Microbes In Human Welfare

• Microbes
• Microbes In Household Products
• Microbes In Industrial Products
• Microbes In Sewage Treatment
• Microbes In Production Of Biogas
• Microbes As Biocontrol Agents
• Microbes As Biofertilisers
 Microbes
• 1. Microbes are microscopic organisms (invisible to naked
eye)
2. They are present everywhere on earth- in soil, water, air, in
our bodies, plants and even at the most extreme locations such as
hot water geysers and poles.

• 3. Microbes are diverse, they can be- protozoa, bacteria,

fungi, viruses, viroids, prions,PPLO, etc.

• 4. Microbes are thought to be the main disease causing

agents, but they can be helpful to human beings in many
ways. We will see how in subsequent slides.
Escherichia coli Lactobacillus

Methanobactarium Azatobacter
 Microbes in Household Products

• 1. Production of curd from milk

• a. Microbes such as Lactobacillus and a group called Lactic Acid
Bacteria(LAB) convert milk to curd by producing acids which
partially digest and coagulate milk proteins.

• b. A small amount of curd (starter or inoculum) which is added to milk

contains millions of bacteria which multiply under suitable conditions
and thus converting it to curd.

• c. This process increases the nutritional value of milk by increasing

vitamin B12 , it also checks disease causing organisms in our stomach.
Products of Lactic Acid Fermentation
 Making Yogurt in 4 Simple Steps
1. Start with Cow, Sheep, or Goat milk.
2. Heat milk to 80 °C. Two purposes:
• destroy existing bacteria
• “condition” the proteins = begins the denaturing process
(a whey protein molecule binds to a casein molecule which disrupts
the casein bundles allowing them to make short branched micelle
chains)
3. Cool milk to 40 °C and innoculate with bacteria
4. Incubate at 30 °C to 45 °C
Casein before heat Casein after heat
pre-treatment: pre-treatment: Casein after acid:
 Microbes in Household Products
• 2. Fermentation
• a. The fermentation of dough is due to bacteria and its puffed
appearance is due to the production of CO2 during fermentation.
• b. Toddy, an alcoholic drink is made from Fermentation of palm
sap.
• c. A yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) is used for
fermenting bread dough.
• d. Cheese is also a product of fermentation and/or ripening, and
different varieties of cheese are due to different microbes used
for fermenting.
• e. The holes in cheese are due to large CO2 production by
the bacteria.
Other products of fermentation - some are
fermented by both yeast and bacteria
The Chemistry of Fermentation
- Aerobic & Anaerobic Cellular
Respiration
- Glycolysis
- Alcoholic Fermentation
- Lactic Acid Fermentation
 Aerobic Cellular Respiration
• Aerobic means “with air”. This type of respiration
needs oxygen for it to occur so it is called aerobic
respiration.
Glucose + Oxygen -> Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy
• The chemical equation is:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + 2900 kj

• 3 stages: - glycolysis
-citric acid cycle
-electron transport chain
 Stages of Aerobic Cellular Respiration
• In glycolysis, a net of 2 molecules of ATP, or
chemical energy, are produced.
• The citric acid cycle produces another
2 molecules of ATP
• The electron transport chain produces 32
molecules of ATP.
• Oxygen is used in aerobic cellular respiration as
the final electron acceptor in the electron
transport chain, which is part of why it's able to
create so much ATP.
But what happens when
oxygen doesn't exist?
 Anaerobic Cellular Respiration

• In anaerobic cellular respiration, the only step of

this process that occurs is glycolysis.
 What is fermentation?

• Derived from the Latin verb ‘fervere’ meaning

‘to boil’
• “fermentation, far from
being a lifeless phenomenon, ‘
is a living process…”
Louis Pasteur
 What is fermentation?
• It is a process by which the living cell is able to
obtain energy through the breakdown of
glucose and other simple sugar molecules
without requiring oxygen.
• Fermentation results in the
production of energy in the
form of two ATP molecules,
and produces less energy than
the aerobic process of
cellular respiration .
• Louis Pasteur in the 19th century used the term
fermentation in a narrow sense to describe the
changes brought about by yeasts and other
microorganisms growing in the absence of air
(anaerobically);
• he also recognized
that ethyl alcohol and
carbon dioxide are
products
of fermentation.
Lactic acid homofermentation
C6H12O6 2CH3CHOHCOOH
Glucose Lactic acid
Products of Fermentation
 Microbes In Industrial Products

