Introduction to Bacteria and their Industrial and Technological Uses

In this introductory article we will briefly define bacteria, outline the history of bacteriology, examine some of their interactions with other organisms before discussing the significance of bacteria in technology and industry

What are bacteria ?

Bacteria are a large group of unicellular, prokaryote, microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste (see below), water, and deep in the Earth’s crust, as well as in organic matter and the live bodies of plants and animals. There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water; in all, there are approximately five nonillion (5×1030) bacteria on Earth, forming much of the world’s biomass according to an article by Whitman WB, Coleman DC, Wiebe WJ (June 1998). ”Prokaryotes: the unseen majority” .

Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, with many steps in nutrient cycles depending on these organisms, such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere and putrefaction. However, most bacteria have not been characterized, and only about half of the phyla of bacteria have species that can be grown in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology.

There are approximately ten times as many bacterial cells in the human flora of bacteria as there are human cells in the body, with large numbers of bacteria on the skin and as gut flora. The vast majority of the bacteria in the body are rendered harmless by the protective effects of the immune system, and a few are beneficial. However, a few species of bacteria are pathogenic and cause infectious diseases, including cholera, syphilis, anthrax, leprosy and bubonic plague. The most common fatal bacterial diseases are respiratory infections, with tuberculosis alone killing about 2 million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.  .In developed countries, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and in agriculture, so antibiotic resistance is becoming common. In industry, bacteria are important in sewage treatment, the production of cheese and yoghurt through fermentation, as well as in biotechnology, and the manufacture of antibiotics and other chemicals.

Once regarded as plants constituting the class Schizomycetes, bacteria are now classified as prokaryotes. Unlike cells of animals and othereukaryotes, bacterial cells do not contain a nucleus and rarely harbour membrane-bound organelles. Although the term bacteria traditionally included all prokaryotes, the scientific classification changed after the discovery in the 1990s that prokaryotes consist of two very different groups of organisms that evolved independently from an ancient common ancestor. These evolutionary domains are called Bacteria and Archaea.

History of bacteriology

Bacteria were first observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676, using a single-lens microscope of his own design.  He called them “animalcules” and published his observations in a series of letters to the Royal Society. The name bacterium was introduced much later, by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1838.

Louis Pasteur demonstrated in 1859 that the fermentation process is caused by the growth of microorganisms, and that this growth is not due to spontaneous generation. (Yeasts and molds, commonly associated with fermentation, are not bacteria, but rather fungi.) For more information please see our series on eminent anatomists and physiologists.

Along with his contemporary, Robert Koch, Pasteur was an early advocate of the germ theory of disease. Robert Koch was a pioneer in medical microbiology and worked on cholera, anthrax and tuberculosis. In his research into tuberculosis, Koch finally proved the germ theory, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1905. In Koch’s postulates, he set out criteria to test if an organism is the cause of a disease; these postulates are still used today.

Though it was known in the nineteenth century that bacteria are the cause of many diseases, no effective antibacterial treatments were available. In 1910, Paul Ehrlich developed the first antibiotic, by changing dyes that selectively stained Treponema pallidum—thespirochaete that causes syphilis—into compounds that selectively killed the pathogen. Ehrlich had been awarded a 1908 Nobel Prize for his work on immunology, and pioneered the use of stains to detect and identify bacteria, with his work being the basis of the Gram stain and the Ziehl-Neelsen stain.

A major step forward in the study of bacteria was the recognition in 1977 by Carl Woese that archaea have a separate line of evolutionary descent from bacteria. This new phylogenetic taxonomy was based on the sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA, and divided prokaryotes into two evolutionary domains, as part of the three-domain system. As stated above for more information please consult our article “Eminent Anatomists and Physiologists” in this series.

Interactions with other organisms

Despite their apparent simplicity, bacteria can form complex associations with other organisms. These symbiotic associations can be divided into parasitism, mutualism andcommensalism. Due to their small size, commensal bacteria are ubiquitous and grow on animals and plants exactly as they will grow on any other surface. However, their growth can be increased by warmth and sweat, and large populations of these organisms in humans are the cause of body odor.

