Question

1. Explain how microbial biotechnology could be used in an agricultural application and in a medical application. (200 words).

2. Among the four major types of vaccines (discussed in your book), list and explain which type is very effective and popular. Explain why vaccines are not available for all the major diseases and elaborate on how microbial biotechnology could address this issue. (200 words).
3. What are the advantages of phage therapy? In what situations is it available? What is the scope of phage therapy in the United States? What are the two modes of action through which phages could be employed against superbugs? (200 words)
4. Perform a Science Daily or PubMed literature search (for articles published this year and last year) to identify two applications of microbial biotechnology. Briefly describe those applications providing primary references (not the Science Daily Reference) to those resources. (200 words)
5. What are lantibiotics? How do they differ from small molecule antibiotics and from other biological peptides? (150 words)

Answer 1

Microbial biotechnology is used in agriculture to improve crop resistance and in medicine to produce therapeutic proteins and vaccines. Phage therapy offers advantages in treating antibiotic-resistant infections, with potential for broader use in the United States. Lantibiotics are a unique class of antimicrobial peptides with distinct properties compared to traditional antibiotics.

Step-by-step explanation:

Microbial biotechnology leverages microorganisms to advance technology in various sectors. In agriculture, it improves crop yields and quality by enhancing plants' resistance to disease, pests, and environmental stress. In medicine, this technology is utilized to produce recombinant proteins, such as cytokines, to fight infections in individuals with certain genetic conditions.

There are various types of vaccines, including live attenuated, inactivated, subunit, and mRNA vaccines. Live attenuated vaccines are highly effective and popular because they induce strong and long-lasting immune responses. However, vaccines are not available for all major diseases, often due to variability in pathogens. Microbial biotechnology can address this by using microbial genomics to produce improved vaccines and advanced disease treatments through personalized medicine approaches.

Phage therapy has several advantages, such as specificity for bacterial targets and minimizing damage to beneficial microbiota. Currently available in certain clinical trials and compassionate use cases in the United States, phage therapy shows potential in dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Two modes of action against superbugs are through the lytic cycle, which destroys the bacteria, and through genetically engineered phages that deliver genes to disrupt bacterial resistance mechanisms.

Lantibiotics are antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria, known to kill or inhibit the growth of other bacteria. They are larger and more complex than small molecule antibiotics, offering a different spectrum of activity and targeting mechanisms compared to conventional antibiotics and other antimicrobial peptides.