Detailed segment division:
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Plant cell biotechnology: plant cell biology
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Animal cell biotechnology: animal cell biology
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Bacteria as cell factories: microbiology
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Genetic engineering and production of enzymes
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Genetic engineering of micro-organisms and yeast
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Cell culture techniques
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Genome mapping of specific bacterial and yeast genomes
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Biodiversity of micro-organisms in production processes
Bacteria as cell factories: microbiology The potential of prokaryotic cells in the production or biotransformation of natural or xenobiotic compounds is by no means exhausted. The enormous diversity of microorganisms in the environment offers an almost unlimited gene pool for new enzymes and metabolic pathways. The discovery of new natural products continues to be of great interest for the production of pharmaceuticals, new materials, agrochemicals, and consumer products. An exciting approach to generating new products is to evolve novel metabolic pathways in a microbial cell by means of the technique of metabolic engineering. Such a “directed construction” of the living cell with novel metabolic traits results in creation of the so called “single-cell factory”. Populations of those cells cultured under specific conditions are sources of vast array of valuable products. Detailed segment division:
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Enzymatic processes
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Development of bioprocessing techniques (fermentation, immobilisation of biocatalysts, quality control, etc)
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Downstream processing
Enzymatic processes Enzymatic processes are a key application in biocatalysis. The use of enzymes has the potential to increase productivity, efficiency and quality output in industrial processing. Enzyme-catalyzed processes generally have requirements for a simple manufacturing base, low capital investment and consume relatively small amounts of energy, when compared to other methods of food processing. Enzymes are the catalysts of all reactions in living systems. These reactions are catalysed in the active sites of globular proteins. The proteins are composed by amino acids with a variety of side chains ranging from non-polar aliphatic and aromatic to acidic, basic and neutral polar. This fact allows to a globular 3D protein to create in the active site all ranges of microenvironments for catalysis. Major advances in microbial technology and genetics allow recently the broad range of enzymatic applications in the industry. For example enzymatic processes have been increasingly incorporated in textiles - cotton, wool, flax or
starches are natural materials used in textiles that can be processed with enzymes. Enzymes have been used for desizing, scouring, polishing, washing, degumming, peroxide degradation in bleaching baths as well as for decolourisation of dyehouse wastewaters, bleaching of released dyestuff and inhibiting dye transfer. And this is just a small range of enzymatic processes usage. Detailed segment division:
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Microbial ecology
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Biosafety
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Microbial functions for degradation/transformation of pollutants
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Isolation, breeding and genetic engineering of pollutants; degradation micro-organisms
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Biotechnological processes for soil and land treatment
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Biotechnological processes for water treatment
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Biotechnological processes for air and off-gas treatment
Microbial ecology The microbial ecology and biotechnology science area emphasizes investigations of microbial processes at population, organism, and gene function levels to address environmental threats from contamination and pathogens, and to harness the capabilities of microbial systems for wastewater purification, biodegradation of chemicals, biological solid waste treatment, induced corrosion, biofuel production and other applications. Researchers elucidate and harness capabilities of microbial processes through the following disciplines and methods: molecular-to-field scale studies, technology development, bioinformatics, microbial genomics, community dynamics, extremophiles, genetically engineered microorganisms and bioremediation. Detailed segment division:
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Microbial ecology
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Biosafety
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Microbial functions for degradation/transformation of pollutants
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Isolation, breeding and genetic engineering of pollutants; degradation micro-organisms
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Biotechnological processes for soil and land treatment
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Biotechnological processes for water treatment
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Biotechnological processes for air and off-gas treatment
Microbial functions for degradation/transformation of pollutants “Bacteria represent the great success story of life's pathway. They occupy a wider domain of environments and span a broader range of biochemistries than any other group. They are adaptable, indestructible and astoundingly diverse. We cannot even imagine how anthropogenic intervention might threaten their extinction, although we worry about our impact on nearly every other form of life…. This is the 'age of bacteria'---as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.” -Stephen Jay Gould (1994).
Bacteria are found everywhere on the planet, from deserts in Antarctica to deep-sea thermal vents, from high up in the atmosphere to several kilometers into the Earth’s crust. Their metabolism is amazingly versatile and they can grow in a wide range of environmental conditions. As humans, we depend on bacteria for our existence; for example they colonize our skin and digestive tract as part of our immune system, certain bacteria in our gut provide us with vitamin K, and bacteria were initially responsible for the oxygenation of the Earth’s atmosphere. The versatility of bacteria can be harnessed in a number of biotechnological applications. For example, microorganisms can be used for production of substances such as insulin in the pharmaceutical industry, for manufacture of biodegradable plastics and as sources of novel enzymes with activities at temperature extremes. The nutritional versatility of microorganisms can also be exploited for biodegradation of environmental pollutants. This process is called bioremediation and is based on the capability of certain microorganisms to metabolize toxic pollutants, obtaining energy and biomass in the process. Ideally, the chemicals are transformed into harmless compounds such as carbon dioxide and water. Harnessing microorganisms to degrade harmful compounds is an attractive option for clean up of polluted environments. However, despite the apparent simplicity of microorganisms, the different strategies for dealing with pollutants are as diverse as the organisms themselves. The process of biodegradation must therefore be investigated on several levels; biochemical, genetic and physiological. India > India Microbiology Testing Lab
SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF QUORUM SENSING IN Escherichia coli High throughput techniques and advanced mathematical tools have enabled systematic investigations of biological systems with unparalleled precision. Not only molecular interactions between components but mechanisms ... Tags: biological systems, escherichia coli, protein
gel, quorum sensing
India > India Microbiology Testing Lab India Microbiology Testing Services Mumbai Microbiological Activity and Detection Testing Laboratory Intertek India provides microbiological testing servcies and capabilties for food, water, pharmaceuticals and textiles. Intertek India can test samples for a wide range of microbes and microbial activity. Contact Intertek for more information.
Microbiological Testing for Food and Foodstuffs:
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Clostridium
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Microbiology Testing for Pharmaceuticals
Coliforms (for water samples) Coliforms (solid media) E. coli, Fecal coliforms Fecal streptococci Lipase activity Plate Count - Bacterial Psuedomonas aeruginosa
Microbiological Textile Tests:
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Antibacterial Finish (Qualitative) AATCC 147 Antibacterial Finish (Quantitative) AATCC 100 Antibacterial Finish AATCC 174 Antifungal Finish AATCC 30
Salmonella, Shigella, Staph. aureus Sulphite reducing anaerobes Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahemolyticus Yeast & Mould Count Per BIS, The Bureau of Indian Standards
Microbiology Testing Lab Resources:
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Microbial Testing of Pharmaceuticals:
Class 100 Clean-Rooms Separate AHU Laboratory equipment including, Autoclave, Microscope, Centrifuge Balance, pH Meter, Turbidometer, Incubators, Oven Laminar-flow work stations Reference Cultures
Microbiological Tests for Water:
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Total bacterial count (membrance filtration) Swab test (Coliforms) Swab test (E-coli) Swab test (Salmonella)