Real-World Applications of BIO-02 Microbes

1. Pharmaceuticals Industry:

Penicillium → Penicillin: billions of doses produced annually; ~15% of population allergic (use erythromycin alternative)
Streptomyces → Streptomycin: still used in TB multi-drug therapy; also in streptomycin-kanamycin combinations
Monascus purpureus → Lovastatin (Mevacor): statins are the most prescribed drug class globally; >200 million users worldwide
Trichoderma polysporum → Cyclosporin A (Sandimmune): transformed organ transplantation; 5-year kidney survival went from <50% to >85% after its introduction in the 1980s

2. Food Industry:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae: produced as dried yeast; 1.5 million metric tons/year consumed in food industry
Lactobacillus: probiotic supplements; yogurt and curd production; dietary B12 source for vegetarians
Aspergillus niger: >99% of industrial citric acid $\frac{2 million tonnes}{year}$ comes from fungal fermentation
Acetobacter aceti: table vinegar, wine vinegar, rice vinegar production

3. Sewage Treatment and Energy:

Methanobacterium in anaerobic digesters: the Delhi Okhla STP produces enough biogas to run the plant; some cities now use sewage biogas for city bus fuel
Activated sludge process: used in virtually all urban sewage treatment plants worldwide
Sludge cake: increasingly used as organic fertilizer substitute ("biosolids application")

4. Agriculture:

Bt crops: 190 million hectares of Bt crops grown globally (2023); Bt cotton dominant in India (>90% of cotton acreage is Bt)
Rhizobium inoculants: save ~$10 billion/year in synthetic nitrogen fertilizer costs globally
Mycorrhizal inoculants: sold commercially to nurseries and horticulture; reduces phosphate fertilizer needs