About this Research Topic

Background

Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and have been used by mankind since 6000 BC. These “cell factories” are promising storehouses of metabolites and value products including enzymes, bioplastics, pigments, vitamins etc., that are being commercialized. Microbial systems are also being exploited for different biological solutions including environmental remediation and industrial bioprocesses. Novel isolates from extreme conditions such as low-gravity conditions, hot-springs, salt pans, volcanoes, arctic regions have also been screened and characterized to produce industrial enzymes/products. With the recent advances in Microbiotechnology, the microbial systems and functions are fine-tuned using molecular engineering and synthetic biology approaches to accelerate the process and products conversions. Hence, the challenge for commercial production of biomolecules lies in the selection of an efficient strain, a high-yielding production process that includes optimal media and process conditions for growth and product formation, performance of bioreactor, effective scale-up and competent product recovery.

The goal of this Research Topic is to present the dynamic role that microorganisms play as a workhorse for the production of industrial biochemicals and environmental clean-up through bioremediation and biodegradation. Further emphasis on current and future challenges involved in the process using both wild-type and engineered microbes will be addressed in this Research Topic.

We invite research and review papers that focus on the novel isolates for industrial production of metabolites; different strategies adopted for bioprospecting of industrially viable microbes; strain improvement; optimization and design of production process and media for fermentation; design and optimization of bioreactors; modelling and control of production process; and current trends and future prospects in microbial biotechnology. Further, articles relevant to the advanced knowledge of microbial biotechnology applications in different fields, including pharmaceuticals, food, textile, and bioenergy will be considered.

As by a famous quote of Kinichiro Sakaguchi, “Microorganisms will give you anything you want if you know how to ask them”. The scope of this Research Topic is to exhibit the role of wild-type and engineered microbes including bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, yeast, algae and viruses. The topic themes include, but are not limited to the following:

• Modern bioprospecting methods for the isolation and characterization of novel microorganisms that produce valuable metabolites.

• Strategies adopted for the improvement of the production of metabolites which include process and media optimization, genetic engineering, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology methodologies.

• Design and scale-up of bioreactors with proven efficiency.

• Application of modelling, control and process analytical technology solutions for the development of a microbial process.

• Strategies for improvement in product recovery from production systems.

Original Research Articles and Reviews focusing on current trends, challenges and future directions in this field and Perspectives are welcomed to address this Research Topic.

Keywords: Microbial cell factories, Bioprocess Engineering, Bioreactor technologies, Biomolecules, Bioproducts, Molecular genetics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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