• 1. Beverages
• 2. Antibiotics
• 3. Organic acids
• 4. Enzymes
• 5. Bio-active molecules
 Microbes In Industrial Products
• 1. Beverages
• a. When juices and malted cereals are fermented they get converted to
ethanol.
• b. Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is commonly used for
fermentation.
• c. Drinks with versatile colour and flavour are produced depending
upon the raw material and nature of processing used
• d. Classification of beverages
– (i) Whisky, Rum and Brandy are distilled beverages.
– (ii) Wine and beer are not distilled.
 Microbes In Industrial Products
• 2. Antibiotics

• a.The term means 'against life' with reference to disease causing

organisms.

• b. The first antibiotic penicillin was discovered by

Alexander Fleming.

• c. Penicillin is obtained from a fungus Penicillium notatum.

d. These are used in treatment of a number of diseases such as, diptheria,
leprosy, whooping cough, plague The use of drugs to treat a disease
Selective toxicity: A drug that kills harmful microbes without damaging the host
• etc.
Fleming and Penicillin
 Antibiotic Spectrum of Activity

• No antibiotic is effective against all

microbes
 Microbes In Industrial Products
• 3. Organic acids
• a. Various organic acids are produced with the help of microbes.
The below lists the organic acids and name of the microbe
employed in producing it-
Organic Acids Microbe

1. Citric Acid 1. Aspergillus niger (fungus)

2. Acetic Acid 2. Acetobacter aceti (bacterium)
3. Butyric acid 3. Clostridium butylicum (bacterium)
4. Lactic Acid 4. Lactobacillus (bacterium)
5. Ethanol 5. Saccharomyces cerevisie (yeast)
Because of the involvement of butyric acid
in a wide range of biochemical processes,
butyric acid can aid in the prevention,
management, and/or treatment of a variety of
health conditions, including gastrointestinal
problems, colon cancer, diabetes/metabolic
disorders, and neurological disorders.

Acetic acid is also used in the

Citric acid is a weak organic acid found in
citrus fruits. It is a natural preservative and is
also used to add an acidic (sour) taste to foods
and soft drinks. In biochemistry, it is important
as an intermediate in the citric acid cycle and
therefore occurs in the metabolism of almost all
living things
production of pharmaceuticals.
In the food industry, acetic acid
in lower concentrations is used
as a food additive, flavoring and
preservative. Acetic acid
regulates food acidity. In the
household, food acetic acid uses
include pickling and the acid's
presence in vinegar.
Some important fermentation products

Product Organism Use

Ethanol Saccharomyces Industrial solvents,

cerevisiae beverages
Glycerol Saccharomyces Production of lipid.
cerevisiae
Lactic acid Lactobacillus Food
bulgaricus
Acetone and Clostridium Solvents
butanol acetobutylicum
-amylase Bacillus subtilis Starch hydrolysis
34
 Microbes In Industrial Products
• 4. Enzymes produced with the help of microbes are-
• i.Lipases (lipid dissolving, produced by Candida lipolytica)
• ii. Proteases
• iii. Pectinase
– a. Lipases are added in detergents for removing oily stains
– b. Pectinases and proteases are used to clear fruit juices during
bottling.
– c. Streptokinase is produced by Streptococcus. It is modified by
genetic engineering and used as 'clot buster‘ for dissolving blood clots of
patients after myocardial infarction.
 Microbes In Industrial Products
• 5. Bioactive molecules

• a. Cyclosporin A
– i. A fungus Trichoderma Polysporum produces it.
– ii. It has immuno suppresive properties so it is used as an immuno-
supressive agent during organ transplantation.

• b. Statins
– i. These are the products of fermentation activity of yeast, Monascus
purpureus.
– ii. It inhibits cholesterol synthesis, so used for
lowering blood cholesterol level.
 Beer, a
product of
fermentation

Antibiotics

Acetic
acid, the
main
component
of Vineger Cholesterol lowering
tablets(statins)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
as seen under DIC (Differential
Interference Contrast)
microscope.

