IMPORTANCE OF BACTERIA

Ecological Importance:

• Highly adaptable
• Found nearly everywhere
• Able to decompose organic matter
• Play significant role in completion of cycles
of:
N,P,S & C
Economic Importance:
• Used in number of industries
1. Food, drugs (production of antibiotics

and vaccines)
2. Biotechnology
• Spoilage of food and vegetables
• Plant pathogens adversely affect agriculture industry
Medical importance:

• Bacteria are very common pathogens of humans

• Approx. 200 species are known to cause human

diseases

• Many bacteria inhabit the bodies of man

and other animals
CONTROL OF BACTERIA
 Control of microorganisms is essential in home,
industry as well as medical fields
 By controlling  one can prevent and treat diseases.
 Spoilage of foods and other industrial products can be
inhibited by controlling microorganisms.

 Microorganisms can be controlled by various

methods…….
1. Physical method: (in this following are used)
 Steam
 Dry heat
 Gas
 Filteration
 Radiation

 Sterilization process: (definition)

 The process in which we use physical agents to control
bacterial/microorganism is known as sterilization process.
 It is destruction of all life forms.
 High temperature:
 Usually used in microbiological labs
 Both dry and moist heat are effective
1. moist heat= causes coagulation of proteins and kills microbes
2. dry heat= causes oxidation of chemical constituents of
microbes and kills them.
 Electromagnetic radiations:
 Below 300nm are effective
 Gamma rays are generally used
 Membrane filters:
Heat sensitive compounds like antibiotics, seras,hormones etc
Fig: 1 & 2. moist heat methods 5. Gas steriliser
3. dry heat oven 6. Radiations(gamma rays)
4. membrane filteration unit
2. Chemical methods: (one can use following)
 Antiseptics

 Disinfectants

 Chemotherapeutics

 1.Antiseptics: (definition)
 Chemical substances used on living tissues that
inhibit the growth of microorganism are called
antiseptics.
 2.Disinfectants: (definition)
 The chemical agents used to inhibit the growth of vegetative cells
and are used on nonliving materials.

 Importantchemical agents used for disinfection are:

Oxidising and reducing agents
For example:
 Halogens
 Phenols
 Hydrogen peroxide
 Potassium permanganate
 Alcohol
 Formaldehyde
 3. Chemotherapeutics & antibiotics:
 Work with natural defense
 Stop the growth of bacteria & microbes
 Sulfonamides,tetracycline,penicillin (antibiotics) etc
 Destroy or inhibit growth of microorganisms in living
tissues
Microbicidal effect: Microbistatic effect:

 Kills microbes immediately  Inhibits reproductive

capacities of the cells
& maintains the
microbial population at
constant size.
 Mode of action of different chemical & physical agents:

 Damage can result malfunctions in:

 1. Cell wall
 2. Cell membranes
 3. Cytoplasm
 4. Enzymes
 5. Nucleic acids
Thank you