PGA is a useful biomaterial due to its high solubility, safety, and
biodegradability and considerable research on its production and
application have been carried out. A big obstacle in its application
is the rather high cost and low productivity. Several studies and reports
on the fermentative production of PGA will definitely assist
in development of economical process for industrial scale production
of PGA. Better understanding of biosynthetic pathway and
application of genetic engineering for generation of stable and high
PGA producer strain will allow the design of stable useful PGA over
producers. The control of molecular weight and D/L ratio of PGA is
also important during its production as these properties directly
associated with the applications of PGA. Attractive properties of
PGA are that it is water soluble, biodegradable, edible, versatile,
and environmentally friendly which make it of interest for applications
in the fields of medicine, foods, plastics, water treatment and
agriculture. New derivates of PGA have the potential to be used as
new drug delivery systems, specialty plastics, surgical glue or vaccine
adjuvant. This review will contribute to further development
of commercial scale production and applications of PGA.