The development of biotechnology over the last 20 years, and
particularly the use of recombinant DNA techniques, has rapidly expanded
the opportu- ties for human benefits from living resources. Efforts to
reduce pollution, p- vent environmental damage, combat microbial
infection, improve food production, and so on can each involve
fermentation or the environmental - lease of microorganisms. Many
products of fermentation technology, such as alcoholic beverages, bread,
antibiotics, amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, and others, have been
influenced by the progress of recombinant DNA techniques. The
development of new products or the more efficient manufacturing of those
already being produced often involve the use of microorganisms as cell
fac- ries for many productions and biotransformations. Microbial
Processes and Products is intended to provide practical expe- mental
laboratory procedures for a wide range of processes and products me-
ated by microorganisms. Although not an exhaustive treatise, it provides
a detailed "step-by-step" description of the most recent developments in
such applied biotechnological processes. The detailed protocols we
provide are cross-referenced in the Notes section, contain critical
details, lists of problems and their troubleshooting, as well as safety
recommendations that may not n- mally appear in journal articles and can
be particularly useful for those un- miliar with specific techniques.
