Microbial diversity as a source of useful biopolymers

The few examples presented here, taken from research performed in my laboratory during the last 15 years, provide additional evidence that bacteria are a rich source of highly specialized polymers, many of which have potential commercial applications. Although modern molecular genetics is a valuable tool for modifying and overproducing proteins, the wonderful diversity of the microbial world remains the major source for discovering new and useful biopolymers. More than ever, the rate-limiting steps in discovering these microbial materials are imagination and techniques for enriching and screening for microorganisms that produce the desired products.