Role of microorganism banks in development of biotechnology

Microbes constitute the largest biomass on the earth and comprise of three domains of life (bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes). Almost 90 % of this diversity is still unexplored. Microorganisms are not only of value for the production of useful substances; they also play unique roles in element cycles with plants and animals. Microorganisms are widely used for biological studies, and new advances in biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology are essentially due to the studies of microorganisms as a model of life. A new era will be opened in biotechnology in parallel with the development of science and technology relevant to microorganisms. Microorganisms are also significant gene pools, and these gene pools must not be lost. Microorganism banks have more than a century old history and play a vital role in the conservation and sustainable use of microbial resources. There are 758 culture collections in 76 countries with 2963913 microorganisms. They also provide the authentic biological material for high quality research and teaching in the form of reference strains, reagents for quality control. The advances in molecular biology have resulted in the continued discovery of new microbial taxa and strains and there is a need to preserve these so as to make them accessible to other researchers for research, teaching and for biotechnological exploitation. Recently, a survey was made on the application of microorganisms in the production of foods, food additives, enzymes, and related materials, with the exception of antibiotics, in applied microbiology. Thus improvement of culture collections is critical and crucial for the further development of microbiology, microbial industry, and biotechnology.

کلیدواژه ها:

Microorganism ، Bank ، Biotechnology