Microbes are the major components of biological systems on the earth.

They are present

everywhere, i.e. in soil, water, air, inside our bodies and those of other animals and plants. They
can also be found deep inside the geysers (thermal vents), deep in soil, under the layer of snow
and in highly acidic environments.
(i) Microbes are so minute that they cannot be seen by naked eyes.
(ii) Various types of microbes are Protozoa, bacteria, fungi, virus, viroids and prions.
2. Microbes in household products The common products obtained by the use of microbes are
curd, dough, toddy, cheese, etc.

(i) Curd is formed by adding bacteria such as Lactobacillus and others, commonly
called as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in milk.
(a) A small amount of curd is added to the fresh milk as starter, which contain
millions of LAB.
(b) LAB at suitable temperature multiply and convert milk into curd, which also
improves nutritional quality by increasing vitamin-B12 .
(c) During growth, LAB produce acids that coagulate and partially digest the milk
proteins.

(d) LAB also checks disease causing microbes in the stomach.

(ii) Dough is formed by fermentation caused by bacteria.
(a) Dough used to make bread, is fermented using baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae).

(b) Carbon dioxide released during the process of fermentation gives the fluffy appearance
to dough.
(c) Dough is also used to make foods like idli, dosa, in addition to different types of breads.
(iii) Toddy is a traditional drink of Southern India. It is made by fermentation of sap
from palm trees by bacteria. A number of other drinks and food are also made by
fermentation.
(iv) Cheese is made by partial degradation of milk using different microbes.
(a) Swiss cheese is made by a bacterium Propionibacterium shermanii. The large holes in
this cheese are due to production of a large amount of C02 by the bacterium.

(b) Roquefort cheese is made by ripening with the fungi, Penicillium roqueforti to obtain a
specific flavour.
(v) Microbes are also used to ferment fish, soybean and bamboo shoots to make food.
3. Microbes in industrial products have immense importance. The main industrial products
obtained from microbes are fermented beverages, antibiotics, organic acids, alcohol,
enzymes and bioactive molecules, etc. Production of these products on industrial scale
needs growing microbes in very large vessels called fermentors.
(i) Fermented beverages are wine, beer, whisky, brandy and rum(a) These are obtained by
fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices with Saccharomyces cerevisiae or brewer’s yeast
to produce ethanol.
(b) Variety of alcoholic drink depend on the type of raw material used and the type of
processing.
(c) Wine and beer are produced without distillation.
(d) Whisky, brandy and rum are produced by the distillation of the fermented broth.
(ii) Antibiotics (anti – against and bio – life) are chemical substances, which are
produced by some microbes and can kill or retard the growth of other (disease causing)
microbes.
(a) Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered by Alexander Fleming.
(b) Fleming discovered penicillin, while working on Staphylococcus bacteria. He observed a
mould growing in one of his unwashed culture platesaround which Staphylococci could not
grow. He found out that it was due to a chemical produced by the mould. He named it
penicillin after the mould Penicillium notatum. (c) Ernst Chain and Howard Florey discovered
full potential of this antibiotic.
(d) Penicillin was extensively used during World War II. Fleming, Chain and Florey were
awarded Nobel Prize in 1945 for this discovery.
(e) Antibiotics are used to cure deadly diseases such as plague, whooping cough, diphtheria
and leprosy.
(iii) Organic acids are produced by the microbial metabolic action. Important ones are:
(a) Citric acid – Aspergillus niger (fungi)
(b) Acetic acid – Acetobacter aceti (bacteria)
(c) Butyric acid – Clostridium butylicum (bacteria)
(d) Lactic acid – Lactobacillus (bacteria)
(iv) Ethanol is produced by yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on commercial scale.
(v) Enzymes used in various fields are also produced by microbes as given below(a) Lipase
used in detergent formulations and helps in removing oily stains from the laundry.
(b) Pectinase and protease used for clarifying bottled juices.
(c) Streptokinase produced by Streptococcus and modified by genetic engineering is used
as a ‘Clot buster’ for removing clots from blood vessels of patients, who have undergone
myocardial infarction leading to heart attack.
(vi) Bioactive molecules produced by microbes are:
(a) Cyclosporin-A produced by Trichodermapolysporum (fungus). It is used as
immuno¬suppressive agent in organ-transplant patients.
(b) Statins produced by Monascus purpureus (yeast), is used as blood cholesterol lowering
agents. It acts by competitively inhibiting the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of
cholesterol.