Predators

Some species of bacteria kill and then consume other microorganisms, these species called predatory bacteria.These include organisms such as Myxococcus xanthus, which forms swarms of cells that kill and digest any bacteria they encounter. Other bacterial predators either attach to their prey in order to digest them and absorb nutrients, such asVampirococcus, or invade another cell and multiply inside the cytosol, such as DaptobacterThese predatory bacteria are thought to have evolved from saprophages that consumed dead microorganisms, through adaptations that allowed them to entrap and kill other organisms.

Mutualists

Certain bacteria form close spatial associations that are essential for their survival. One such mutualistic association, called interspecies hydrogen transfer, occurs between clusters of anaerobic bacteria that consume organic acids such as butyric acid or propionic acid and produce hydrogen, and methanogenic Archaea that consume hydrogen. The bacteria in this association are unable to consume the organic acids as this reaction produces hydrogen that accumulates in their surroundings. Only the intimate association with the hydrogen-consuming Archaea keeps the hydrogen concentration low enough to allow the bacteria to grow.

In soil, microorganisms which reside in the rhizosphere (a zone that includes the root surface and the soil that adheres to the root after gentle shaking) carry out nitrogen fixation, converting nitrogen gas to nitrogenous compounds. This serves to provide an easily absorbable form of nitrogen for many plants, which cannot fix nitrogen themselves. Many other bacteria are found as symbionts in humans and other organisms. For example, the presence of over 1,000 bacterial species in the normal human gut flora of the intestines can contribute to gut immunity, synthesise vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin K and biotin, convert milk protein to lactic acid (see Lactobacillus), as well as fermenting complex undigestible carbohydrates. The presence of this gut flora also inhibits the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria (usually through competitive exclusion) and these beneficial bacteria are consequently sold as probiotic dietary supplements.

Pathogens

If bacteria form a parasitic association with other organisms, they are classed as pathogens. Pathogenic bacteria are a major cause of human death and disease and cause infections such as tetanus, typhoid fever, diphtheria, syphilis, cholera, foodborne illness, leprosy and tuberculosis. A pathogenic cause for a known medical disease may only be discovered many years after, as was the case withHelicobacter pylori and peptic ulcer disease. Bacterial diseases are also important in agriculture, with bacteria causing leaf spot, fire blight and wilts in plants, as well as Johne’s disease, mastitis, salmonella and anthrax in farm animals.

Each species of pathogen has a characteristic spectrum of interactions with its human hosts. Some organisms, such as Staphylococcus orStreptococcus, can cause skin infections, pneumonia, meningitis and even overwhelming sepsis, a systemic inflammatory responseproducing shock, massive vasodilation and death. Yet these organisms are also part of the normal human flora and usually exist on the skin or in the nose without causing any disease at all. Other organisms invariably cause disease in humans, such as the Rickettsia, which are obligate intracellular parasites able to grow and reproduce only within the cells of other organisms. One species of Rickettsia causestyphus, while another causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Chlamydia, another phylum of obligate intracellular parasites, contains species that can cause pneumonia, or urinary tract infection and may be involved in coronary heart disease.

Significance of bacteria in technology and industry

Bacteria, often lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Lactococcus, in combination with yeasts and molds, have been used for thousands of years in the preparation of fermented foods such as cheese, pickles, soy sauce,sauerkraut, vinegar, wine and yoghurt.

The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is remarkable and has been used in waste processing and bioremediation. Bacteria capable of digesting the hydrocarbons in petroleum are often used to clean up oil spills. For example in a recent article by Marcela Valente entitled ” Bacteria eat up oil in Antarctica” we know that Argentine scientists are developing a biological process for combating oil spills in the extremely cold temperatures of the immense ice-covered continent. Here is an extract from that article:

“BUENOS AIRES – For the past 25 years it has been known that certain bacteria are useful for cleaning up oil spills in warmer climates, where the microorganisms easily reproduce and decompose contaminants. This technique might now be used in Antarctica, thanks to the discoveries of two Argentine scientists. Biologist Walter MacCormack, of the Argentine Antarctic Institute, and biochemist Lucas Ruberto, of the University of Buenos Aires, set out to find an efficient “biological remediation process” for extremely cold conditions, like those in Antarctica, where the average temperature is below freezing. Such processes, using microorganisms to clean up soil contaminated by fossil fuels or heavy metals, have an established history. But “the bacteria that break down fossil fuels tend to reproduce at temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius,” MacCormack told Tierramérica. ”At four degrees, they do not grow, and the (decontamination) processes were not successful or were too slow to be considered efficient,” he added. And there was another problem. The Madrid Protocol, which establishes environmental protection standards for Antarctica, prohibits the introduction of viruses, bacteria or any microorganism from other regions, and also bans taking samples from the frozen continent, except for previously authorized scientific purposes.”

