MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

Microbes are the major components of biological system on this earth. They are present in the soil, water, air, inside our bodies and in other animals and plants. Microbes include protozoa, bacteria, fungi, microscopic plants, viruses, viroids and prions (proteinacious infectious agents) Most of the microbes are harmful by causing diseases to plants and animals, but some microbes are useful to man in many ways. MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS Lactobacillus or Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) These bacteria grow in milk and convert it to curd. The lactic acid produced by this bacterium coagulates milk protein casein. A small amount of curd is enough to convert milk into curd in suitable temperature. Curd is more nutritious than milk as it contains more vitamin B12. LAB plays a vital role in our stomach in checking disease causing microbes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (bakers yeast) The dough, which is used for making bread, is fermented by yeast. Propionibacterium sharmanii Microbes are used for making Cheese, one of the oldest food items. Swiss cheese is fermented by this bacterium. The large holes in this food are due to the production of large amount of CO2. The Roquefort cheese with a particular flavour is ripened by growing specific fungi on it. Examples for other microbes The dough, which is used for making dosa and idli is also fermented by bacteria. The puffed up appearance of dough is due to the production of CO2 gas by fermentation. Toddy, a traditional drink is made by fermenting the sap from palms. MICROBES IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS In industry, a lot of microbes are used for making a number of products such as beverages, antibiotics etc. For this, microbes are grown in large vessels called fermentors. Fermented Beverages Beverages such as beer, whisky, brandy or rum etc. are produced with the help of microbes especially yeast. Saccharomyces cervisiae, commonly called brewers yeast , is used for fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices to produce ethanol (the process is known as alcoholic fermentation) Different types of beverages are produced depending upon the type of raw materials used for fermentation and the type of processing such as with or without distillation.

 Wine and beer are produced without distillation whereas brandy and whisky are produced by distillation of fermented broth. ANTIBIOTICS Antibiotics are chemical substances produced by some microbes which can kill or retard the growth of disease causing microbes. Pencillin was the first antibitics to be discovered. It was a serendipity (discover unexpectedly). It was discovered by Alexander Flemming from a mould Pencillium notatum. Its full potential as an effective antibiotic was established by Ernest Chain and Howard Florey. For this discovery Flemming, Chain and Florey were awarded Nobel Prize in 1945. After Pencillin, other antibiotics were also discovered to treat deadly diseases such as plague, whooping cough, diphtheria and leprosy etc. CHEMICALS, ENZYMES AND OTHER BIOACTIVE MOLECULES Microbes are also used for commercial and industrial production of organic acids, alcohols and enzymes. Acid producers 1. Aspergillus niger (a fungus) - Citric acid 2. Acetobactor aceti (a bacterium) - Acetic acid 3. Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) - Butyric acid 4. Lactobacillus (a bacterium) - Lactic acid Yeast (Sacchromyces cervisiae) is used for the production of ethanol. Microbes are also used for the production of enzymes. Lipases are used in detergent for removing oily stains from laundry. Pectinase and proteases are used in bottled fruit juices. Streptokinase produced by streptococcus and modified by genetic engineering is used as a clot buster for removing clots from the blood vessels of patients who have undergone heart attack (myocardial infraction). Cyclosporin A, produced by a fungus namely, Trichoderma polysporum is used as an immunosuppressive agent in organ transplant patients. Stains, produced by Monascus purpureus (yeast) is used as a blood cholesterol lowering agent. It inhibits the enzyme responsible for cholesterol synthesis. MICROBES IN SEWAGE TREATMENT Sewage, the waste water pollutes our cities and towns. A major portion of the sewage is human excreta. It contains large amounts of organic matter and microbes. Most of the microbes found in sewage are pathogens. So it cannot be discharged into the natural water bodies like rivers and streams directly. Sewage is treated in sewage treatment plants (STPs) to make it less polluting before its disposal into water bodies. Sewage treatment is carried out in two stages. 1. Primary Treatment It involves the physical removal of large and small particles from the sewage through sedimentation and filtration. 2