The large holes in Swiss cheese

are due to huge amount of CO2
released during fermentation by
Propionibacterium shermanii
 Microbes In Sewage Treatment
• Need for sewage treatment-
• 1. The municipal waste water(sewage) contains large amount of organic
waste and microbes.
• 2. This can invite diseases and epidemic when this water meets community
water bodies like lake pond and rivers.
• 3. To check this the sewage is made less polluting by passing it through
sewage treatment plants(STPs)
• This involves two steps-
– i. Primary Treatment
– ii. Secondary Treatment
 Microbes In Sewage Treatment
• 1. Primary treatment
• a. It is a physical process, it uses filtration and
satioedimentation to filter small and large particles.
• b. First the sewage is passed through mesh screens of small pore
sizes to remove floating objects like polythene.
• c. The grit is removed by sedimentation by passing sewage into
grit chamber.
• d. Then it is kept in settling tanks, where the suspended
materials settle down to form the primary sludge.
• e. The remaining fluid is taken for secondary treatment.
 Microbes In Sewage Treatment
• 2. Secondary treatment

• a. It is a biological process by heterotrophic bacteria present in the sewage.

• b. The primary effluent is aerated in aeration tanks.

• c. This causes rapid growth of aerobic bacteria, which then as 'flocs' consume the
organic matter to reduce the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).

• d. After this the effluent is passed to settling tanks where these 'flocs' get
sedimented. (Activated Sludge).

• e. A part of this sludge is pumped back to aeration tanks for further use.

• f. This sludge is pumped to anaerobic sludge digesters, where anaerobic bacteria

form gases like methane CO2 and H2S.

• g. After this the effluent is released into water bodies like streams and rivers.
BOD,flocks,sluge diagesters, biogas,ganga and
yamuna action plan,
 Microbes In Biogas Production
• 1. Biogas
• a. Biogas consists of methane(60%) and CO2(40%)
• b. Produced by Methanobacterium by acting on cellulosic
compounds, these are found in rumen of cattle and anaerobic
sludge of sewage.
• c. Cattle dung contains both cellulosic as well as methanogens
so it's used for biogas production.
• d. It is a popular method for meeting energy requirements of
rural households, and also helps in reducing precious firewood.
 Microbes In Biogas Production
• 2. The steps involved in the production of biogas-
• a. The biogas plant consists of a 10-15 feet deep concrete tank in
which the slurry of dung is fed.
• b. A floating cover is kept over the slurry which keeps on rising
as the gas is produced in the tank by microbial activity.
• c. An outlet connected to a pipe is present in the biogas plant for
the removal of biogas and supplying it to required places.
• d. The spent slurry is removed through another outlet which can
be used as a fertiliser.
A typical biogas plant.
A biogas plant –IARI and KVIC
 Microbes As Biocontrol Agents
• 1. Biological control is defined as the reduction of pest
populations by natural enemies and typically involves an active human
role.
• 2. For Example-
• a. The spores of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are toxic to certain larvae,
but not harmful for others.
• b. The fungus trichoderma is being used for fighting plant diseases.
• c. Baculoviruses are the pathogens used for attacking harmful insects
and arthropods, they belong to genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus.
 Use Of Microbes As Biofertilser
• 1. The use of biofertilsers instead of chemical ones has been known
to keep the soils fertility intact for longer durations. They are
organisms like bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria, that enrich the soil.
• 2. a. Bacteria - Rhizobium, Azospirilium, Azatobacter fix atmospheric
nitrogen and enrich nitrogen content of soil.
• b. Fungi -They form symbiotic relation with roots of plants eg.
mycorrhiza. It absorbs phosphorous and passes it to plant, also it
shows resistance to pathogens and salinity.
• c. Cyanobacteria - They are autotrophic microbes which can fix
atmospheric nitrogen, for eg. Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria. They
are important biofertilisers in paddy fileds.
 Fermented Foods:An ancient
Tradition
Human beings are known to have made fermented foods since
Neolithic times. The earliest types were beer, wine, and leavened
bread (made primarily by yeasts) and cheeses (made by bacteria
and molds). These were soon followed by East Asian fermented
foods, yogurt and other fermented milk products, pickles,
sauerkraut, vinegar (soured wine), butter, and a host of traditional
alcoholic beverages. More recently molds have been used in
industrial fermentation to make vitamins B-2 (riboflavin) and B-12,
textured protein products (from Fusarium and Rhizopus in Europe)
antibiotics (such as penicillin), citric acid, and gluconic acid.
Bacteria are now used to make the amino acids lysine and glutamic
acid. Single-celled protein foods such as nutritional yeast and
microalgae (spirulina, chlorella) are also made in modern industrial
fermentations.