Microorganisms serve as agents for synthetic biology. It certain instances, the technology is reliant on survival of the genetically-altered microorganism in the natural environment. This chapter offers insight into the soil system to improve the performance of genetically-altered microorganisms in the natural environment. This chapter covers the soil system, the fitness of genetically altered organisms, and considerations for their survival and proliferation in nature. This chapter does not discuss the ecological consequences of survival in the natural environment or the regulatory considerations to distribute a genetically-altered organism in the environment. In addition to regulatory approval, both considerations should be critically reviewed before a genetically-altered organism is distributed in the environment.
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