Techniques for selection of industrially important microorganisms

The screening of microorganisms for the production of useful products continues to be an important aspect of biotechnology. Although advances in instrumentation, genetics, and microbial physiology are having an impact, screening programs are still primarily based on so-called classical techniques of enrichment and mutagenesis. One area that needs strengthening is the advancement of knowledge in microbial physiology. Recent surveys indicate that industry leaders see trained microbial physiologists as being the limiting factor in development of biotechnology in the coming decade. The largest impediment to development of new screening techniques is the ironic lack of programs specifically directed at developing new techniques. Too much emphasis is placed on using available techniques and relying on sheer labor and screening of vast numbers of organisms to produce novel products. In this respect, the Japanese are the exception and have proven that the establishment of new programs is worth the cost and effort. They are undoubtedly the world leaders in development of screening techniques and consequently the discovery of novel products. The isolation of microbes from novel and extreme environments holds tremendous promise in two areas. First, as Omura (46) and others (9, 48, 65) state, novel organisms will yield novel products. Second, such organisms serve as models for the understanding of structure and function that will facilitate the genetic manipulation of organisms and advance our ability to engineer novel enzymes. Hopefully such advances will enable genetic and protein engineering to have a greater impact on screening programs and techniques in the future. The earth holds a vast amount of varied and unique environments, from natural extremes such as high-altitude deserts and thermal springs, to manmade environments such as industrial-waste-treatment facilities, from which, with the appropriate methods and techniques, we may isolate and evaluate new potential products.