Gluconobacter oxydans is a well-known acetic acid bacterium that has long been applied in the biotechnological industry. Its extraordinary capacity to oxidize a variety of sugars, polyols, and alcohols into acids, aldehydes, and ketones is advantageous for the production of valuable compounds. Relevant G. oxydans industrial applications are in the manufacture of L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), miglitol, gluconic acid and its derivatives, and dihydroxyacetone. Increasing efforts on improving these processes have been made in the last few years, especially by applying metabolic engineering. Thereby, a series of genes have been targeted to construct powerful recombinant strains to be used in optimized fermentation. Furthermore, low-cost feedstocks, mostly agro-industrial wastes or byproducts, have been investigated, to reduce processing costs and improve the sustainability of G. oxydans bioprocess. Nonetheless, further research is required mainly to make these raw materials feasible at the industrial scale. The current shortage of suitable genetic tools for metabolic engineering modifications in G. oxydans is another challenge to be overcome. This paper aims to give an overview of the most relevant industrial G. oxydans processes and the current strategies developed for their improvement.

Para contribuir com o preenchimento da lacuna existente no contexto brasileiro de pesquisas na área de planejamento de cursos de línguas para fins específicos baseados em gêneros textuais (RAMOS, 2004), apresentamos um mapeamento de gêneros textuais e dos temas necessários para agir em contextos profissionais e acadêmicos da área de Biotecnologia. Tal estudo foi realizado com a aplicação de um questionário aos alunos, professores e técnicos do curso, em uma instituição federal. A análise dos resultados foi embasada nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos do Interacionismo Sociodiscursivo (ISD) cujos precursores são Bronckart, Schneuwly e Dolz (MACHADO, 2005).