic acid and L-lysine. Genome-based strain reconstruction strategies.

7.Microbial processes developed for the production of food additives such as citric acid, lactic acid and vinegar.

8.Microbial bioconvertion. Principles of the process and applications. Biotransformation of steroides using microorganisms.

9.Types of major industrial enzymes, their modifications and application. Enzymes and their desired modification. Alteration of physical parameters of subtilizine and xylanase. Cell and enzyme immobilization and its application in biotechnology. Current trends and future prospects.

During the laboratory exercises students work in teams having a chance to gain hand-on experience. They conduct the research, and report on their findings. Lab course introduces students to microorganisms of importance to the medicine, food and chemical industries. The emphasis is on microbial metabolism, the principles of overproduction, identification and quality control of finished products...

Having completed the course and the lab the student:

KNOWLEDGE

- Has basic knowledge in the field of industrial microbiology (K_W01 BT1)

- Knows the main areas of industrial microbiology and is acquainted with: the most recent research, discoveries and applications of microorganisms in the fermentation industry (K_W02 BT1)

- Knows and understands the biochemical, cellular and molecular bases of the biosynthesis and biotransformations of many valuable bioproducts and has knowledge of the classical and molecular techniques used for the construction of industrial microorganisms (K_W04 BT1)

- Is familiar with the fermentation technology and the rules of planning and optimization of production processes and understands the principle of environmental aspects of industrial microbiology (K_W05 BT1)

Demonstrates knowledge of basic vocabulary related to industrial microbiology in English (K_06 BT1)

- Knows how to use informatics tools and the world scientific databases, including the world culture collection (K_W08 BT1)

- Understands the principles of safety and health at work (K_W10 BT1)

Skills

- Uses broadly understood microbiological techniques which make isolation and selection of desirable microorganisms from the environment possible, apply a variety of methods leading to identification of primary and secondary metabolites (K_U01 BT1)

-Demonstrates ability to use available sources of information, including electronic sources (K_U03 BT1)

Is able, under the supervision of a tutor, to design and carry out a simple experiment (K_U04 BT1)

- Is able to perform a simple laboratory measurements of physical, chemical and biological as well as makes observations and using mathematical tools performes analyzes of data received (K_U05 BT1)

- Is able to draw proper conclusions and interpret research results of physiological and biochemical analyses based on the data received (K_U06 BT1)

- It shows the ability of isolation of microorganisms from the environment and characteristic of the biological material (K_U8 BT1)

SOCIAL AWARENESS

- Is well aware of the significance of industrial microbiology in the environmental protection and in solving of nutritional and energetic problems (K_K01 BT1)

- Appreciates the significance of mathematical methods and bioinformatics tools for reporting the results of biotechnological processes (K_K02 BT1)

- Is responsible for the research and laboratory work and equipment which has been assigned to her/him and to other people work in their team (K_K03 BT1)

Demonstrates the ability to work effectively in a team (_K04 BT1)

Understands the basic principles of ethical conduct at their work and in general (K_K05 BT1)

Understands the need to inform the community about new developments in industrial microbiology, including genetically modified microorganisms and their potential use in fermentation technologies and is able to pass this knowledge in an intelligible way (K_K06 BT1)

No