KVM Public school

Biology
investigatory
project
Name: Raman Deep Kaur
Class:12th B
Roll no:
Subject Teacher's sign. External Teacher's sign
Mrs.Deepti Joshi
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my special
thanks of gratitude to my biology
teacher Mrs Deepti Joshi ma'am
for their guidance and support in
completing my project.

I would also like to extend my

gratitude to the principal sir Mr
Praveen pant for providing me
with all the facility that was
required.

Date. Ramandeep Kaur

10-02-22. 12th B
 Certificate
This is to certify that Ramandeep
for a student of class 12th has
been successfully completed the
research on the below mentioned
project under the guidance of
Mrs.DeeptiJoshi maam during the
year 2021-2022 in partial
fulfillment of biology practical
examination conducted by
Central board of secondary
education (New Delhi).

Signature of Biology Teacher:

Signature of external invigilator:

 Index
S.no Topic Sign
Microbes in
1. household
product
Microbes in
2. Industrial
Products
Microbes in
3. sewage
treatment
Microbes in
4. production of
biogas
Microbes in
5. biocontrol
agents
Bibliography
6.
Microbes in Human
Welfare
Microbes in household
product
● We use microbes for products
derived from them everyday.
● Microbes such as lactobacillus and
other commonly called lactic acid
bacteria and LAB grow in milk and
convert it into curd.
● LAB produces acid that coagulate
and partially digests the milk
proteins.
● Small amount of curd added to the
fresh milk as inoculum or starter
contains millions of LAB.
● Which at suitable temperature
multiplies and converts milk into
curd.
● LAB also improves the nutritional value of curd
by increasing vitamin B12.
● LAB plays a very beneficial role in checking
disease causing microbes.
● SACCHAROMYCES CERVISIAE is another
bacteria which is useful in preparing lots of
products.
● It is also known as Brewer's yeast.
● It is used to prepare breads, cakes and alcohol.
● Toddy a traditional drink of some parts of
Southern India is made by fermenting SAP
from palm.
● Holes in Swiss cheese are due to the
production of large amount of CO2 by a
bacterium named propionibacterium sharmanii.
● Roquefort cheese are ripened by growing
specific bacteria on them.
 Microbes in Industrial
Products
● Even in industry microbes are used to
simplify the number of products.
● Beverages and antibiotics for some
examples.
● Production on an industrial scale requires
growing microfin very large vessel for
fermenters.

Fermented beverages :
● Microbes especially yeast have been used for
the production of beverages.
● Today we are familiar with different kinds of
beverages like wine,beer ,whisky ,brandy and
rum.
● Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used for
fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices to
produce ethanol.
● Depending on the type of raw materials used
for fermentation and the type of processing
different types of alcoholic drinks are obtained.
● Some of them are distilled which include
whisky, brandy and rum.
● And some of them are not distilled, which
includes wine and wine.

Antibiotics:
● They are chemical substances which are
produced by some microbes and kill or
retain the growth of other microbes.
● The first antibiotic which was discovered
by Alexander Fleming was penicillium.
● Which was produced from penicillium
notatum.
● However its full potential as an effective
antibiotic was established by onst chain
and Howard florey.
● Antibiotics have greatly improved the
capacity to treat deadly diseases like
whooping cough, diphtheria,plague,and
leprosy.
Chemical, Enzymes and other
Bioactive Molecules
● Microbes are also used for commercial
and industrial production of cotton
chemicals like organic acid alcohol and
enzymes.
● Acid producer are
● Aspergillus niger(a fungus) of citric acid.
● Acetobacter aceti (a bacterium) of acetic acid.
● Clostridium butylicum (a bacterium) of butyric
acid
● Lactobacillus (a bacterium) of lactic acid

Microbes are also used for production of

enzyme
● Lipases are used in detergent
formulation and are helpful in
removing oily stains
● Pectinases are used to clarify the
bottled juices.
● Streptokinase produced by bacterium
streptococcus and modified by genetic
engineering is used as a clot buster
for removing clothes from blood
vessels of patients undergoing
myocardial infarction leading to heart
attack.
Microbes in sewage
treatment
● The municipal wastewater is called sewage.
● It contains large amounts of organic matter and
microbes.
● Many of them are pathogenic.
● This water can't be discharged into sea bodies
without treatment.
● So for the treatment of sewage , STPs(Sewage
treatment plants) are set up.

