Marine Biotechnology Based on Marine Microorganisms

Marine biotechnology is expected to be a key technology in future bioindustry. The authors have been focusing on the utilization of marine microorganisms as novel bioresources for production of useful materials such as biomass, enzymes, and fine chemicals as hosts for heterologous gene expression, for biogas production, and for biological carbon dioxide fixation. Consequently, we have screened marine microorganisms from sea water, constructed gene manipulating systems as well as host-vector systems, and developed bioreactors and monitoring systems. In this review, we summarize our recent research on marine biotechnology based on marine microorganisms.