PROTISTS AND BACTERIA

FOR HUMAN INVOREMENT

Protista and bacteria are come from different kingdom. The first thing
we heard about Protista remind us about algae or kelp and when we heard
about bacteria we always thing about plague. They are different in structure,
kind of nucleus, etc. But they can also help human.

Protista are an extremely diverse assortment of eukaryotes. Protista

are mostly unicellular eukaryotes that are found in a variety of aquatic or
moist habitats. They may be autotrophic, heterotrophic, or mixotrophic.
Molecular systematists are exploring Protista phylogeny, but at present it is
highly tentative. Which part of Protista can help human? How? Can protist
provide a renewable source of energy?

Have you ever wondered what the “fossils” are in fossil fuels? They are
organic remains of organisms that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.
Diatoms are thought to be the main source of oil, while coal was formed
from primitive plants. Coal, oil, and natural gas are called fossil fuels
because they were formed from the remains of ancient organisms. (Oil and
natural gas were formed from marine organisms.) Since the Industrial
Revolution, coal has been a crucial source of energy for human society.
However, burning these fossil fuels releases CO2 and other greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere, which are now causing a warming climate.
However, rapid consumption is depleting the world’s supply of readily
accessible fossil fuels. Entrepreneurs are now eying the lipid droplets in
diatoms and other algae as a renewable source of energy. After all, the
energy we extract from fossil fuels was originally stored in organisms
through the process of photosynthesis. Why wait millions of years? If
unicellular algae could be grown on a large scale, the oil could be harvested
and processed into biodiesel. When supplied with light, carbon dioxide, and
nutrients, unicellular algae reproduce rapidly. In one scenario, algae could
be growing indoors in closed “bioreactor” vessels under tightly controlled
environmental conditions. Outdoor systems using closed bioreactors or
open-air ponds are also being developed.

There are numerous technical hurdles to overcome before the

industrial-scale production of biofuel from algae becomes a reality.
Investigators must identify the most productive of the hundreds of algal
species and test whether they are suitable for mass culturing methods. With
further research, scientists may be able to improve desirable characteristics
such as growth rate or oil yield through genetic engineering. In addition,
manufacturers need to develop cost-effective methods of harvesting the
algae and extracting and processing the oil. Nevertheless, there might be an
alga-powered vehicle in your future. So, what characteristics of unicellular
algae make them attractive candidates for the production of biofuels? It’s
because rapid reproduction; would not occupy farmland needed to grow food
crops
Prokaryotes help clean up the environment. Prokaryotes are often
used for bioremediation, including in sewage treatment facilities. The
characteristics that have made prokaryotes so widespread and successful—
their nutritional diversity, adaptability, and capacity for forming biofilms—
also make them useful for cleaning up contaminants in the environment.
Bioremediation is the use of organisms to remove pollutants from soil, air, or
water. Prokaryotic decomposers are the mainstays of sewage treatment
facilities. Raw sewage is first passed through a series of screens and
shredders, and solid matter settles out from the liquid waste. This solid
matter, called sludge, is then gradually added to a culture of anaerobic
prokaryotes, including both bacteria and archaea. The microbes decompose
the organic matter in the sludge into material that can be placed in a landfill
or used as fertilizezr.

For example, a trickling filter. Trickling filter is a type of wastewater

treatment system. It consists of a fixed bed of rocks, lava, coke, gravel,
slag, polyurethane foam, sphagnum peat moss, ceramic, or plastic media
over which sewage or other wastewater flows downward and causes a layer
of microbial slime (biofilm) to grow, covering the bed of media. Aerobic
conditions are maintained by splashing, diffusion, and either by forced air
flowing through the bed or natural convection of air if the filter medium is
porous. The terms trickle filter, trickling biofilter, biofilter, biological filter
and biological trickling filter are often used to refer to a trickling filter. These
systems have also been described as roughing filters, intermittent filters,
packed media bed filters, alternative septic systems, percolating filters,
attached growth processes, and fixed film processes. The long horizontal
pipes rotate slowly, spraying liquid wastes through the air onto a thick bed
of rocks, the filter. Biofilms of aerobic bacteria and fungi growing on the
rocks remove much of the organic material dissolved in the waste. Outflow
from the rock bed is sterilized and then released, usually into a river or
ocean. Bioremediation has also become a useful tool for cleaning up toxic
chemicals released into the soil and water. Naturally occurring prokaryotes
capable of degrading pollutants such as oil, solvents, and pesticides are
often present in contaminated soil and water, but their activity is limited by
environmental factors such as nutrient availability.