Biotechnology

A process using bacteria to consume organic matter in wastewater, converting it to water and carbon dioxide, making the water suitable for release into the environment.

Microorganisms, like bacteria, perform metabolic functions in waste and wastewater treatment tanks.

Useful substances like antibiotics, amino acids, organic acids and vitamins, biosurfactants, and biopolymers produced by certain microorganisms.

Using the natural metabolic capabilities of microorganisms to produce useful compounds.

Large containers used to grow microorganisms for the production of bioactive compounds.

Controlled environments to grow microbes under specific conditions.

Adding nutrients to keep the microbes growing continuously without excess substrate.

Fermenters with a stirrer to mix nutrients and keep the microbes from settling.

Altering the genetic makeup of microorganisms to expand their capabilities.

Industrial microbial growth is often more energy-efficient, cheaper, produces higher yields, and generates less toxic waste compared to chemical methods.

Microorganisms modified to enhance the production of enzymes, bioactive compounds, or to produce compounds not naturally found in the organism.

A method to introduce random mutations into an organism's genes, followed by screening to identify desirable traits.

A method used to change specific genes or DNA sequences, resulting in targeted changes in the function of particular genes or proteins

A gene introduced into an organism from a different species, resulting in the expression of the new gene's product.

A microorganism that has a heterologous gene introduced into its genome and expresses the corresponding protein.

A method for modifying cellular processes to create novel or improved compounds by transferring genes between organisms and modifying important biochemical pathways.

A series of chemical reactions within a cell catalysed by enzymes, transforming one molecule into another.

Techniques used to isolate, manipulate and reintroduce genes into other organisms.

Modifying metabolic pathways in organisms to produce desired compounds by introducing or altering genes. This involves using genetic tools to change the organism's ability to synthesize or break down specific molecules.

A specific case of pathway engineering where the gene for naphthalene oxygenase, a key enzyme in the pathway, is cloned from Pseudomonas and introduced into E. coli. This enables E. coli to produce indigo dye, a valuable compound, through an engineered pathway.

Searching for functional genes from environmental samples without first growing (culturing) the microbes. This allows access to a vast pool of genes from organisms that may be difficult or impossible to cultivate.

Introducing a gene from one organism into another, often across species, to enable the recipient organism to produce proteins or enzymes encoded by the foreign gene.

Bacteria modified to contain and express genes from other organisms, including animals. Such bacteria can produce valuable proteins or compounds that might be difficult to obtain from their natural source.

Many microbes are impossible to grow in the lab, but environmental gene mining allows us to access their unique genes. This unlocks a vast potential for discovering new enzymes and pathways for various biotechnological applications.

Creating new and improved pathways tailored to produce specific products, enhancing yields, reducing energy requirements, and minimizing waste production.

Using engineered microbes in large-scale fermenters to efficiently produce valuable substances like pharmaceuticals, biofuels, or food additives.

Using engineered probiotic strains to deliver therapeutic molecules and train the immune system to tolerate beneficial microbes.

Harnessing microbes to convert organic matter into renewable energy sources like biofuels and electricity.

Using a genetically engineered bacterium to produce ethanol from cellulose and hemicellulose, providing a more sustainable alternative to corn-based ethanol.

A thermophilic bacterium that naturally produces enzymes to break down cellulose and hemicellulose, enabling the production of ethanol.

Bioreactors that utilize microbes to convert stored chemical energy in organic matter into electricity.

Using microbial transformations to produce biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel from renewable resources.

Energy sources such as biofuels and electricity produced from renewable resources using microbial transformations.

Petroleum, a finite resource, contributes to greenhouse gases and climate change, highlighting the importance of renewable energy sources.

A gene that originates from a different species and is introduced into another organism.

By inserting a herbicide resistance gene into the plant's chromosome using bacteria like Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

A tumour-inducing plasmid found in Agrobacterium tumefaciens, used for genetically modifying plants.

A genetically engineered hormone used in animal farming to increase milk production in cows.

Changes made to a protein after it's made by a cell, that may not be possible in bacteria.

Treating diseases by delivering drugs to specific locations in the body or triggering immune responses.

Organisms that cause disease.

Engineered pathogens can be used to deliver drugs directly to tumors or stimulate immune responses.

A weakened version of a pathogen that cannot cause disease, but can still trigger an immune response.

Some engineered bacteria can thrive in the low-oxygen environment of tumors, which allows them to target and treat the tumor specifically.

Replacing lactate dehydrogenase in C. bescii with an acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase from C. thermocellum shifted 70% of fermentation products to ethanol.

Triacylglycerides (TAGs) from cyanobacteria and microalgae are precursors to biodiesel fuels.

A system that uses microbial communities to break down organic waste, primarily manure, in the absence of oxygen, producing methane as a biofuel.

Anaerobic digesters can achieve 50–100% efficiency in converting organic waste to methane.

Microbial communities composed of different species that collectively produce methane, often found in oil fields.

Microbes in fuel cells oxidize organic matter anaerobically, generating electrons that flow through an external circuit to power a device.

Living microbial cells, enzymes, or organelles detect specific substances and generate a biological reaction that's converted into an electrical signal.

Combining DNA segments from different sources to create new genes, operons, or entire genomes, with the ability to edit and fabricate entirely synthetic organisms.

Pieces of DNA from various sources that can be combined to create new genetic constructs.