Kusol Pootanakit, Ph.D.

Microorganisms are untapped natural resources. They are found everywhere on earth – the highest mountain, the deepest ocean, the driest desert, the most acidic mine runoff, and even the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Only a few percentages of them are harmful to us, the vast majority of them do not cause us any harm, and quite a few of them are even beneficial to our lives and health. One of our main interest is on metagenomics of unique environments, currently the karstic caves. This is because cave is considered an extreme habitat with its dark and nutrient-limiting environment. Thus, novel and beneficial microorganisms should be found therein. Using metagenomics techniques, our laboratory have identified several unique bacteria species found in the Khao Wang Khamen area. Metabolic profiling of such caves also identified potential genes for antibiotics production.

Besides antibiotics, microorganisms are also well known as producers of useful enzymes (phytase, cellulase, endoglucanase, etc.) for use in various industries. Our laboratory, together with people from BIOTEC, through genetic engineering and heterologous expression are looking for ways to produce better and cheaper such enzymes. Additionally, our laboratory have worked or are currently working on other usefulness of microorganisms in the area of bioenergy (better yield of algal triacyglycerol, a precursor to biodiesel) and also as biocontrol agents (entomopathogenic bacteria and fungi).