Germs Can Make Food, Fuel, Medicine, And Math Can Make Them More Useful | Sciences

Scientists can create the right conditions for microbes to perform certain biological processes or produce the desired gases or chemicals in abundant amounts.

Humans realized the power of microbes centuries ago and have been able to harness them for a variety of purposes, from their use in the production of bread, beer, and milk through the fermentation process, to their use in production. of biofuels.

These microorganisms carry out chemical reactions in their daily life which produce products useful for humans. But in recent years, microbes have found their way into various industries as they promote sustainability and help producers and consumers reduce the impacts of the industrial sector on ecosystems.

An article in The Conversation highlights the growing interest of scientists in stimulating the productive capacities of these microorganisms.

These microorganisms perform chemical reactions in their daily life that produce products useful for humans (Getty Images)

Biotechnology

Along with the growing interest in protecting the environment, researchers have rushed to take advantage of biotechnology in industry. Currently, microbes are used to produce many useful chemical compounds, such as biofuels made from biomass, i.e. plant or animal waste.

The most common type of biofuel is ethanol produced by microbes, such as yeast, through the fermentation process of sugar extracted from plants such as sugar cane, beets, and corn. Microbes are also used in the production of certain drugs, such as antibiotics.

Methods of recycling wastewater using microorganisms have been discovered, such as the activated sludge method, which is one of the biological wastewater treatment methods. This method involves injecting air into the sludge by agitation to induce the growth and reproduction of aerobic microbes, excluding other types of bacteria.

Aerobic bacteria then devour the dissolved organic matter and convert ammonia in the presence of oxygen into nitrate and nitrite. The purified water is then separated from the sludge and the bottom activated activated sludge is treated to produce biogas, or dried as a fertilizer for agricultural land.

Bacteria are genetically engineered to act as biosensors, which turn on when certain compounds are present (Getty Images)

synthetic biology

Thanks to advances in synthetic biology, over the past two decades, scientists have sought the possibility of introducing new modifications into biological systems in nature, such as bacteria genetically modified to act as biosensors that light up. in the presence of certain compounds, such as oils or pathogens.

In a study published in the journal “Annual reviews”, researchers genetically modified bacteria to be able to accurately detect disease biomarkers.

The researchers did not stop there, but also types of bacteria genetically modified to cooperate with others or to get rid of the harmful byproducts they secrete while performing their tasks in biotechnology-based production processes. .

Researchers introduced bacteria that were genetically modified or selected from nature into microbial assemblages to interact with other types of bacteria.

The researchers pointed out in the study that acetate (a poisonous substance) which is secreted by types of bacteria during the production of proteins, can be eliminated by introducing other types of genetically modified bacteria to eat the acetate. .

Microbes can convert sugars in plant biomass into biofuels (Getty Images)

Mathematically controlling germs

These efforts have attracted the attention not only of biologists, but also of computer scientists and mathematicians. Advanced technologies and artificial intelligence help scientists understand and predict the behavior of microorganisms in biological systems in response to external stimuli.

Based on this information, scientists can create the right conditions for microbes to perform certain biological processes or produce the desired gases or chemicals in abundant amounts.

We know that bacteria – for example – love glucose, and the more glucose there is in their environment, the better they will grow. As a result, scientists can develop algorithms to control the amounts of glucose needed to modify the behavior of these bacteria in order to achieve desired goals.

A study published last year explored the prospects of using optogenetics in bioproduction, where light is used to stimulate microorganisms that have been genetically modified to respond to light.

Algorithms developed to regulate the coexistence of microbial species (Getty Images)

But these biological systems are not easy to control, especially if there are different types of microbes, competition for food can lead to the death of certain types of microbes in the biological system.

This is why the algorithms developed to regulate the symbiosis of microbial species should take into account the decisions that ensure the survival of all species.

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