Preface

NELDA LILA OLIVERA; DIEGO LIBKIND; EDGARDO DONATI

Biology and Biotechnology of Patagonian Microorganisms

SPRINGER

Año: 2016; p. 5 - 6

Patagonia is a vast and heterogeneous territory that extends along the southernmost part of the Americas (approximately from 40°S to 56°S). This region occupies part of Chilean and Argentinean territories. Argentinean Patagonia, in which this book is focused, extends east of the Andes and south of the Colorado River having an area of about 790,000 km2. This region includes large extensions of arid plains, forest, mountains and glaciers, fertile valleys, and wide sea shores. These offer a great diversity of selective environments scarcely explored which are suitable for the bioprospection of biotechnological-relevant microorganisms. The aim of Biology and Biotechnology of Patagonian Microorganisms is to provide readers from the academic and biotechnological environment with a concise and clearly illustrated treatment of outstanding topics of Patagonian microbiology and biotechnology. The investigations included in this book represent interesting examples of how the microbial world is a highly significant source of valuable technology that can modify and boost regional economy and progress. The book is subdivided into three parts, preceded by a geo-historical introduction to Patagonia. The first part introduces the reader to the field of environmental microbiology, including insights into microbial communities from hydrocarbon and heavy metal polluted sites and degraded lands resulting from natural events and human economic activities. The second part gives an overview of the biotechnological potential of Patagonian microorganisms. Bioprospection of antimicrobials, enzymes and other bioactive compounds produced by extremophilic microorganisms is discussed. Important aspects of Patagonian microorganism application in biomining, winery, brewing and aquaculture are also addressed. Moreover, included is a discussion on antibiotic resistant isolates. The third part of this book deals with Patagonian yeast with biotechnological potential, particularly their application in industrial fermentations (e.g. wine and beer industry) and food biopreservation.The editors would like to thank all of the authors for their willingness to participate in this book and for their excellent contributions. We also acknowledge the Associate Editor João Victor Pildervasser (Life Sciences, Springer-SBM) who invited us to be editors of this book and to Springer International Publishing AG staff for their outstanding assistance and guidance. Finally, we extent our gratitude to the funding sources Ministerio de Educación y Deportes, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva and CONICET, Argentina.