Abstract

Microorganisms are the oldest and most versatile organisms we can find in nature. They were able, thanks to their long evolutionary history, to colonize nearly each ecological niche found on earth. Classical microbiology includes among microorganisms bacteria, protozoa, algae and yeast, i.e. those unicellular microscopic organisms, which have fundamental functions at the basis of the ecology of the environment but can also cause damages and pathologies.
From the point of view of the cosmetics industry, microorganisms may represent both a curse and a great opportunity: Contaminating microorganisms represent a serious and expensive problem in production plants, for product stability and for the safety of final products. On the other side, fermentation processes driven by microorganisms can produce precious ingredients for the industry in a cheap and efficient way. In addition to that, biotechnology and genetic engineering have paved the road toward even more versatile and useful uses of microorganisms.
The seminar provides an insight into the world of microorganisms and into those aspects correlated with microbiological analysis, preservation and biocides and, last but not least, in the uses of microorganism to produce novel ingredients for the cosmetics industry.

ABSTRACTS OF THE SPEECHES

Evolution, genetics, ecology and features of microorganisms: C+O+H+N+S+P + oligoelements + energy.
Florian Weighardt - Associate Editor at HPC _Today - TeknoScienze Srl.

Microorganisms are not a defined class of organisms; they include prokaryotes, i.e. bacteria and archaea, and eukaryotes, i.e. fungi (yeast), algae, protozoa, etc.
Microorganisms, in particular prokaryotes, were able during evolution to adapt to nearly all environments found in nature, from extreme environments in terms of temperature, radiations, salinity, pH value, presence/absence of oxygen, presence of toxic compounds, etc., to “normal” environments. Most of them are able so synthesize all compounds they need starting from simple sources of chemical energy and elementary sources of few elements like carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, phosphate and some more rare elements.
Microorganisms are at the basis of all ecological systems. Several of them can live in symbiotic relationships with other organisms or be pathogens. They are able to produce complex molecules, or degrade co ...