 The Fermentation and Biotechnology Division serves members with interests in the molecular biology, genetics, biosynthesis, and bioconversions of natural products including antibiotics, xenobiotics, and macromolecules produced by procaryote and eucaryote microorganisms and animal cell cultures. Programming is directed toward modern molecular aspects of biotechnology and industrial microbiology. |
ASM Scientific Achievement Awards - Nomination deadline October 1, 2007Notes from Division O Chair
The current day ethanol production facility is already being modified into a biorefinery where renewable commodites and higher value bioproducts will be produced and converted into polymers and other products. The new tools of genomics will allow for a focus on the development of tailor made feedstocks that can be used by tailor made fermentation microbes. ASM recently released a report on microbial energy conversion. For more information, please see: report on microbial energy conversion. This report is based on a March 2006 American Academy of Microbiology colloquium in San Francisco. The report addresses the need for clean, renewable sources of energy. Colloquium participants made a number of recommendations for moving forward with research and education in this important field. One of the recommendations was to have interdisciplinary cooperation and work in teams to carry out multidisciplinary research. The recent interest in microbial energy technologies bodes well for our Division. I think you'll agree with me, these are interesting times. |
There has been considerable recent interest in the renewable production of energy. While we have know for some time the role that microbes play in various fermentation processes for producing ethanol and other liquid fuels, the application of the new tools of systems biology offers us an exciting opportunity to produce feedstocks and microbes in a more concerted and tailored fashion. The study of microbial-based fuel production is by its nature multidisciplinary in nature, involving microbiologists, plant scientists, engineers, chemists, plant breeders, economists and bioinformaticists. This integrated multi-disciplinary approach to solving the problems associated with biomass conversion will involve the skills of many different experts, working together to overcome bottlenecks in the continuum. The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to a carbon neutral liquid fuel has been described in the same vein as the "Apollo" moon program.