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MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

Several microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi etc. are useful to man in many ways. Some of them are given below:

1. MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

• Lactobacillus or Lactic acid bacteria (LAB): • Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae): It is used to
- It converts milk to curd by producing acids that coagulate make bread by fermenting dough.
and partially digest the milk proteins. • Toddy is made by fermenting sap from palms.
- Fresh milk can be converted to curd by adding some curd • Microbes are used to ferment fish, soya bean & bamboo-
containing LAB. It also increases vitamin B12 in curd. shoots and to produce cheeses.
- In stomach, LAB helps to check pathogens. • Swiss cheese has large holes due to production of CO2 by
• Bacterial fermentation (anaerobic respiration) in dough Propionibacterium sharmanii (a bacterium).
is used to make foods such as dosa, idli etc. The puffed-up Roquefort cheese is ripened by growing a fungus
appearance of dough is due to the production of CO2. (Penicillium roqueforti) on them.

2. MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

Production of beverages, antibiotics etc. on an industrial scale, Chemicals, enzymes & other bioactive molecules
requires growing microbes in very large vessels (fermentors). 1. Organic acids: Acid producer microbes include
Fermented beverages Aspergillus niger (a fungus) : Citric acid
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Brewer’s yeast) is used in the Acetobacter aceti (a bacterium) : Acetic acid
production of beverages by fermenting malted cereals and Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) : Butyric acid
fruit juices to produce ethanol. Lactobacillus (a bacterium) : Lactic acid
- Wine & Beer are produced without distillation. 2. Alcohol: Yeast (S. cerevisiae) is used to produce ethanol.
- Whisky, Brandy, Rum, Gin, Arrack etc. are produced by 3. Enzymes:
distillation of fermented broth. • Lipases: Used in detergent formulations. Help to
Antibiotics remove oily stains from the laundry.
- Chemical substances produced by some microbes and can • Pectinases & Proteases: To clarify bottled juices.
kill or retard the growth of pathogens. • Streptokinase: Produced by Streptococcus. Used as a
- They are used to treat plague, whooping cough, diphtheria, ‘clot buster’ to remove clots from the blood vessels of
leprosy etc. patients who have myocardial infarction.
- Penicillin: First antibiotic discovered by Alexander 4. Cyclosporine A: Produced by Trichoderma polysporum
Fleming. He observed that Staphylococci could not grow (fungus). Used as an immunosuppressive agent in organ
around a mould (Penicillium notatum) growing in transplant patients.
unwashed culture plates. He extracted penicillin from it. 5. Statins: Produced by Monascus purpureus (a yeast).
- Earnest Chain and Howard Florey established its full Used as blood-cholesterol lowering agents. It inhibits the
potential as an effective antibiotic. enzymes responsible for synthesis of cholesterol.
- Fleming, Chain & Florey were awarded Nobel Prize (1945).

3. MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT

Sewage (municipal waste-water) contains large amount of BOD: Amount of O2 consumed by bacteria to oxidize all
organic matter and microbes. organic matter in one litre of water. It is a measure of
organic matter present in the water. The greater the BOD
Sewage is treated in Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to
more is its polluting potential.
make it less polluting. It includes 2 stages.
The effluent is then passed into a settling tank where the
1. Primary treatment
bacterial ‘flocs’ are sediment. This sediment is called
It is the physical removal of particles. It includes ‘activated sludge’.
a. Removal of floating debris by sequential filtration.
A small part of the activated sludge is pumped back into the
b. Removal of the grit (soil & pebbles) by sedimentation. aeration tank to serve as the inoculum.
The settled solids form the primary sludge and the The remaining sludge is pumped into large tanks called
supernatant form the primary effluent.
anaerobic sludge digesters. Here, some anaerobic bacteria
2. Secondary treatment (Biological treatment) digest the bacteria and fungi in the sludge by producing gases
Primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks and like CH4, H2S and CO2. These gases form the biogas.
constantly agitated. This allows vigorous growth of useful The effluent is released into natural water bodies like rivers
aerobic microbes into flocs (bacteria associated with fungal and streams.
filaments to form mesh-like structures). These microbes The Ministry of Environment & Forests initiated Ganga
consume the organic matter in the effluent. This reduces the Action Plan & Yamuna Action Plan to save from water
BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of the effluent. pollution.
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4. MICROBES IN THE PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS

- Biogas is a mixture of gases (mainly CH4) produced by the • A concrete tank (10-15 feet deep) to collect bio-wastes and
microbial activity. It is used for cooking & lighting. slurry of dung. A floating cover is placed over the slurry,
- Methanogens grow anaerobically on cellulosic material which keeps on rising as the biogas is produced.
and produce CH4. E.g. Methanobacterium. • An outlet which is connected to a pipe to supply biogas.
- Methanobacterium is found in the anaerobic sludge and • An outlet to remove spent slurry (used as fertilizer).
rumen of cattle (for cellulose digestion). Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and
- The cattle dung (gobar) is rich in these bacteria. Dung can Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC):
be used for generation of biogas (Gobar gas). Developed technology of biogas production in India.
- The Biogas plant consists of

5. MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS

- Biocontrol is the use of biological methods for controlling and fruit trees. These are eaten by the caterpillar. In their
plant diseases and pests. E.g. Lady bird (beetle) controls gut, the toxin is released and the larvae get killed.
aphids. Dragon flies control mosquitoes. The scientists have introduced B. thuringiensis toxin genes
- Chemical pesticides and insecticides kill both useful and into plants. E.g. Bt cotton.
harmful organisms and cause pollution. Biocontrol method o Trichoderma sp (fungus): These are free livings present in
has no such problems. the root ecosystems. They control several plant pathogens.
o Baculoviruses (Especially genus Nucleopolyhedro-virus):
Microbial biocontrol agents
Attacks insects and other arthropods.
o Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt): To control butterfly caterpillar. It is suitable for species-specific, narrow spectrum
The dried spores of Bt (available in sachets) are mixed with insecticidal applications and desirable in IPM (Integrated
water and sprayed on to vulnerable plants such as brassicas Pest Management) program to conserve beneficial insects.

6. MICROBES AS BIOFERTILISERS
• Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich nutrient quality of o Absorb phosphorous from soil and passes it to the plant.
the soil. E.g. Bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria etc. o Give resistance to root-borne pathogens and tolerance to
• Rhizobium (symbiotic bacteria in root nodules of salinity and draught.
leguminous plants) fix atmospheric N2. o Give overall increase in plant growth and development.
• Free-living bacteria in the soil (E.g. Azospirillum and • Cyanobacteria (Blue green algae): Autotrophic microbes.
Azotobacter) enrich the nitrogen content of the soil. They fix atmospheric nitrogen. E.g. Anabaena, Nostoc,
• Mycorrhiza: Symbiotic association of fungi (E.g. genus of Oscillatoria etc. In paddy fields, Cyanobacteria serve as an
Glomus) with plants. The fungus gets food from plant. important biofertilisers. It also adds organic matter to the
The fungal symbiont performs the following: soil and increases its fertility.