Environmental Microbiology, Soil Microbiology & Microbial Biogeochemistry

Microbes have been used to produce products for thousands of years. Even in ancient times, vinegar was made by filtering alcohol through wood shavings, allowing microbes growing on the surfaces of the wood pieces to convert alcohol to vinegar. Likewise, the production of wine and beer uses another microbe — yeast — to convert sugars to alcohol. Even though people did not know for a long time that microbes were behind these transformations, it did not stop them from making and selling these products. Both of these are early examples of biotechnology — the use of microbes for economic or industrial purposes. This field advanced considerably with the many developments in microbiology, such as the invention of the microscope. Once scientists learned about the genetics of microbes, and how their cells produce proteins, microbes could also be altered to function in many new, and useful, ways. This sparked the application of biotechnology to many industries, such as agriculture, energy and medicine.