II PUC Biology MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

10. MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

Weightage in board exam: 06
Number of questions in NEET: 01
IMPORTANT ABBREVIATIONS
 BOD: Biochemical Oxygen Demand
 GAP: Ganga Action Plan
 IARI: Indian Agricultural Research Institute
 IPM: Integrated Pest Management
 KVIC: Khadi and Village Industries Commission
 YAP: Yamuna Action Plan

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
 Antibiotics: Antibiotics are the chemical substances which are produced by some
microbes and can kill or retard the growth of other (disease causing) microbes.
 Biogas: A mixture of gases that contains predominantly methane, produced by the
activity of microbes.
 Biofertilizers: Organisms that enrich the nutrient content of soil.
 Biological control of pests: A method of controlling pests in agriculture that relies on
natural predation rather the introduced chemicals.
 BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand): The amount of oxygen required by micro
organisms to digest all the organic matter present in one litre of water.
 Flocs: Masses of bacteria associated with fungal filaments to form mesh-like structures.

REVISION NOTES
Microbes are diverse – protozoa, bacteria, fungi, microscopic plants, viruses, viroids and
also prions (proteinacious infectious agents)
 Some microbes cause diseases in plants, animals and man.
 Not all microbes are harmful. There are a number of microbes that are useful to man
and environment in various ways. The most important contributions of microbes to
human welfare are as follows:
1. Production of household products
2. Production of industrial products
3. Sewage treatment

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4. Production of biogas
5. Microbes as biocontrol agents
6. Microbes as biofertilizers

MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

PRODUCT MICROBE USED BENEFITS AND MECHANISM OF ACTION
Curd Lactobacillus LAB produce acids that coagulate and
Lactic acid Bacteria (LAB) partially digest milk proteins (A small
amount of curd added to fresh milk acts as
an inoculum).
LAB also improves the nutritional quality by
increasing vitamin B 12.
Dough (For Leuconostoc mesenteroids Anaerobic metabolism of carbohydrates in
Idly/ rice to form CO2 that gives a puffed up
Dosa) appearance.
Bread Saccharomyces cerevisiae Anaerobic metabolism of carbohydrates in
(Baker’s yeast) wheat to produce CO2. This makes bread
soft and porous.
Swiss Propionibacterium Produces large amount of CO2 that cause
cheese shermanii large holes in Swiss cheese.
Roquefort Penicillium requefortii Used to ripen the cheese that gives it a
cheese characteristic flavour.
Toddy Yeast Fermentation of sap from palm trees.

MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

 Microbes are used in industry to synthesize a number of products
 Beverages, enzymes, antibiotics and bioactive molecules are some examples.

 FERMENTED BEVERAGES:
 Saccharomyces cerevisiae commonly called brewer’s yeast is used for production of
beverages like wine, beer, whisky, brandy or rum.
 Yeast ferments malted cereals and fruit juices to produce ethanol.
 Depending on the type of raw material used for fermentation and the processing,
different types of alcoholic drinks are produced.
 Wine and beer are produced without distillation.
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 Whisky, brandy and rum are produced by distillation of the fermented broth.

 ANTIBIOTICS:
 Antibiotics are the chemical substances which are produced by some microbes and can
kill or retard the growth of other (disease causing) microbes.
 Alexander Flemming discovered the first antibiotic penicillin, from a mould
(fungus) Penicillium notatum.
 Its true potential as an effective antibiotic was established by Ernest Chain and Howard
Florey.
 Fleming, Chain and Florey were awarded Nobel Prize in 1945 for the discovery of
antibiotics.
 Antibiotics have greatly improved our capacity to treat deadly diseases such as plague,
whooping cough. Diphtheria and leprosy.

 CHEMICALS, ENZYMES AND OTHER BIOACTIVE MOLECULES:

Organic acids:
MICROBE PRODUCT OBTAINED
Aspegillus niger (a fungus) citric acid
Acetobacter aceti (a bacterium) acetic acid
Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) butyric acid
Lactobacillus(a bacterium) lactic acid
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) ethanol

Enzymes:
 Lipases used in detergent formulations and in removing oil stains from laundry are
obtained from fungi like Candia lipolytica.
 Proteases obtained from Aspergillus and Pectinases obtained from the fungus
Byssochalmys fulva are used in the clarification of fruit juices.
 Streptokinase produced by Streptococcus is modified by genetic engineering and used
as a ‘clot buster’, for removing clots from the blood vessels of patients with myocardial
infarction.

Bioactive molecules:
 Cyclosporin-A produced by a fungus called Trichoderma polysporum is used
as immunosuppressive agent in organ transplantation.
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 Statins produced by Monascus purpureus are used as blood cholesterol lowering agents.
It acts as competitive inhibitor for the enzyme responsible for synthesis of cholesterol.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS!

