SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

Exam module 10 [1M(knw)-01, 5M(und)-01,=06M]

MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

1. CURD:-
 Curd is produced from the milk by micro-organisms such as Lactobacillus and others
commonly called lactic acid bacteria (LAB).
 Importance of LAB
 LAB improves the nutritional quality of curd by increasing vitamin B12.
 LAB also checks the disease causing microbes in stomach.
2. DOUGH:-,
 Dough, which is used for making bread, is fermented using baker’s yeast
(Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
3. TODDY:- a traditional drink of some parts of southern India is made by fermenting
sap from Palms.
4. CHEESE:-, Different varieties of cheese have characteristic texture, flavour and
taste, given by specific microbes used. For example,
 ‘Swiss cheese’ the larger holes in swiss chesse are due to production of a large
amount of CO2 by a bacterium called Propionibacterium sharmanii.
 ‘Roquefort cheese’ is ripened by growing specific fungi on them, which gives
them a particular flavour.

MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS

Fermentors are very large vessels used to grow microbes to produce products on
industrial scale

1. Fermented Beverages
Yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae), commonly called brewer’s yeast, is used for
fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices to produce ethanol.

2. Antibiotics
Antibiotics are chemical substances, which are produced by some microbes and can
kill or retard the growth of other (disease-causing) microbes.
E.g-Pencillin produced by mould penicillium notatum

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

3. Chemicals

MICROBE TYPE OF ORGANISM CHEMICAL PRODUCED

Aspergillus niger Fungus citric acid

Acetobacter aceti Bacterium acetic acid

Clostridium butylicum Bacterium butyric acid

Lactobacillus Bacterium lactic acid

Saccharomyces icerevisiae Yeast ethanol

4. Enzymes:-
a) Lipases - removes oily stains from the laundry. Hence used in detergent
formulations.
b) Pectinases and proteases are used in clarification of bottled fruit juices
c) Genetically modified Streptokinase produced by the bacterium Streptococcus and
used as a ‘clot buster’ for removing clots from the blood vessels of patients of
myocardial infraction leading to heart attack

5. Bioactive molecules,
1) Cyclosporin A, produced by the fungus Trichoderma polysporum and used as an
immune suppressive agent in organ-transplant patients.
2) Statins produced by the yeast Monascus purpureus used as blood-cholesterol
lowering agent. It acts by competitively inhibit the cholesterol synthesizing enzyme.

MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT

 The municipal waste water rich in human excreta is called sewage.

 It contains large amounts of organic matter and pathogenic microbes
 Before disposal, the sewage is treated in sewage treatment plants (STPs) by the
heterotrophic microbes naturally present in the sewage to make it less polluting.
 This treatment is carried out in two stages:

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

 SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

I. Primary treatment :
1) it involves physical removal of particles from the sewage through
 Sequential Filtration:- to remove floating debris .
 Sedimentation:-to remove the grit (soil and small pebbles)
2) All solids that settle form the primary sludge, and the supernatant forms the effluent
used for secondary treatment.

II. Secondary treatment or Biological treatment :

1) The primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks where it is constantly agitated
and air is pumped into it.
2) useful aerobic microbes grows into flocs –it is a mass of bacteria and fungal
filaments to form mesh like structures.
3) These microbes consume organic matter and reduce the BOD (biochemical oxygen
demand) of the effluent.
BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) and its significance.
 It is the amount of the oxygen used by the bacteria to oxidize all the organic matter
in one liter of water.
 It measures the rate of uptake of oxygen by micro-organisms in a sample of water
and thus, the organic matter present in the water.
 The greater the BOD of waste water, more is its polluting potential.
 The sewage water is treated till the BOD is reduced.

4) Once the BOD is reduced significantly, the effluent is then passed into a settling tank
where the ‘flocs’ are allowed to sediment. This sediment is called activated sludge.
5) A small part of the activated sludge is used as the inoculum.
6) The major part of the sludge is pumped into anaerobic sludge digesters in which
anaerobic bacteria digests the bacteria and the fungi in the sludge.
7) During this a mixture of gases such as methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon
dioxide is produced.These gases form biogas.
8) The Ministry of Environment and Forests has initiated Ganga Action Plan and
Yamuna Action Plan to save these major rivers of our country from pollution.

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

MICROBES IN PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS

1. Biogas (gobar gas) is a mixture of gases (methane) produced by the microbial activity
and which may be used as fuel.
2. Methanogens- anaerobic bacteria grow on cellulosic material, produce large amount
of methane along with CO2 and H2.
3. These bacteria are present in the rumen of cattle. A lot of cellulosic material present in
the food of cattle is breakdown by these bacteria and play an important role in the
nutrition of cattle. Eg:- Methanobacterium.

4. A typical biogas plant consists of a concrete tank (10-15 feet deep) in which bio-
wastes are collected and a slurry of dung is fed.
5. 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.
6. The biogas plant has an outlet, connected to a pipe to supply biogas to nearby houses.
7. The spent slurry is removed through another outlet and may be used as fertiliser
8. The technology of biogas production was developed in India by Indian Agricultural
Research Institute (IARI) and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS

Biocontrol agents are the microbes used as to control plant diseases and pests. E.g-
bacteria, fungus, virus etc…

1. Bacteria as Biological control agents. E.g- Bacillus thuringiensis

 Bacillus thuringiensis is used to control butterfly caterpillars
 These are available in sachets as dried spores which are mixed with water and
sprayed onto vulnerable plants such as brassicas and fruit trees
 When these are eaten by the insect larvae, the toxin is released in the gut and the
larvae get killed.

2. Fungus as Biological control agents. E.g- Trichoderma

 Trichoderma species are free-living fungi present in the root ecosystems and are
effective biocontrol agents against several plant pathogens.

3. Virus Biological control agents. E.g- Baculoviruses

 Baculoviruses of genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus are pathogens that attack insects
and other arthropods.
 These have species-specific, narrow spectrum insecticidal applications and have
no negative impacts on plants, mammals, birds, fish or even on non-target insects.
Hence these are used in integrated pest management (IPM) programme, or in the
treatment of an ecologically sensitive area.

MICROBES AS BIOFERTILISERS

 Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil.
 The main sources of biofertilisers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria.
1. Bacteria as biofertilisers-
a) Symbiotic Bacteria.- E.g-Rhizobium
 These are present in the root nodules of leguminous plants
 These Fix the atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms, which is used by the plant
as nutrient.
a) Free living bacteria-E.g-Azospirillum and Azotobacter
 These bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen in free-living form in the soil and thus
enriching the nitrogen content of the soil.

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

2. Fungi as biofertilizers – fungi of genus Glomus form mycorrhiza, a symbiotic

associations with roots of higher plants

Role of fungal component

 absorbs phosphorus from soil and passes it to the plant

 make the plants resistance to root-borne pathogens,
 tolerance to salinity and drought,
 overall increase in plant growth and development

3. Cyanobacteria as biofertilisers-these are autotrophic microbes present in aquatic

and terrestrial environments which can fix atmospheric nitrogen, E.g. Anabaena,
Nostoc, Oscillatoria, etc.
 In paddy fields, cyanobacteria serve as an important biofertiliser.
 Blue green algae also add organic matter to the soil and increase its fertility.

SBSC PU COLLEGE BIDADI

i