Environmental Biotechnology And Application Of Biotechnological Tools And Methods

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Environmental Biotechnology and Application of Biotechnological Tools and Methods

Environmental biotechnology is understood as the application of biotechnological tools and methods used for the resolution of environmental problems, where those biotechnologies that use nature are also included (plant biotechnology, navy, agricultural, aquaculture, etc.). As the first definition, environmental biotechnology can be considered the union of two great disciplines, biotechnology, with its processes and tools (genetic, genomic, metabolomic, proteomic, enzymes, use of microorganisms, etc.) and ecology (study of ecosystems and their relationships with living beings). The combination of these disciplines (and their branches) are of great importance in the future since as we know, unfortunately, environmental problems are on the rise together with the human population and their relationship that are not very sustainable with the planet.

The interest in environmental biotechnology and its impact on economic activity is on a growing march given the continuous increase in environmental pollution and the increase in environmental regulations, which convert pollutant productive processes, previously allowed, in economically prohibitive processes (by Example Waste management in the hotel sphere). However, despite having regulations that prohibit these polluting acts, the use of environmental biotechnology continues to be overshadowed by the scarce or no interest of the population to information and care of the environment.

Most environmental biotechnology is based on waste management and pollution, avoiding or reducing it, as well as the use of techniques to recover and care for contaminated habitats. For this it is important that environmental biotechnologists work simultaneously with a wide range of organisms, from viruses to higher organisms such as plants or animals. As mentioned above, environmental biotechnology must work hand in hand with ecology, in addition to the biological processes of each organism (metabolism) and addressing the processes that regulate the abundance of these organisms in the environment (self-ecology). Other aspects of application in environmental biotechnology are inter and intra -specific interactions, the processes that favor the biodiversity of a community or its stability against disturbances, the principles that regulate the cycles of matter and energy and energy.

In recent years, environmental biotechnology has acquired an important role among the different biotechnology activities due to the main challenges of the 21st century: water and energy. Currently, having adequate water for the different uses and demands of human activities, socially presents a quality commitment, which often implies different treatments to eliminate or mitigate health risks (quality management systems) and improve the characteristics of water. This manipulation and consumption must be carried out continuously and sustainable. That commits us to ensure the return of water used to nature by maintaining the same quality to guarantee a limited or controlled impact on natural ecosystems (for example Aguakan).

The need for energy for different human activities, both domestic and industrial, agricultural and livestock, etc., The increase in the world population and a better quality of life for this growing population, have made the use of fossil energy sources be accelerating (more plastic, more gasoline) and, due to their limited availability and the Sustainability approach, we are forced to seek the availability of renewable energy sources and that are truly alternative. Environmental biotechnology can contribute much to development these processes, which allow us to have renewable energy sources. These renewable energies can lighten the global energy crisis, promoting energy production from renewable resources with low carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), which has serious repercussions on our planet (such as heat in Yucatan).

The areas of application of environmental biotechnology are related to the management of the environment and/or to the use of natural resources. These actions are performed in ecosystems (biological systems) with a final objective of preventing, mitigating or eliminating the presence of polluting compounds in the environment (Blanch, 2007).

Current interest activities in environmental biotechnology

Five large areas of application of environmental biotechnology differ, in which we will probably see the most remarkable contributions over the next few years:

1. Climate change. The control of CO2 emissions on the ground as well as the possibility of kidnapping important amounts of carbon through significant changes in routine agricultural practices, can become one of the contributions of environmental biotechnology (Rosenberg and Izourralde, 2001). Another aspect related to this area is the control or prevention of methane emissions from waste, agricultural practices and natural systems. Although they are in the study phase, there are some methodologies to try to eliminate atmospheric methane through metanotrophic bacteria of the soil (Boecks et al., 1997; Mohanty et al., 2006).
2. Alternative energies. It should be noted that so far the possible contributions by microorganisms are limited. Many of the proposals have been left at the experimental laboratory scale or at most in pilot plant trials. However, we cannot despise some potential contributions, such as hydrogen synthesis by new archeobacteria strains or the production of the so -called bioelectricity through microbial generators of energy within a very modest scale (Fuel Cells microbial). Other potential alternative energy sources are considering the use of microbial metabolism to produce natural gas (methane), ethanol or hydrogen. These units are based on generating electricity directly from the oxidation of organic compounds by bacterial metabolism (Lovley, 2006; du et al., 2007). The progress of techniques that are achieved in order to increase the large -scale energy performance of the different sources of bioenergy, mainly the synthesis of methane, ethanol and hydrogen will also be valued in the future.
3. Recycling processes. The effective recycling of many elements and compounds in ecosystems determines the environmental sustainability of certain human activities. Understanding the structure and functions of microorganisms can provide us with tools for decontamination of soils and sediments, the elimination of pollutants in the air and the degradation of recalcitrant compounds from different human activities. We can highlight in this area the microbial biodegradation of aromatic compounds derived from industrial activities that are essential to maintain the carbon cycle on the planet (Díaz et al., 2001).
4. Water resources. The quality in the supply of drinking water, the sanitation of the waters and its potential regeneration are becoming a primary challenge to be able to guarantee this resource with the appropriate quality required by the different human activities in many areas of the planet with limited water resources or Very variable (Jofre, 2007). It is increasingly important to identify the contamination of waters in their origin. The contributions of organic matter are among the most important contamination that the waters receive and, within this contribution, fecal pollution has a very important proportion, which comes mainly from urban wastewater, leachate and runoffs of livestock activities , of effluents of slaughterhouses and processing and manufacturing plants of food of animal origin. In recent years, important efforts are being made in the development of methodologies to detect the origin of fecal pollution in surface waters and be able to detect, contain and eliminate this type of fecal pollution closely linked to water transmission diseases (Blanch et al., 2006). There has also been more interest in the detection of pollutants and pathogens in the water in order to determine health risks and take measures for control and/or elimination.
5. Health and Environment. The excessive use of antibiotics has resulted in the selection of resistance to some of them by some bacterial populations in the intestinal treatment of animals that are used in the human food chain. That has contributed to the appearance of antibiotic -resistant pathogens in human medicine. Consequently, the knowledge and management of intestinal bacterial populations – both humans and animals related to the food chain – and other extintestinal microbial populations, whether symbiot or diners, which are directly or indirectly related to the State sanitary, they are acquiring an essential role. Recent knowledge in this area allows us to establish new active and alternative processes for the prevention and control of diseases causing diseases (Waters and Bassler, 2005). It is necessary to add that the increase in people’s mobility throughout the planet, accompanied by a globalized economy that allows easier mobility and more material resources and consequently more microorganisms, has facilitated the extension of certain infectious diseases that were territorially limited and At the same time, it has also contributed to the appearance of so -called emerging pathogens. We need new control techniques of infectious agents not only in the clinical or sanitary environment but also in the environment.

Conclusions

In recent years, environmental biotechnology has provided us with new tools for the sustainable management of natural and environmental resources, which at the same time generate a global improvement for quality of life for all living beings. It is important to use knowledge from different scientific fields and the initiative by future biotechnologists, which together allows us to develop new biotechnological applications in the control of pollutants, the regulation of the cycle of the elements, the management of the management of Water and energy resources and climatic improvement. It is necessary to know the origin of the changes on our planet and how to remedy the damages caused.

Bibliographic references

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