The bacteria are becoming stars of biology

"Biotechnologies have mainly been used in medicine and agriculture but their biggest impact will concern the industry," explained in 2004 Carl Feldbaum. The prediction of the former guru of the American Biotechnology Industry Organization marked Jean Weissenbach, Director General of the national Centre of sequencing. This is precisely the industry that the investigator was with the new orientation of the Evry Génopôle last week. "We will continue our traditional activities of mapping and sequencing the genomes of animals or plants, but it must now go further, believe.". "We decided to inventory the genes of bacteria involved in the catalytic activity of nature to identify the most interesting enzymes".

The Génopôle researchers remain cautious but they think that the study of these simple (prokaryotic) single-celled organisms can upset the industrial world as he has already revolutionized the Pharmacy and part of the chemistry. The effectiveness of the biochemical reactions of the prokaryotic world promises in particular to respond to three large heavy chemistry problems: the price of oil, its main resource, the need to save energy and do not pollute.

In the Netherlands, an industrial currently experimenting a bacteriological wastewater treatment reactor that uses the Anammox (read here). The excellent Nijmegen microbiology laboratory is at the origin of this innovation. This system avoids the classical reactions of sewage, very energy-consuming and consuming oxygen.

In France, the Génopôle continued for some years sequencing of bacteria of the basins of purification with Suez to "put a little science" in these processes, for the time being managed empirically. But it is in the United States that the largest program, "genomes to life", was launched. The U.S. Department of energy (DoE) includes improve its bacterial remediation of soils contaminated by the salts of uranium on its nuclear sites. The DoE intends to

also explore the bio - routes

logic synthesis of hydrogen.

The bacteria are becoming stars of biology. It is their all virtues other than their "pathogenic" property, forgotten limit. For research, prokaryotic promise answers to many of the scientific issues. They opened the life there are 3.5 billion years, only 1 billion after the appearance of the planet. They are found everywhere in our environment, especially in the cycle of CO2, full derailment. "Bacteria can colonize many different ecological niches. "They are found in the Antarctic, in hot springs at more than 100 C, they are resistant to some acid, alkaline or saline environments" admire the geneticist.

The lack of interest in students

Most of this research, it is true, will require time before applications. About 99 of bacteria are unable to be grown in pure population, they survive only in other species. Researchers are therefore not with conventional methods of sequencing an individual but by metagenomics. It is to decipher the genome of a bacteriological soup and statistically infer the genes in a population. However, as the bacteria have only a few thousands of genes, it is easier than with other beings living to identify and model interesting biological functions.

Few people even before the issue of these research. Pierre tambourine, the pattern of the genome and regrets the lack of interest in students for environmental Genomics: "we have difficulty in recruiting, it is a drag on our projects." Researchers further deplore the indifference of the industry. "Even our partner Suez simply we deliver buckets of sewage sludge", laughs a little yellow Jean Weissenbach. "This industrial mutation will take much time, chemistry is a cruise ship, its processes have lifetimes of fifty years" said Philippe Mallière, Scientific Director of the Génopôle.