Microbes in Human Welfare

Microbes in Household Products

Microorganisms play a vital role in the preparation of many everyday foods and beverages. These tiny living things help turn raw materials into tasty and healthy foods through a process called fermentation. All over the world, different kinds of bacteria are used to make different kinds of foods. These microbes make the foods taste, feel, and last longer.

• Lactobacillus bacteria are used in the fermentation of milk to produce curd and yoghurt.

• Microbes help in the production of bread and dosa batter through fermentation, making them soft and fluffy.

• Aspergillus is used in making soy sauce by fermenting soybeans.

Microbes In Industrial Products

Microbes are useful in many areas of life, not just our kitchens. They are also used to make many useful goods. Microbes are very important to large-scale production, from making alcoholic drinks to making medicines like drugs that save lives. In these industrial processes, large amounts of microbes are grown in special tanks called fermenters so that fermentation can happen or useful drugs can be made.

Fermented Beverages

Fermented beverages are alcoholic drinks produced by the action of microbes, mainly yeast, on natural sugars found in cereals and fruit juices. This process converts sugars into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide through fermentation.

• Yeast Used: Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also called brewer’s yeast).

• Process: Yeast performs anaerobic respiration (fermentation) and produces ethanol and CO2.

• Types of Alcoholic Drinks:

1. Without Distillation: Wine, Beer

2. With Distillation: Whisky, Brandy, Rum

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are the chemical substances produced by certain microbes that kill or stop the growth of harmful (disease-causing) microbes.

• Anti = against

• Bio = life ⇒ Meaning: “Against life”

It is one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th-century modern medicine and has saved millions of lives by treating bacterial infections effectively. Used for treating deadly diseases like:

1. Plague

2. Whooping cough (Kali khansi)

3. Diphtheria (Gal ghotu)

4. Leprosy (Kusht rog)

The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 from the fungus Penicillium notatum.

Microbes in Production of Chemicals, Enzymes and Other Bioactive Molecules

Microorganisms are used in industries for the production of chemicals, enzymes, and bioactive molecules on a large scale. These products have important applications in food processing, medicine, biotechnology, and various other industrial processes.

Here is a list of a few important products produced by Microbes.

Organic Acids Produced by Microbes

Enzymes Produced by Microbes

Bioactive Molecules

Microbes In Sewage Treatment

Sewage is the wastewater that comes from homes and industries. It has a lot of bacteria and organic matter in it. It can pollute water and hurt aquatic life if it is spilled without being cleaned up first. Sewage is treated with waste disposal systems before disposal to reduce the natural pollution caused by heterotrophic bacteria present in the faeces. Treatment is divided into two phases - Primary Treatment, Secondary Treatment or Biological Treatment. These processes greatly reduce the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of wastewater. BOD is the amount of oxygen consumed by microorganisms during the breakdown of organic matter. Sewage is treated to minimise the BOD effect, as the BOD measures microbial absorption rate by a water sample. Therefore, BOD serves as an indicator of the level of organic pollution in water. Higher BOD indicates greater organic matter and lower water quality.

Microbes in Biogas Production

In anaerobic conditions, some bacteria help make biogas, which is a clean and renewable energy source. This process not only makes a fuel that is good for the environment, but it also helps get rid of waste more efficiently, especially in rural and farming areas.

• Methanogenic archaea, like Methanobacterium, help break down organic waste in anaerobic conditions to produce biogas.

• Biogas plants use a slurry of dung and agricultural waste to generate methane-rich gas for cooking and lighting.

• Biogas production is an eco-friendly method of waste disposal and energy generation and is known as biofuel.

Microbes as Biocontrol Agents

Biocontrol is the use of living organisms to control pests and plant diseases, reducing the dependence on chemical pesticides. Biocontrol agents are living organisms like insects, fungi, bacteria, or viruses that target and reduce dependence on toxic chemicals and pesticides to a large extent.

• Organic farming encourages the use of natural predators, beneficial insects, and microbial agents to control pests and maintain ecological balance.

• Bacillus thuringiensis is used as a natural pesticide to kill harmful insects like caterpillars, beetles, and mosquito larvae without harming humans, animals, or beneficial insects.

• The development of genetic engineering has enabled scientists to duplicate Bacillus thuringiensis genes in the body of the plant, thus making them resistant to pests. Example - Bt cotton.

• Most baculoviruses used as biological control agents belong to the genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus.

• Trichoderma species are commonly used as biocontrol agents against several plant pathogens.

Microbes as Biofertilizers

Biofertilizers are made up of live things that improve the soil's nutrients. Some bacteria naturally fix nitrogen in the air or make nutrients more available, which helps plants grow without harming the environment.

• Rhizobium lives in root nodules of legumes and fixes atmospheric nitrogen, enriching soil fertility.

• Azospirillum and Azotobacter are free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in non-leguminous crops.

• Cyanobacteria like Anabaena and Nostoc improve soil nutrients and are commonly used in paddy fields.

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