1. Explain the role of microbes in the production of household products. (5M)
2. What are antibiotics? (1M)
3. Name the microbe used in the production of: (a) Citric acid (b)Butyric acid (c)
Streptokinase (d) Cyclosporin A (e) Statins (5M)
4. Mention the biological role of the following compounds: (a) Cyclosporin A (b) Statins
(c) Streptokinase (3M)

MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT

 The waste water generated in cities and town which is rich in organic matter is called
sewage.
 Sewage contains various substances like vegetable peels, human excreta, urine,
detergents, cosmetics, waste water, food remains and pathogenic microbes.
 Sewage also contains a variety of pathogens like viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans,
eggs of round worms, tape worms etc., which cause a number of water borne diseases
like cholera, typhoid, amoebic dysentery, jaundice etc.
 Before disposal to the natural body sewage is treated in sewage treatment plants (STPs)
to make it less polluting.
 Treatment is done by heterotrophic microbes naturally present in sewage.

Primary treatment:
 Involves the physical removal of particles – large and small from sewage through
filtration and sedimentation.
 Initially floating debris is removed by sequential filtration.
 The grit (soil and small pebbles) are removed by sedimentation.
 All solids that settle form the primary sludge, and the supernatant forms the effluents.
 The effluents from primary settling tank are taken for secondary treatment.

Secondary treatment or Biological treatment:

 The primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks.

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 This allows vigorous growth of useful aerobic microbes into flocs (mesh like network
formed by bacteria and fungi).
 The growth of microbes consumes the major part of the organic matter in the effluent.
This significantly reduces the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) of the effluent.
 BOD refers to the amount of oxygen required by bacteria to oxidize total organic matter
present in one litre of water.
 BOD is the measure of the organic matter present in the water.
 Greater the BOD of the waste water more is its polluting potential.
 Once the BOD of sewage is reduced significantly, the effluent is passed into the settling
tank where the bacterial flocs are allowed to sediment. This sediment is
called activated sludge.
 Small part of activated sludge is pumped back to aeration tank to serve as the
inoculum.
 The remaining sludge is pumped into anaerobic sludge digester.
 In the anaerobic sludge digester there are other kinds of bacteria which grow
anaerobically, digest the bacteria and fungi in the sludge.
 During this digestion bacteria produce biogas, (mixture of methane, hydrogen sulphide
and carbon dioxide)
 The effluent from the secondary treatment plant is released into natural water body like
rivers and streams.
 Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna Action Plan was initiated by Ministry of Environment
and Forest to save these major rivers of our country.
 It is proposed to build a large number of sewage treatment plants so that only treated
sewage may be discharged into the rivers.

MICROBES IN PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS

 Biogas is a mixture of gases (predominantly methane) produced by the microbial
activity and is used as fuel.
 Certain bacteria grow anaerobically on cellulosic material, produce large amount of
methane along with CO2 and H2S. These bacteria are collectively
called methanogens. One common bacterium is Methanobacterium.
 These bacteria present in the rumen of cattle digest cellulose and play a very important
role in the nutrition of cattle.
 Hence the excreta (dung) of cattle, called gobar, is used for the production of biogas or
gobar gas.

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Biogas production:
 The biogas plant consists of a concrete tank (10-15 feet deep) in which bio-wastes are
collected and a slurry of dung is fed.
 A floating cover is placed over the slurry, which keeps on rising as the gas is produced
in the tank due to the microbial activity.
 The biogas plant has an outlet, which is connected to a pipe to supply biogas to nearby
houses.
 The biogas thus produced is used for cooking and lighting.
 The spent slurry is removed through another outlet and may be used as fertiliser.
 Cattle dung is available in large quantities in rural areas where cattle are used for a
variety of purposes. So biogas plants are more after build in rural areas.
 The technology of biogas production was developed in India mainly due to the efforts of
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC).

Fig: A typical biogas plant

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS!

1. Explain the role of microbes in sewage treatment. (5M)
2. What is BOD? (1M)
3. What are flocs? (1M)
4. What is biogas? (1M)

MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS

 Biocontrol refers to the use of biological methods for controlling plant diseases and
pests.

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 The chemical pesticides used to control pests are toxic and extremely harmful to human
beings and animals. They pollute our environment (soil, ground water), fruits, and
vegetables. Soil is polluted through use of weedicides to remove weeds. Use of
biocontrol measures will greatly reduce our dependence on toxic chemical and
pesticides.