4. Microbes in sewage treatment play major role:

(i) Sewage is the municipal wastewater containing mainly human excreta. It contains
large quantity of organic matter and pathogenic microbes. Therefore, before
discharging into natural bodies, sewage needs to be made less polluting.
(ii) Sewage treatment is carried out in Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in following steps:
A. 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 large number of sewage treatment plants so that
only treated sewage can be discharged in the rivers.

MICROBES IN THE PRODUCTION OF BIOGAS

Biogas is a mixture of gases (containing predominantly methane) produced by
the microbial activity.

Certain bacteria grow anaerobically on cellulosic material and produce large

amount of methane along with CO2 and H2 which are collectively called as
methanogens.

One common methanogen is Methanobacterium

These bacteria are commonly found in the anaerobic sludge during sewage
treatment and in the rumen of cattle to digest cellulose in the food of the
cattle , thus the excreta of cattle, commonly called gobar can be used for
generation of biogas, commonly called gobar gas.
Biogas plant
o 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.
o 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.
o The biogas plant has an outlet, which is connected to a pipe to supply
biogas to nearby houses.
o The spent slurry is removed through another outlet and may be used
as fertilizer.
o The biogas thus produced can be used for cooking and lighting.

Fig. biogas plant

MICROBES AS BIOCONTROL AGENTS
Biocontrol refers to the use of biological methods for controlling plant
diseases and pests.

Chemicals, insecticides and pesticides are extremely harmful to human beings

and also these pollute our environment.

The use of biocontrol measures will greatly reduce our dependence on toxic
chemicals and pesticides.

Biocontrol agents are which are useful in controlling plant diseases and pests
are-
 o The ladybird, a beetle with red and black markings and dragon flies
are useful to get rid of aphids and mosquitoes respectively.

Fig. ladybird

o Bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is used to get rid of butterfly

caterpillars where dried spores of Bacillus thuringiensis are mixed
with water and sprayed onto vulnerable plants such as brassicas and
fruit trees and these are eaten by the insect larvae and in the gut of
the larvae, the toxin is released and the larvae get killed.

Fig. Bacillus thuringiensis

o Trichoderma species are free-living fungi found in the root ecosystem
these are effective as biocontrol agents of several plant pathogens.
o Baculoviruses are pathogens that attack insects and other arthropods
and the majority of baculoviruses used as biological control agents
are in the genus Nucleopolyhedrovirus
MICROBES AS BIOFERTILIZERS
Biofertilizers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil.

The main sources of biofertilizers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria.

Some microbes used as biofertlizers are-

 o Rhizobium form root nodules in leguminous plants and fix
atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms, which is used by the plant
as nutrient.
o Free living bacteria like Azospirilium and Azotobacter fix atmospheric
nitrogen, hence increases nitrogen content of the soil.
o Many members of the genus Glomus form Mycorrhiza, which is the
symbiotic association of fungi with roots of the plants.
The fungal symbiont in these associations absorbs phosphorus from soil and
passes to the plants.
Plants having symbiotic association show resistance to root-borne pathogens,
tolerance to salinity and drought, and an overall increase in plant growth and
development.

Fig. Mycorrhiza

Cyanobacteria are autotrophic microbes which can fix atmospheric

nitrogen. Example - Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria

Blue green algae also add organic matter to the soil and increase its fertility

Fig. anabaena