Question

Pick one way that bacteria are currently being developed so that they may have a greater impact on the world. This could be for an ecological impact, medical, food, industrial, or anything else, but it must be a new development or technology.

Answer 1

Genetically mutated Flavobacterium is under research to be used as phototonic pigments. In their scientific paper Living colors: Genetic manipulation of structural color in bacterial colonies, Villads Egede Johansen el al., have described their findings on the genetics of structural color. Flavobacterium contains pigments that produce metallic colors in colonies. Genetically mutating the bacteria, to alter the shapes of the colonies, the researchers were able to change the original metallic green color to various colors of the entire light spectrum. This finding can be utilized in manufacturing of nanostructured materials that are biodegradable and can be manufactured into non-toxic paints, that can be optimised to change color when stimulated externally and also can interface with other living tissues, which will make them adaptable to variable environment.