Biotechnological applications extremophiles: the golden epoch ahead
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Bedaprana Roy
Abstract
Extreme environments act as habitats that nurture a number of magnificent organisms that are tolerant to such harsh environments. These environments include areas with extreme temperatures, pH, salinity, pressure, and heavy metal concentrations. Biological and chemical processes encounter numerous such stressed conditions, control of which makes these processes delicate, prolonged, and expensive. For example, enzymes and proteins of the biological systems that are the main tools of any biochemical reaction and remain functional only at specific conditions lose their activity when minutely violated. The maintenance of these optimum or moderate conditions, also termed as mesophilic conditions in an ongoing reaction, requires huge efforts and expenses by scientists, all over. Therefore, enzymes and other products from extremophiles can act as a perfect alternative, reducing the efforts of procedure optimization to mesophilic conditions. The sole reason is that organisms that thrive in extremes are capable of producing enzymes and other useful products required in any biotechnological process, which can survive and remain active throughout the extremities reached during the ongoing reactions. In the field of agriculture, use of extremophiles can allow sustainable agriculture under all conditions and stresses that may occur in an agricultural field. Similarly, molecular biological tools such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) require thermostable DNA polymerases that can be obtained from extremophiles. Therapeutic enzymes such as asparaginase, used for treatment of leukemia, can also be obtained from extremophiles that would remain stable inside the body and maintain its activity. Thus, use of extremophiles in all the aforementioned fields will be the future of biotechnology.
Abstract
Extreme environments act as habitats that nurture a number of magnificent organisms that are tolerant to such harsh environments. These environments include areas with extreme temperatures, pH, salinity, pressure, and heavy metal concentrations. Biological and chemical processes encounter numerous such stressed conditions, control of which makes these processes delicate, prolonged, and expensive. For example, enzymes and proteins of the biological systems that are the main tools of any biochemical reaction and remain functional only at specific conditions lose their activity when minutely violated. The maintenance of these optimum or moderate conditions, also termed as mesophilic conditions in an ongoing reaction, requires huge efforts and expenses by scientists, all over. Therefore, enzymes and other products from extremophiles can act as a perfect alternative, reducing the efforts of procedure optimization to mesophilic conditions. The sole reason is that organisms that thrive in extremes are capable of producing enzymes and other useful products required in any biotechnological process, which can survive and remain active throughout the extremities reached during the ongoing reactions. In the field of agriculture, use of extremophiles can allow sustainable agriculture under all conditions and stresses that may occur in an agricultural field. Similarly, molecular biological tools such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) require thermostable DNA polymerases that can be obtained from extremophiles. Therapeutic enzymes such as asparaginase, used for treatment of leukemia, can also be obtained from extremophiles that would remain stable inside the body and maintain its activity. Thus, use of extremophiles in all the aforementioned fields will be the future of biotechnology.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- List of contributing authors V
- Contents XIII
- Acidophilic microbial communities: remediating acid mine drainage waters 1
- The extremophiles indigenous to acid mines 23
- Halophiles: properties, adaptations, diversity, and applications 43
- Deep-sea extremophiles and their diversity in the Indian Ocean 65
- Extremozymes: exclusive outlook toward the white biotechnology 95
- Extremophiles: a potential source of extremozymes 113
- Prospects of biofuels, biofertilizers, and therapeutics from extremophiles 131
- Extremophilic pigments in eukaryotic microbes: a tool for survivability 149
- Bioactive compounds from extremophilic bacteria 171
- Psychrophiles survival strategies: insights into the comprehensive adaptive behavioral approaches in cold-habituated bacteria 197
- Extremophiles to polyextremophiles: survival of the fittest 221
- An overview of extremophiles as microbial armament for bioremediation 245
- Biotechnological applications extremophiles: the golden epoch ahead 269
- Potential of extremophiles: a review of current research in nanoparticle synthesis 289
- Cyanobacteria in nanotechnology 315
- Use of extremophiles in nanotechnology 339
- Contribution of cyanobacteria and microalgae as extremophiles in the field of biotechnology 365
- Exploring the potential extremophilic microbes for bioremediation 383
- Index 407
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- List of contributing authors V
- Contents XIII
- Acidophilic microbial communities: remediating acid mine drainage waters 1
- The extremophiles indigenous to acid mines 23
- Halophiles: properties, adaptations, diversity, and applications 43
- Deep-sea extremophiles and their diversity in the Indian Ocean 65
- Extremozymes: exclusive outlook toward the white biotechnology 95
- Extremophiles: a potential source of extremozymes 113
- Prospects of biofuels, biofertilizers, and therapeutics from extremophiles 131
- Extremophilic pigments in eukaryotic microbes: a tool for survivability 149
- Bioactive compounds from extremophilic bacteria 171
- Psychrophiles survival strategies: insights into the comprehensive adaptive behavioral approaches in cold-habituated bacteria 197
- Extremophiles to polyextremophiles: survival of the fittest 221
- An overview of extremophiles as microbial armament for bioremediation 245
- Biotechnological applications extremophiles: the golden epoch ahead 269
- Potential of extremophiles: a review of current research in nanoparticle synthesis 289
- Cyanobacteria in nanotechnology 315
- Use of extremophiles in nanotechnology 339
- Contribution of cyanobacteria and microalgae as extremophiles in the field of biotechnology 365
- Exploring the potential extremophilic microbes for bioremediation 383
- Index 407