First of all floating debris is removed by sequential filtration. Soil and small pebbles (grit) are then removed by sedimentation. All the solids that settle are called primary sludge and the supernatant forms are called effluents. The effluent is subjected to secondary treatment. 2. Secondary Treatment At first, the effluent is passed on to a large aeration tanks where it is constantly agitated. The agitation allows vigorous growth of aerobic microbes into flocs. The mass of bacteria associated with fungal filaments to form mesh like structures constitute flocs. The microbes use the major part of the organic matter from the effluent. The growth of the microbes by consuming the organic matter will probably reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD). BOD is the amount of oxygen that would be consumed if all the organic matter in one litre of water were oxidized by the microbes. BOD is a measure of the organic matter present in the water, because BOD test measures the rate of uptake of oxygen by microbes in a sample of water. The greater the BOD in sewage more is its polluting potential. So the effluent is treated till the BOD is reduced. When the BOD of effluent is reduced significantly, it is then passed into settling tank where the bacterial flocs are allowed to settle. This sediment is called activated sludge. It is then pumped into large tanks called anaerobic sludge digesters. Here, anaerobic bacteria digest the bacteria and fungi in the sludge. During digestion bacteria produce a mixture of gases such as methane, CO2 and H2S. All the three gases together constitute biogas. It is inflammable and is used as a source of energy. After the completion of secondary treatment, the effluent is released into natural water bodies like rivers and streams. In order to protect the major rivers such as Ganga and Yamuna from pollution, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has initiated Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna Action Plan. Under these plans, it is proposed to build a large number of sewage treatment plants

MICROBES IN PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS Biogas is a mixture of gases such as methane, CO2 and H2S. The methane is the predominant gas. It is produced by the microbial activity and is used as a source of energy. The bacteria grow anaerobically on cellulose, produce large amount of methane along with hydrogen and CO2. These bacteria are collectively called methanogens.

One of the common metahanogen is Methanobacterium. They are present in the sewage and also in the rumen of cattle where a large amount of cellulosic food is present. These bacteria help in the breakdown of cellulose and thus play a vital role in digestion. Thus the excreta of cattle, commonly called gobar can be used for the production of biogas and hence called gobar gas. BIOGAS PLANT It consists of a concrete tank that measures 10-15 feet deep. Bio wastes are collected and slurry of dung is fed in the tank. 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 plant has an outlet, which is connected to a pipe to supply the gas to the nearby houses. The spent slurry is collected through another outlet and may be used as fertilizer. The biogas produced is used for cooking and lighting. The technology of biogas production was developed in India by Indian Agricultural Institute (IARI) and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

A typical biogas plant MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS The use of biological methods for controlling plant diseases and pests is called biocontrol. This method has been replaced by the indiscriminate use of chemicals used in chemical control of pests. The chemicals used for killing pests are toxic and extremely harmful to man and domestic animals. They also pollute the environment and our crop plants.

Biological control of pests and diseases The biocontrol measures help us to avoid heavy use of chemicals for controlling pests. Practically almost all food crop pests have natural enemies such as predators, parasites and pathogens. For implementing this system a thorough knowledge of pests, their predators, their life cycle, patterns of feeding and the habitats they prefer etc. are required. The lady bird beetle and dragon flies are useful in the elimination of aphids and mosquitoes respectively. Butterflies and catterpillers are controlled by introducing the bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). These are available in packets as dried spores. The dried spores are mixed with water and sprayed on to plants. When larvae eat the leaves, the spores get into their guts. The toxin produced by the bacteria will kill the larvae. Because of the development of genetic engineering, the scientists have introduced Bt toxin genes into plants. Such plants are pest resistant. Bt cotton is an example. MICROBES AS BIOFERTILIZERS Biofertilizers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil. The main source of biofertilizers is bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. Rhizobium, found in the roots of leguminous plants fixes atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms which is used by the plant as nutrient. Azospirillum and Azobacter, the free living bacteria are also able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Certain fungi such as mycorrhiza form symbiotic association with plants. The fungal symbiont helps the plants to absorb phosphorus from the soil. The other benefits with this association are resistance to root-borne pathogens, tolerance to salinity and drought. Moreover the growth of the plant is accelerated by this association. Cyanobacteria such as Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria etc. living in the terrestrial and aquatic habitats can also fix atmospheric nitrogen. In the paddy fields, cyanobacteria serve as an important biofertilizer. The biofertilizers enrich the soil nutrients and it reduces the use of chemical fertilizers. ] Notes Prepared By Biju T L HSST Zoology GHSS Mylachal, Tvpm