Preface

Since the first world war, microorganisms have been exploited industrially, on a large scale. They have been used for production of antibiotics, enzymes, vitamins, etc. In future, organic acids are likely to emerge as among the most important fermentation products, particularly as building blocks for polymer products.

Besides production of novel microbial products, process intensification and scale-up are among the most exciting and challenging areas in this field. This paper will make the students aware of the applied and biotechnological aspects of commercially important microorganisms. Further the research on extremophiles is likely to open new doors in this branch of biology.