Scope of Microbiology:

It has impact on medicine, agriculture, food science, ecology, genetics, biochemistry, immunology and many other fields. Based on the specific groups of the microorganisms, the specialists are known as bacteriologist (Specialist in Bacteria study), virologists (specialist in virus study), mycologist (specialist in fungi study) and so on. Hence, different branches of microbiology has different role in the advancement pharmaceutical sciences where microbiologists are actively involved in research study.

Some of the recent scopes are highlighted below--------

1. Ecology and environment: 

  Bacteria are primary decomposers as they recycle nutrients back into the environment. 

  Winogradsky and M. Beijerinck studied soil microbes and their roles in the sulfur, carbon, nitrogen biochemical cycles. 

  Some bacteria are used as bio-pesticides to control Insects pest. For example, Bacillus thuringiensis. 

  Microbes are also used to clean up pollutants and toxic wastes through bioremediation. For example, Pseudomonas putida is used to remove petroleum spill. 

2. Food microbiology: 

  Microbes are used in various food and dairy industries to produce various food products like cheese, pickles, sauerkraut, green olives, yogurt, soy sauce, vinegar, bread etc. Pasteur (1856) described fermentation technology which helped in production of Beer, Wine, Alcohol etc. 

3. Medicines: clinical and pharmaceutical microbiology: 

  Disease Treatment: Microbes are used to produce Antibiotics like Penicillium notatum (Penicillin); discovered by Alexander Fleming (1928). Bacteria also synthesize vitamins which are needed for our body like E. coli. Vitamin-B and K are needed for metabolism and blood clotting respectively. Recently, gene therapy for treatment of genetic diseases is advanced scope of microbiology in medical field. 

 4. Vaccine and immunology: 

  Vaccine activates immune response. Sir Edward Jenner inoculated people with cowpox to protect against smallpox. Thereafter Pasteur developed the rabies vaccine (1885), Von Behring and Kitasato (1890) produced toxoid vaccine against diphtheria and tetanus. Furthermore Metchnikoff (1884) described role of phagocytic cell in defense. 

5. Genetic engineering: 

  Microorganisms are used in Recombinant DNA Technology to manipulate their gene for the production of enzymes, hormones, interferons, etc. Microorganisms are used as model organism in molecular biology. 

 6. Biochemistry and physiology: 

  Microorganisms are used as a model for study of many biochemical and physiological processes. 

 7. Industrial microbiology: 

  Microbes are used in economic and industrial purposes. Like Biotechnology, fermentation technology, food and beverages etc. are now established on large industrial scale for income and there is a scope of Patients right for procedure used. Proteases, amylase from bacillus are used in textile and detergent industries. Thiobacillus is used in metal processing from mines. Methanococcus is used for the production of methane in fuel industry.

8. Agriculture microbiology: 

  Genetic engineering is used for the production of transgenic plants and animals for better production, resistant to environmental fluctuation. Transgenic animals or plants are used as bioreactor for mass production through molecular farming. 

 9. Geochemical microbiology: 

  Bioleaching: Recovery of minerals from low grade ores also plays a role in geochemical cycle. 

 10. Exomicrobiology: 

  It is also exploring for life in outer space.

Importance of Microbiology  

Microbiology is a part of our daily life and plays vital role to health care system. The importance of microbiology began with the discovery of antibiotics which prevent serious infections.

Pharmaceutical industry: Pharmacists are discovering various antimicrobial drugs to prevent an escalating number of communicable diseases by understanding the human cell mechanism. They work with microbiologists to ensure that drug therapies target the opportunistic microbes without harming its human host. Another important role in pharmaceuticals is the use of medically important studies on microbes, such as Bacteriorhodopsin, a protein from the plasma membrane of Halobacterium salinarum. 

 Medical devices: Microbiology plays a significant role in medical devices like fluorescent fusion. It is mainly used for fast and precise detection of pathogens in tissue samples. It is a technology for carrying out immunofluorescence studies that may be applied to find specific cells in complex biological systems. Thereafter ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes are devices which detect anthrax and other bioterrorism agents in the air. 

 Cosmetic microbiology: Microbial contamination in cosmetic products is a major concern to the industry. Contamination with microorganisms is become a major cause of both product and economic losses. Not only that, they are also converted into products hazardous for consumers. The water and nutrients present in cosmetics make them susceptible to microbial growth. More often, microorganisms are the cause of offensive odours, and changes in viscosity and colour. Microbiological processes are used in waste treatment, particularly dumping, waste incineration, composting and biomethanization.