(US7,862,721) on method for decontaminating heavy metal-containing flows by
culturing alkaliphilic sulfate-reducing bacteria. Geo Fossil Fuels, LLC is a Coloradobased energy company engaging in microbial enhanced oil recovery. An example of
their portfolio is US patent 9,290,688 for a method of enhanced oil recovery using
natural or genetically engineered obligatory alkaliphilic microbes. US patent application publication 20,170,313,948 claims a process for biodegradation of hydrocarbons in an oily sludge. The method applies a mixture of soil bacteria cultivations,
including alkaliphiles. Exiguobacterium isolates capable of neutralizing wastewater
have been protected (e.g., US 7,396,671) for Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (India).
Alkaliphilic bacteria in agriculture are exemplified by the Chinese patent application CN102515977 that discloses a water-holding root-promoting halophilic
alkalophilic microorganism and a root dipping liquid comprising such microbe.
Japanese patent application 200,184,685 discloses a material comprising alkaliphilic
bacterial to improve soil by converting alkaline soil to become more suitable for
agriculture.
Patents related to the development of bioplastics are exemplified by the US patent
8,841,113 issued in 2014 for Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology, in which a novel alkaliphilic bacterium (a strain of
Enterococcus casseliflavus) was patented for producing lactic acid. Japanese patent
publication JP2000245491 discloses a method to prepare raw material for bioplastics
by culturing Streptococcus lactobacillus in distillery waste of Imojotyu (liquor
distilled from sweet potato).
Getting an integral picture of patents around alkaliphilic microbes is not straightforward (excluding the enzymes) due to the variety of the microbes. The examples
above are intended to give an idea of the areas of patent activities. Since the patent
literature becomes public only 18 months after the filing, the most recent patent
applications are not yet even public. Within next few years, one can expect a boom in
the number of patent publications in areas such as treating or processing microplastic
waste.
References
1. Horikoshi K (1999) Alkaliphiles: some applications of their products for biotechnology.
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 63:735–750. http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/114/04/
0845.pdf
2. Paavilainen S (1995) Carbohydrate catabolism in alkaliphilic bacilli. Academic Dissertation,
University of Turku, Finland. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis. ISBN 951-29-0628-7
3. Doelle H (1975) Bacterial metabolism, 2nd edn. Academic Press, New York
4. Paavilainen S, Oinonen S, Korpela T (1999) Catabolic pathways of glucose in Bacillus
circulans var. alkalophilus. Extremophiles 3:269–276
5. Paavilainen S, Helistö P, Korpela T (1994) Conversion of carbohydrates to organic acids by
alkaliphilic bacilli. J Ferment Bioeng 78:217–222
186
E. Khalikova et al.
culturing alkaliphilic sulfate-reducing bacteria. Geo Fossil Fuels, LLC is a Coloradobased energy company engaging in microbial enhanced oil recovery. An example of
their portfolio is US patent 9,290,688 for a method of enhanced oil recovery using
natural or genetically engineered obligatory alkaliphilic microbes. US patent application publication 20,170,313,948 claims a process for biodegradation of hydrocarbons in an oily sludge. The method applies a mixture of soil bacteria cultivations,
including alkaliphiles. Exiguobacterium isolates capable of neutralizing wastewater
have been protected (e.g., US 7,396,671) for Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (India).
Alkaliphilic bacteria in agriculture are exemplified by the Chinese patent application CN102515977 that discloses a water-holding root-promoting halophilic
alkalophilic microorganism and a root dipping liquid comprising such microbe.
Japanese patent application 200,184,685 discloses a material comprising alkaliphilic
bacterial to improve soil by converting alkaline soil to become more suitable for
agriculture.
Patents related to the development of bioplastics are exemplified by the US patent
8,841,113 issued in 2014 for Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology, in which a novel alkaliphilic bacterium (a strain of
Enterococcus casseliflavus) was patented for producing lactic acid. Japanese patent
publication JP2000245491 discloses a method to prepare raw material for bioplastics
by culturing Streptococcus lactobacillus in distillery waste of Imojotyu (liquor
distilled from sweet potato).
Getting an integral picture of patents around alkaliphilic microbes is not straightforward (excluding the enzymes) due to the variety of the microbes. The examples
above are intended to give an idea of the areas of patent activities. Since the patent
literature becomes public only 18 months after the filing, the most recent patent
applications are not yet even public. Within next few years, one can expect a boom in
the number of patent publications in areas such as treating or processing microplastic
waste.
References
1. Horikoshi K (1999) Alkaliphiles: some applications of their products for biotechnology.
Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 63:735–750. http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/114/04/
0845.pdf
2. Paavilainen S (1995) Carbohydrate catabolism in alkaliphilic bacilli. Academic Dissertation,
University of Turku, Finland. Annales Universitatis Turkuensis. ISBN 951-29-0628-7
3. Doelle H (1975) Bacterial metabolism, 2nd edn. Academic Press, New York
4. Paavilainen S, Oinonen S, Korpela T (1999) Catabolic pathways of glucose in Bacillus
circulans var. alkalophilus. Extremophiles 3:269–276
5. Paavilainen S, Helistö P, Korpela T (1994) Conversion of carbohydrates to organic acids by
alkaliphilic bacilli. J Ferment Bioeng 78:217–222
186
E. Khalikova et al.