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Objectives Description Deliverables Partner Biodiversity Project: MICRODIV1
Microbial Biodiversity and Biotechnological Opportunities in the Humid Tropics Description The enormous biodiversity within microorganisms is beginning to be recognized, but our knowledge of this richness, particularly bacterial biodiversity, is so meager that we do not yet know if and when most species are threatened. The unit of biodiversity is the species, which may be defined as: "a group of related organisms that is distinguished from similar groups by a constellation of significant genotypic, phenotypic, and ecological characteristics." At the present, only about 4000 species of bacteria have been described, whereas the estimated total number of bacterial species is approximately 3,000.000, most probably a significant underestimation.    
Biotechnology harnesses living organisms which are components of the Earth's biodiversity, to produce or modify products or undertake specific tasks or processes that commonly are beneficial to human society, or generate useful substances. Thus, the relationship between biodiversity and biotechnology is particularly close. Biotechnology can be understood as "natural product" of biodiversity. The more biodiversity that is maintained, the more opportunities are available for present and future exploration. New products and processes, the keys to the future development of biotechnology, are as dependent on new sources of biomaterials as on the scientific ingenuity required to discover, evaluate and develop such sources. It must follow therefore that the greater the biodiversity, the greater the opportunity for discoveries that may ultimately be translated into valuable biotechnologies. The proposed WORKSHOP faces the challenges of this emerging field of scientific and economic interest. The practical course in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, is trying to cover these challenges as a central activity of the proposed WORKSHOP, and will enable the participants to enrich, characterize and identify new microbial isolates and primary evaluate their biotechnological potential. Seminars and exercises as listed below will be given:
Attendees of the course should be advanced or graduate students, researchers, or professionals working at private institutions, familiar with basic microbiological and/or molecular genetic methods. The number of participants will be about 20-25 persons. The theoretical and practical content of the course is outlined in the practical Annex.    
Microorganisms possess an overwhelming variety of enzymes to synthesize and degrade natural compounds or modify natural and synthetic organics. Basic research is currently revealing a sharply increasing knowledge on the properties of such enzyme systems, and on the potential for their applications in the traditional and new emerging biotechnological industries, as well as analytical and medical sciences. The screening for new isolates with new or significant enhanced enzymatic system properties, followed by qualitative assays, and quantification of synthesis, degradation or transforming properties, is the first milestone towards the development of new biotechnologies. The microbial biodiversity bears a great potential for the economic development of the Pan-Amazonian region. The transfer of expertise in identifying economic opportunities and practical know-how to isolate and characterize new microbial species will contribute to the EC sustainable development policies for developing countries. By learning such methods, the development of local scientific working groups, focused on the isolation and characterization of microbial species, will be enhanced. The Workshop will summarize the up to date thematic fields, which deal with microbial biodiversity and their potential to generate added value. The main objective of this Workshop is to discuss the development of guidelines for decision makers to implement CBD postulates. Brazilian experts should disseminate their experiences to other Pan-Amazonian countries and provide their knowledge, how to fulfill objectives covered by the CBD issues. Invited Speakers Dr. Gilberto Buenaño Prof. Dr. Mirja Salkinoja-Salonen, Senior Scientist at DACM, University of Helsinki, Finland Prof. Dr. Antonio de Lisio, Director of CENAMB, UCV, Caracas, Venezuela Prof. Dr. Jose Alberto Machado, Director of the Faculty for Amazonian Social-Economic Studies, at UFAM, Manaus, Brazil Dr. Maria-Lucia Harada, Senior Scientist at CCB,UFPA, Brazil Prof. Dr. João Lucio de Azevedo, Coordinator of NIB, at UMC, Brazil |
