Importance of Microbiology Teaching and Microbial Resource Management for Sustainable Futures

Dr Kurtböke is an internationally reputed actinomycetologist and she has been in the field of biodiscovery since 1982 conducting research into discovery of novel and potent threpeutic compounds produced by actinomycetes in Turkey, Italy, the UK and Australia. Her most significant contribution has been the development of a novel isolation technique that selectively cultures rare actinomycetes with industrial importance which was adopted and applied by leading pharmaceutical companies since the 1990s. She has established bio-resource libraries for joint screening ventures with leading pharmaceutical companies in different settings since 1990s. Dr Kurtböke’s methodological strength in the field of actinomycetology played a key role in the detection of novel actinomycetes and contributed towards the establishment of yet another microbial library of bioactive actinomycetes at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) in Queensland, Australia since 2001. The library has been used for research and teaching activities at the USC as well as in partnership with regional, national and international collaborators for discovery of new drugs, agrobiologicals, enzymes and environmentally-friendly biotechnological innovations. Dr Kurtböke has been a member of the Biodiscovery Industry Panel established by the AusBiotech and DEHWA which networks Australian biodiscovery operators. She was also one of the founding members of the Australian Microbial Resources Research Network currently linked with the Atlas of Living Australia and implements a Biolomics system for microbial data sharing. She has also been an active member of the World Federation of Culture Collections (WFCC) including serving as the Vice-President of the Federation (2010-2013). WFCC provides a nest to the World Data Centre of Microorganisms (WDCM) which maintains large volumes of data from global culture collections. WFCC also strategically links with the OECD's Global Biological Resources Initiative and the Global Biological Information Facility for long term maintenance and conservation of microorganisms and related information. The fortcoming book titled Microbial Resources-from functional existence in nature to industrial applications edited by Dr Kurtb?ke will bring experts in the fields of microbial ecology, taxonomy, culture collections and industrial microbiology together to highlight the importance of microbial genetic resources for global sustainability and biotechnological innovations.

1. Pasteurisation for sustainable futures D. I. Kurtböke 2. Public perception of microorganisms and microbiology education: a need for enhancing society’s microbiology literacy Graça S. Carvalho and Nelson Lima 3. Skills and education for engineering biology Jim Philip 4. Multimedia in microbiology education: a critical sustainable resource Danilla Grando 5. Improving public understanding of microorganisms by integrating microbiology concepts into science teaching throughout the education system Megan L. Lloyd and Jemma A. Berry 6. Data management in culture collections Lorenz Christian Reimer and Andrey Yurkov 7. Quality and competence management in microbial biobanks Anabela Martins, Joaquim F. Martins da Silva, Paulo Sampaio and Nelson Lima 8. Microbial preservation for biotechnological development Supawadee Ingsriswang, Lily Eurwilaichitr, Suwanee Chunhametha, Piyanun Harnpicharnchai, Somsak Likhitrattanapisal and Supattra Kitikhun 9. Contribution of CABI and culture collections to a sustainable future through the utilisation of microbial genetic resources David Smith, Matthew J. Ryan and Thelma Caine 10. Understanding the ecological roles of dictyostelid Social amoebae for a sustainable future Phongthana Pasookhush, Chooseel Bunsuwansakul and Pravech Ajawatanawong 11. Yeast in a megadiverse country for sustainable futures Enrique Javier Carvajal Barriga, Patricia Portero-Barahona and Alexandra Narváez-Trujillo 12. Yeast as a model organism for teaching biotechnology and human cell biology leading to sustainable futures Ian G. Macreadie