Advanced Microbial Biotechnology

The aim of the course is to give the students a fundamental, theoretical background in microbial biotechnology, which can be defined as "any technological application that uses microbiological communities and systems, microbial organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”. In the course, the student will learn about how engineered whole cell systems can be used for analysis and bioremediation of pollutants in the environment, how individual microorganisms and consortia can be used for improving, for example, sustainable agriculture, and how microbes can be used for the production of industrially relevant enzymes, pharmaceutical molecules or food ingredients. Teachers from University of Copenhagen will give the core lectures; guest teachers from the relevant partners e.g. biotech industry will be involved in specific topics during the course.

The following topics will be covered:

• Microbial diversity as the basis for microbial biotechnology. Ecosystem services provided by microorganisms and their links to industrial, agricultural and environmental microbial biotechnology applications. The importance of identification and classification of microorganisms. Analysis of microbial populations in natural or engineered environments.
• Industrial microbial biotechnology for the production of relevant specialised (secondary) metabolites and enzymes. Isolation of microorganisms from diverse environments. Production and formulation of microorganisms. Production and detection of specialised metabolites.
• Microbial biotechnology in agriculture. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria as biofertilizers. Microbes stimulating abiotic stress tolerance, e.g., drought and salt stress. Biocontrol of plant pathogens by microorganisms (biological control agents). The impact of microorganisms causing plant disease including mycotoxins.
• Environmental microbial biotechnology. Bio-degradation and -remediation of organic compounds and xenobiotics, e.g. in water or soil systems. Microbial regulation of pollutants in drinking water. Application of probiotic microbes for water treatment in the aquaculture industry. 
• Biotechnology of bacteriophages. Bacteriophages as effective antimicrobials in biocontrol setups. Problems linked to the presence of bacteriophages in industrial microbial production. Bacteriophages as a source of novel enzymes for biotechnology. It is expected that the overall outcome from this course is to provide an understanding of the biological principles that can be manipulated using microorganisms and microbial consortia and the means by which this can be achieved.