Biological control of pest and disease:

 Ladybird beetles and Dragonflies are used to get rid of aphids and mosquitoes.
 Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used to control butterfly caterpillars.
 Dried spores are mixed with water and sprayed onto vulnerable plants, where these are
eaten by the insect larvae. In the gut of the larvae, the toxin is released and the larvae
get killed.
 Trichoderma, a free living fungus is used to control several plant pathogens.
 Baculoviruses are pathogen that attack insects and other arthropods. Majority
of baculoviruses used as biological control agents are in the
genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus.
 These viruses are excellent candidates for species-specific, narrow spectrum insecticidal
application. They have no negative impacts on plants, mammals, birds, fish, etc.
 This is very useful in integrated pest managements (IPM).

Advantages of bio-control agents:

 The insects that are sometimes called pests are not eradicated, but instead are kept at
manageable levels by a complex system of checks and balances within a living and
vibrant ecosystem.
 The eradication of the creatures that are often described as pests is not only possible,
but also undesirable, for without them the beneficial predatory and parasitic insects
which depend upon them as food or hosts would not be able to survive.
 Thus, the use of biocontrol measures will greatly reduce our dependence on toxic
chemicals and pesticides.

MICROBES AS BIOFERTILIZERS
 Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil.
 The main sources of biofertilisers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria.
 Rhizobium form root nodules in legumes and fix atmospheric nitrogen into organic
forms, which is used by the plants as nutrients.

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II PUC Biology MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

 Azospirilium and Azotobacter (free living bacteria) fix atmospheric nitrogen and thus
increase nitrogen content of the soil.
 Mycorrhiza: Fungi symbiotically associated with root of plants.
 Many members of the genus Glomus form Mycorrhiza.
o These fungi provide phosphorus to the plants from the soil.
o Further, they also make the plant resistant to root-borne pathogens.
o They also increase tolerance to salinity and drought and also increase the overall growth
and development of the plants.
 Cyanobacteria like Anabaena, Nostoc and Oscillatoria serve as important
biofertilizers.
o They fix atmospheric nitrogen, add organic matter to the soil and increase soil fertility.
 Currently, in our country, a number of biofertilisers are available commercially in the
market and farmers use these regularly in their fields to replenish soil nutrients and to
reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS!

1. Explain the typical biogas plant with a neat labelled diagram. (5M)
2. List the advantages of using Glomus as biofertilizer. (2M)

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QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS YEAR PAPERS

March 1. Mention the bacterium responsible for the large holes seen in Swiss 1
2014 cheese.
2. Briefly describe the role of biological control of pests and diseases. 5
July 2014 1. What are bio-fertilisers? 1
2. Explain different stages involved in sewage treatment. 5
March 1. Mention the use of Cyclosporin A. 1
2015 2. Discuss the role of fungi as bio-fertilisers. 2
3. Draw a neat labelled diagram of a typical biogas plant. 3
July 1. Name the fungus that produces cyclosporine A. 1
2015 2. Describe the parts of biogas plant with a labelled diagram 5
March 1. Mention the use of statin. 1
2016 2. Explain the role of microbes in industrial products. 5
July 2016 1. Which bioactive agent is used as an immunosuppressive agent? 1
2. Define Biochemical Oxygen Demand.
3. Draw a neat labelled diagram of biogas plant. 1
4. Explain the role of microbes in House-hold products 2
5
March 1. Name the microbe used in production of citric acid. 1
2017 2. Describe the biogas plant with a neat labelled diagram. 5
July 2017 1. What are flocs? 1
2. Describe the role of microbes as biofertiliser. 5
March- 1. Mention the role of Methanobacterium in rumen of cattle. 1
2018 2. Describe the role of Microbes in sewage treatment plant. 5
July- 1. Mention the commercial importance of Monascus purpureus. 1
2018 2. a) Draw a neat labelled diagram of typical Biogas plant. b)
Mention the beneficial role of anaerobic bacteria in secondary sewage 3
treatment. 2
March 1. Write the scientific name of the source organism for citric acid. 1
2019 2. Explain the role of three organisms as bio control agents.
3. What is the significance of BOD? 3
4. Give an example for a fungus found in mycorrhiza. 1
1
July 2019 1. Name the microbe that is used to produce citric acid. 1
2. Define BOD 1
3. Draw and label a typical biogas plant. 3
March 1. Write the scientific name of the fungus which produce cyclosporine 1
2020 A.
2. Which bacteria is commonly found in the anaerobic sludge during 1
sewage treatment?
3. Explain the biogas plant with a neat labelled diagram. 5
September 1. Draw a neat labelled diagram of typical biogas plant. 3
2020 2. Explain the stages of sewage treatment. 5

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