Modern era of microbial biotechnology: opportunities and future prospects

Abstract In the classical era, the application of microbial technology was restricted to foods and beverages. With the progress in physical sciences, microbial biotechnology accelerated and led to innovations in biological science, food science, sustainable agriculture, and medical science. Development in biotechnological techniques allows the quick identification of novel molecules, accurate nomenclature of microorganisms, or strains improvement of known species through the involvement of genetic manipulations techniques. Currently, several beneficial microbes have been exploited for various purposes; however, the role of microbes in agriculture as plant growth promoters and biocontrol against phytopathogens have been widely explored. Besides the crucial role of microbes in agriculture, various microbes are also discovered and manipulated for industries application and value addition in food products, search and production of secondary metabolites of wide uses, drug productions through microbial interventions, and microbial biosensors are the prime attractions of microbial biotechnology in the modern era. Further, microbes have been recognized as biofactories and have been utilized for the synthesis of diverse chemicals, fuel molecules, industrial polymers, and genetically modified strains which are environmentally important due to their decomposing or adsorption capacity. Hence, in the current chapter, an attempt has been made to cover the wide application of microbial biotechnology that benefited not only humanity but also extended benefits for attaining environmental sustainability in the modern era.