In another case fertilizer was added to some of the beaches in Prince William Sound in an attempt to promote the growth of these naturally occurring bacteria after the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. These efforts were effective on beaches that were not too thickly covered in oil.

Bacteria may also be of use in dealing with radioactive waste. According to an article by Tom Paulson in the Seattle Post Scientists studying the soil beneath a leaking Hanford nuclear waste storage tank have discovered more than 100 species of bacteria living in a toxic, radioactive environment that most would have thought inhospitable to all forms of life.”Even in some of the most contaminated zones, we found a few living organisms,” said Fred Brockman, a microbial ecologist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. The waste in the Hanford tanks is made up of highly radioactive cesium, strontium and various other toxic chemicals left over from the World War II bomb works. About 53 millions gallons was stored in 177 underground tanks, some of which have leaked an estimated 1 million gallons into the surrounding soil of the Columbia Basin. “One of the most interesting findings was a strain of Deinococcus,” Fredrickson said. It’s a type of bacteria that’s been found in Antarctica and on irradiated meat, he said, but never at Hanford before. Brockman said they didn’t discover any new species of bug — based on the standard method for identifying species — but genetic analysis of the Hanford versions of these bacteria indicate they may have at least found some unique new strains.

Bacteria are also used for the bioremediation of industrial toxic wastes. In the chemical industry, bacteria are most important in the production of enantiomerically pure chemicals for use as pharmaceuticals or agrichemicals.

Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in the biological pest control. This commonly involves Bacillus thuringiensis (also called BT), a Gram-positive, soil dwelling bacterium. Subspecies of this bacteria are used as a Lepidopteran-specific insecticides under trade names such as Dipel and Thuricide. Because of their specificity, these pesticides are regarded as environmentally friendly, with little or no effect on humans, wildlife, pollinators and most other beneficial insects according to an article by Chattopadhyay A, Bhatnagar N, Bhatnagar R (2004). “Bacterial insecticidal toxins”. Crit Rev Microbiol.

Because of their ability to quickly grow and the relative ease with which they can be manipulated, bacteria are the workhorses for the fields of molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. By making mutations in bacterial DNA and examining the resulting phenotypes, scientists can determine the function of genes, enzymes and metabolic pathways in bacteria, then apply this knowledge to more complex organisms. This aim of understanding the biochemistry of a cell reaches its most complex expression in the synthesis of huge amounts of enzyme kinetic and gene expression data into mathematical models of entire organisms. This is achievable in some well-studied bacteria, with models of Escherichia coli metabolism now being produced and tested. This understanding of bacterial metabolism and genetics allows the use of biotechnology to bioengineer bacteria for the production of therapeutic proteins, such as insulin, growth factors, or antibodies.

In conclusion our knowledge and understanding of bacteria is only just beginning especially when we consider the exciting developments in studies involving extremophile bacteria that tolerate extreme cold, pressure, acidity, alkaline environments or combinations of these in addition to radiation. The uses of bacteria even extend beyond our world into the potential of astrobiology.

Dr Simon Harding

www.chronosconsulting.com

 

About Biotechgenetic and its future

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living things in engineering, technology, medicine, and other useful applications. Modern use of the term includes genetic engineering as well as cell- and tissue culture technologies. The concept encompasses a wide range (and history) of procedures for modifying living organisms according to human purposes – going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and “improvements” to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. By comparison to biotechnology, bioengineering is generally thought of as a related field with its emphasis more on higher systems approaches (not necessarily altering or using biological materials directly) for interfacing with and utilizing living things. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as:
“Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.”

Gene therapy may be used for treating, or even curing, genetic and acquired diseases like cancer and AIDS by using normal genes to supplement or replace defective genes or to bolster a normal function such as immunity. It can be used to target somatic (i.e., body) or gametes (i.e., egg and sperm) cells. In somatic gene therapy, the genome of the recipient is changed, but this change is not passed along to the next generation. In contrast, in germline gene therapy, the egg and sperm cells of the parents are changed for the purpose of passing on the changes to their offspring.

