Microbial spores: Concepts and industrial applications

Several microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, yeast, algae, actinomycetes and protozoa are well known for their ability to form spores. Spores have inherently distinct life cycle as compared to vegetative cells making them able to resist various unfavourable environmental conditions like extreme temperature, radiations, desiccation, toxic chemicals, etc. Keeping in view their vast potential, the use of spores has led to several breakthrough researches in order to develop a large number of spore-based products in the fields of biosensing, biocontrol, biofertilizers, biocatalysis, biosorption, biopolymers, biological warfare, medicine, probiotics and surface display. Most of these products are now available commercially and thus indicate the indispensable potential of microbial spores. The current chapter gives information about the concept of microbial spores and its potential industrial applications in aforementioned fields. Furthermore, attention has also been paid to the current status, associated challenges and future perspectives for spore-based technologies.