ABSTRACT
Microorganisms play a central role in the production of a wide range of primary and secondary metabolites, industrial chemicals, enzymes, and antibiotics. The diversity of fermentation processes may be attributed to many factors, including the high surface-to-volume ratio and the ability to utilize a wide spectrum of carbon and nitrogen sources. The high surface-to-volume ratio supports a very high rate of metabolic turnover: for example, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been reported to be able to synthesize protein by several orders of magnitudes faster than plants. On the other hand, the ability of microorganisms to adapt to different metabolic environments makes them capable of utilizing inexpensive renewable resources such as wastes and by-products of the farming and petrochemical industries as the primary carbon source. Industrially important microorganisms include bacteria, yeasts, molds, and actinomycetes.