History of Modern Art

“The history of modern art is often confusing and elusive even to people who collect art and frequent galleries,” says the newest web page on Contemporary Art Dialogue, http://www.contemporary-art-dialogue.com/history-of-modern-art.htm. The website/blog’s owner/writer, Liz Goldner, goes on to relate a conversation with an art collector about artwork at a local contemporary gallery.

When the art collector replied,  “Oh, the art is contemporary and modern,” Goldner realized that even art collectors are now always well-informed about the history of modern art. So she decided to write a blog page about the history, the difference between modern and contemporary art, and even looked at the origin of the word “modern” along the way.

The web page goes on to explain that contemporary art refers to art created now or to art that is contemporary to us. Contemporary art is also identified as art from the 1960’s or 70’s up until this minute. Then it explains that the modern art style was in vogue from about 1860 to 1970.

Contemporary art is more socially conscious and philosophically inclusive of several styles and media than art of previous eras, the page continues.  Contemporary art includes hybrids of styles, and encompasses pre-modern, modern and pop and has conceptual, political and social messages, and addresses feminism, multiculturalism, globalization, bioengineering and AIDS, among other trends.

Yet people not schooled in the history of modern art often use modern to describe contemporary art, Goldner says.

Modern art actually began in the 1860’s with impressionist works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and several other artists, most of them French.

The movement is also said to have begun with: romanticism in the early 1800’s;
Louis Daguerre’s invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, presumably pre-empting the work of realistic painters; the writer Baudelaire who in 1846 called upon artists to be of their time; and the first exhibition of impressionist art in Paris in 1874.

Modern art is exemplified by the departure from tradition and by experimentation, Goldner continues. This “modernism” trend influenced the art styles for the next 100 years with their clearly visible brushstrokes, dissolving images, and later surrealism, conceptualism, abstraction and the acceptance of line, form, color and process, among other characteristics.

Goldner also looks at the meaning of the term, “avant-garde,” frequently used to describe contemporary art. Avant-garde was originally a French military term, meaning vanguard, she says. Later, artists in the early modern artists used it to describe their work, meaning that their work was at the forefront of art trends. English speakers first used the term 100 years ago in 1910.

The history of modern art is interesting, complex and often confusing. But so much of life that is meaningful and fun is often that way, Goldner concludes.

Using Synthetic DNA, Genetic Engineers Create Artificial Life Form

Genetic engineers announced the creation of a living organism with synthetic DNA sequencing. That scientists have created a so-called life form from scratch has created a good news/bad news scenario. Man-made DNA sequencing could lead to new drugs, vaccines, sources of food, and even fuel. It also concerns those who imagine killer germs in the hands of state-sponsored bioterrorists. A warning about synthetic DNA has also been issued by the Catholic church to scientists.

Article Resource: Genetic engineers create artificial life form using synthetic DNA

From scratch, synthetic genome sequencing

Synthetic DNA sequencing is actually a result of 15 years work and $ 40 million in investments by the J. Craig Venter institute. As reported Friday in the journal Science, genetic engineers succeeded for the first time in making a copy of a bacterium’s entire genome. That genome was then transplanted into a different bacteria emptied of its own genome. Once the DNA assimilated, the recipient bacteria started to function and reproduce within the exact same manner as the naturally occurring bacteria from which the synthetic DNA was copied.

Genetic Code gluing together

Computer designed synthetic bacteria have fueled scientific curiosity for years and years with the huge promise of a large instant loans from cheap, efficient production of custom enzymes, fuels and medications. The Christian Science Monitor reports that to create this synthetic DNA, scientists at J. Craig Venter Institute had to use yeast to glue together thousands of DNA snippets. With painstaking microscopic precision, the strands of genetic code were to come together in runs of tens of thousands of base pairs, and then hundreds of thousands, until the yeast produced a very complete 1.08 million-base-pair synthetic genome.

