Biochemical Aspects of Microbial Product Synthesis : a

Microbes are living unicellular or multicellular organisms (bacteria, archaea, most protozoa, and some fungi and algae) that must be greatly magnified to be seen. Despite their tiny size, they play an indispensable role for humanity and the health of ecosystems. For instance, until the discovery of an artificial nitrogen fixation process by the German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch in the first half of the 20th century, some soil microbes on the roots of peas, beans, and a few other plants were the solely responsible for the nitrogen release necessary for plants growth (Hager, 2008). This invention allowed to feed billions more people than the earth could support otherwise. Besides, humanity has exploited some of the vast microbial diversity like miniature chemical factories for thousands of years in the production of fermented foods and drinks, such as wine, beer, yogurt, cheese and bread. In fact, the use of yeast as the biocatalyst in foodstuffs making is thought to have begun around the Neolithic period (ca. 10 000‐4000 BCE), when early humans transitioned from hunter‐gatherers to living in permanent farming communities (Rasmussen, 2015). Vinegar, the first bio‐based chemical (not intended as a beverage) produced at a commercial scale was known, used and traded internationally before the time of the Roman Empire (Licht, 2014). The staggering transformation undergone by biotechnology from serendipity and black‐box concepts to rational science and increasing understanding of biological systems has led to not only a direct influence of microbes on human lives, but the emergence of new industries that take advantage of these organisms in Biochemical Aspects of Microbial Product Synthesis: a Relook G. Gallastegui, A. Larrañaga, Antonio Avalos Ramirez, and Thi Than Ha Pham