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1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Microorganisms

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The term “microorganisms” refer to organisms that are so minute that the human eye cannot discern their structure. Almost all the unicellular organisms are included in the category of microorganisms. However, many multicellular organisms are microscopic. The microbes may also exist as cell clusters. Microbes are not limited to only eubacteria and archaea but also includes members from fungi, protozoa, algae, and viruses. Ribosomal RNA is considered a crucial molecule to draw an authentic classification of the life forms. On the basis of comparative rRNA sequence analysis, a basal universal phylogenetic tree had been inferred by Carl Woese [1], representing the overview of organismal history. This phylogenetic tree hypothesized the common origin of all forms of life, emphasizing the importance of microorganisms in the biological diversity at the Earth.

The global compilation of microbiological data has estimated the existence of about 1 trillion microbial species at the Earth [2]. The Earth Microbiome Project had been established in the year 2020, with the main objective to document the uncultured microbial diversity and the functional potential thereof [3]. In the project, sampling of the Earth's microbial communities is being done on an unprecedented scale. Recently, a total of 27 751 samples had been collected from 43 countries to characterize the microbial communities of diverse physicochemical properties and exposed to a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors [4].

Bioprospecting of Microorganism-Based Industrial Molecules

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