Controversies with genetic engineering

Genetic engineering of synthetic DNA, if perfected, promises exciting technological benefits. It also will attract government regulation and fear. Bloomberg reports that some bio-scientists warn that genetic engineering companies like the J. Craig Venter Institute that can manufacture synthetic DNA should be watching their backs very closely. Speaking about the way the J. Craig Venter Institute coordinated efforts with other laboratories to cook up the genome, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-supported bioengineer at Boston University, James Collins, told Bloomberg that “They sent out chunks of the genetic code to companies and asked them each to synthesize parts of it,” Collins said. “You don’t want bad guys to order 10 parts of a nasty virus from 10 different groups and then put them together.”

Catholic Church scared by synthetic DNA

The Catholic Church has given their opinion on the issue. The Associated Press reports that Catholic Church officials said Friday the recently created first synthetic cell could be a positive development if correctly used, but warned scientists that only God can create life. Bishop Domenico Mogavero says that he just doesn’t want scientists trying to play God. “Pretending to be God and parroting his power of creation is an enormous risk that can plunge men into a barbarity,” Mogavero told the newspaper La Stampa. Scientists “should never forget that there is only one creator: God.”

Discover more details on this topic

Science

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/science.1190719

The Christian Science Monitor reports

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0521/J.-Craig-Venter-Institute-creates-first-synthetic-life-form

Bloomberg reports

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0521/J.-Craig-Venter-Institute-creates-first-synthetic-life-form

5 Fascinating Careers in Industrial Science

Careers in industrial science continue to expand with positions opening up in both government and private institutions, especially in the area of research and manufacturing. Graduates can choose from a range of careers in agricultural and biological sciences, the information and technology sector, food and pharmaceutical companies, as well as mining and mineral exploration.

With the unparalleled expansion of scientific knowledge, industrial scientists have the opportunity of working at the leading edge of scientific developments no matter whether they have a leaning towards biology, chemistry or physics.

There will be a career path in industrial science in a variety of fields and this article will look at five fascinating careers to consider.

Industrial Microbiology. If you have a penchant to work in a multidisciplinary scientific environment, then industrial microbiology or biotechnology could interest you. Processes and production problems often take scientists in a variety of directions which means that an industrial microbiologist has to be adaptable across such fields as bioengineering, biochemistry and molecular biology. Career pathways can lead you into fields such as antibiotics and vaccines as well as many other healthcare products and even food and beverages which are produced by microbial activity, for instance, cheeses, yoghurts.

 

Environmental Engineering. Environmental engineering suits graduates who are concerned about the man-made environment and issues relating to water quality, waste disposal, air quality and dealing with contaminated land. Today, research into the prevention of pollution is supported by government and private agencies alike and graduates can expect to work with mechanisms of sustainability in either private companies or government research facilities.

 

Chemical Engineering. Chemical engineering provides a practical link between the theory of science and manufacturing. Industrial scientists with a preference for working in this area will be involved in designing of equipment and development of large chemical manufacturing processes in a variety of industries including photography and photographic equipment, manufacturing chemicals and health care products

 

Academic Research. Most academic careers in the area of industrial science will attract high achieving practitioners looking to develop their research and, naturally, to teach within universities. Professorial appointments are highly regarded and provide satisfying careers for experienced scientists. Although opportunities are limited, with the expansion in industrial scientific jobs as a whole, academic posts are becoming more frequently advertised.

 

Nanotechnology. Within the emerging realm of nanotechnology, jobs are being created across a diverse range of activities. From creating cosmetics and researching the nature of matter, to medical diagnostics and developing better batteries are just a few opportunities that provide blossoming careers for industrial scientists. It is safe to say there is a revolution in manufacturing and in production of new materials. The new ways in which these are made is largely under the direction of a highly qualified industrial scientist. You could find yourself working for a sports equipment company or the army. The choices are almost endless.

The outlook for employment in the area of industrial science is rapidly increasing. Government predictions of job growth show that this growth will continue for at least the next three years unabated. Even in times of slower employment growth, it is apparent that many companies will continue to research and develop new products requiring industrial science expertise.

Regardless of the field of chosen, most people working in Industrial science will gain first hand experience with cutting edge analytical measurement techniques. Measurement technologies such asLaser Diffraction, Dynamic Light Scattering, Spectroscopy, HPLC and Rheology are widely used in Industrial science jobs. With the help of these cutting edge technologies people around the worlds are expanding development of exciting new products that will shape our future world.