Primary treatment of sewage is:

(a) This step involves physical removal of large
and small particles from sewage through
filtration and sedimentation.
(b) Floating debris is removed by sequential
filtration by passing through wire mesh
screens.
(c) After this, the grit (soil and small pebbles) is
removed by sedimentation in settling tanks.
The sediment is called primary sludge and the
supernatant forms the primary effluent.
(d) The effluent is taken for secondary
treatment.
B. Secondary treatment (biological
treatment) of sewage is done on primary
effluent.
(a) Primary effluent is passed into large
aeration tanks with constant mechanical
agitation and air supply.
(b) This allows vigorous growth of useful
aerobic microbes into floes (masses of bacteria
associated with fungal filaments to form
mesh-like structures).
(c) These microbes consume major part of
organic matter in the effluent, while growing.
This reduces the Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD) of the effluent.
(d) When BOD of sewage gets reduced, it is
passed into settling tank.
(e) The bacterial floes settle in tank and the
sediment is called activated sludge.
(f) A small amount of activated sludge is
pumped back into the aeration tank to serve as
inoculum.
(g) The remaining major part of the sludge is
pumped into large tanks called anaerobic
sludge digesters.
(h) In sludge digesters, other kinds of bacteria,
which grow anaerobically, digest the bacteria
and the fungi in the sludge. During this
process, bacteria produce a mixture of gases,
such as methane, hydrogen sulphide and the
carbon dioxide, which form biogas (can be
used as source of energy).
(i) The effluent from secondary treatment is
generally released into natural water bodies.
(iii) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) refers
to the amount of the oxygen that would be
consumed if all the organic matter in one litre of
water is oxidised by bacteria.
(a) BOD measures the rate of uptake of oxygen
by the microbes in a sample of water. Indirectly,
it measures the organic matter present in the
water.
(b) More BOD of waste water indicates more
polluting potential.
(iv) Due to the increasing urbanisation, sewage
is being produced in larger quantities. So, the
untreated sewage is often discharged directly
into rivers leading to their pollution and
increase in water borne diseases.
(v) The Ministry of Environment and Forests
has initiated Ganga Action Plan and Yamuna
Action Plan to save the major rivers of our
country from pollution.
Under these plans, it is proposed to build a
 Microbes in Biogas
Production
● Methanogens, e.g. methanobacterium are
present in the anaerobic sludge and
produce biogas in sewage treatment, i.e.
predominantly methane and a mixture of
other gases.
● These bacteria are also present in the
rumen of cattle and help in the digestion of
cellulose.

● Gobar gas is produced from the dung of

the cattle and is used in villages for various
purposes.

● IARI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute) and

KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission)
have put in lots of effort in developing the
technology for biogas production.

Biocontrol of pest and diseases

● Chemical pesticides and insecticides kill
both harmful and useful organisms.
● By understanding natural predation and
interacting webs, an appropriate method of
biocontrol can be developed.

● Dragonflies and ladybugs help in

controlling mosquitoes and aphids.

● Bacillus thuringiensis is used to control

caterpillars and insect larvae.
● Some plants have been genetically
modified and the gene coding for the toxin
 has been introduced in the plant genome.
E.g. Bt-cotton is resistant to pests.

● Trichoderma (a fungus) is used to

biocontrol various plant pathogens. The
fungus is commonly present in the roots.

● Baculoviruses of the genus

Nucleopolyhedrovirus are excellent
biocontrol agents.
● They attack arthropods but are harmful to
plants and other animals such as birds,
fish and mammals.

Biofertilizers
● Excessive use of chemical fertilizers is
linked to pollution and harmful effects.
● Use of microorganisms as biofertilizers is
highly recommended.

● Fungi, bacteria and cyanobacteria are the

main sources of biofertilizers.

● Rhizobium is present in the root nodules of

leguminous plants. It fixes atmospheric
nitrogen. Growing leguminous plants
alternatively helps in increasing the
nitrogen content of the soil.

● Azotobacter and Azospirillum are

free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria present
in the soil.
● Fungal association in mycorrhiza also
enriches the nutrient content of the soil.
Fungi of the genus Glomus absorbs
phosphorus for the plant.

● These symbiotic associations not only

benefit by enriching the nutrient content
but also provide disease resistance and
tolerance to drought and salinity.

● Most of the cyanobacteria can fix

atmospheric nitrogen, e.g. Nostoc,
Anabaena, Oscillatoria, etc. Cyanobacteria
are extensively used in paddy fields as a
biofertilizer. Blue-green algae are
autotrophic and present everywhere in
aquatic and terrestrial habitats. They
increase soil fertility by adding organic
matter.
Bibliography:
To make this project I have taken
source from the NCERT book of biology
of class 12th and also taking help from
Google.