HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

Man and Microorganisms

Long before man knew about the microbial world - about such things as bacteria, fungi and yeast - he used fermentation processes to make bread and brew alcoholic beverages. Brewing was accomplished as an art as long ago as when the pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt. Beer was traded as an time of commerce. In Greece and Rome, people used mushrooms for food but could not explain how they grew without seeds. Because mushrooms appeared to grow by magic, they were considered to be children of the gods. The existence of diseases that were deadly to humans, plants and animals was known and feared but not understood.

The actuality of creatures too small to be seen with the naked eye could only be suspected - until the discovery of the microscope. The first microscope was discovered in 1590 but it was not until 1683 that Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch amateur microscope builder, became the first person to observe and describe bacteria. As a result, an exciting new microbial world was available for exploration. Discoveries had impacts on virtually every aspect of modern man's life, from health and medicine to agriculture and food production. Man used microorganisms with scientific precision for only about 75 years - isolating, identifying and developing bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and yeasts. Microbes can manufacture proteins, amino acids, fats and vitamins which are used as food and feed supplements for animals and humans. They can fix atmospheric nitrogen to enrich soils which results in more abundant food supplies. They can produce steroids and antibiotics for fighting disease. Bacteria can even be cloned to produce live saving drugs, like insulin.

Modern Industrial Biotechnology

The history of this market is one that goes back approximately 50 years, as scientists worldwide searched for naturally occurring processes that would safely and efficiently address the problems associated with waste disposal. They found that nature contains many strains of bacteria that digest vast quantities of waste. Through industrial microbial fermentations, microbiologists and bioengineers concentrate these valuable organisms which inherently are scattered in nature. Although bacteria are found virtually everywhere, the challenge was to select and to combine the right ones that would be highly productive and be capable of surviving the rigors of an adverse work environment. This field of research, known as applied environmental biotechnology or as bioremediation. A process utilizes synergistic teams of microorganisms or microbial ecosystems, as we prefer to call them, to digest organic waste, the by-products of which are water and harmless carbon dioxide.

As the world's population expands, so too does the volume of waste that must be properly disposed. Today, only a small percentage of the world's water is potable and four fifths of all that water is used for agriculture. Public, commercial, and industrial wastewater is processed in a wastewater plant and then discharged into rivers, lakes and streams. Solid wastes typically are burned or buried in landfills where some of it will never biodegrade. Landfills are reaching capacity, years in advance of their design and operating permits. Rainwater that leaches through landfills and makes its way to the water table is polluting fresh water. The Environmental Protection Agency is exerting more pressure on landfill operators to be in compliance, which in turn, increases the cost of dumping. Landfills, incineration, ocean dumping, etc. are common disposal methods that have had a negative impact upon our environment.

Out of concern for our environment, the industrial biotechnology industry was born. Biotechnology, its products, services and technologies are quickly becoming the preferred alternatives over incineration, over-zealous use of harsh chemicals, ocean dumping, etc., are recognized now as antiquated and ill-thought practices.

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