VERITAS SAINIK SCHOOL

Learning Objectives
• To help students learn how some microorganisms can help us while few
micro-organisms are harmful to us
 Basic concepts /
Ideas:
1. Microorganisms
Classification of microorganisms Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa, Algae, Virus
Habitat of microorganisms
Usefulness of microorganisms
Diseases caused by microorganisms in animals and plants
2. Food Preservation
3. Nitrogen-Cycle
 Concepts / learning outcomes
• Uses and harms of microorganisms.
• How micro-organisms help in making curd, bread, medicines, wine?
• What are viruses?
• Usefulness of micro-organisms in improving soil fertility.
• Diseases cause by micro-organisms in living organisms.
• Methods of food-preservation.
• What converts milk into curd?
• Use of fermentation in daily life.
• Who discovered vaccine and how it works?
• How do diseases spread from one person to another?
• What are antibiotics?
• How can we preserve food for a longer period?
• How nitrogen makes soil fertile?
• To analyse whether microorganisms are friend or foe.
• Stories behind discoveries- vaccines, fermentation, pasteurization, etc.
Organisms that are so small that they can only be seen through a
microscope are called microorganisms or microbes.
 TYPES OF
MICROORGANISMS

Bacteria

Fungi Algae

Virus Protozo
a
Bacteria are found in three different shapes:
❖ rod shaped , called bacilli
❖ Spherical , called cocci
❖ Spiral , called spirilla
CHARACTERISTICS OF ALGAE:
❖ Algae are eukaryotic organisms
❖ Mostly photosynthetic
❖They are almost marine ,

very few are freshwater.

❖Algae can be unicellular or multicellular.
❖Algae reproduce either by vegetative , asexual
or sexual methods.
Characteristics of protozoa:
❑ Protozoa are unicellular
❑Organisms that have animal like characteristics.

❑They are eukaryotic microorganisms.

❑They can move from place to place.
❑ Some protozoa live in fresh or salty water while others live in
soil.
Characteristics of fungi:
o Fungi are plant like organisms that do not contain
chlorophyll.
o They may be unicellular or multicellular.
o They grow best in dark , warm and moist places.
Characteristics of viruses:
□ Viruses can replicate only by infecting a host cell.
□ They cannot reproduce on their own.
□ They infect a wide variety of organisms, including both
eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
 Beneficial Microorganisms
In food and beverage industry
•Lactobacillus is a bacterium that sours milk and is used to
prepare curd from milk.
• Fungi like mushrooms and morels are edible and are rich source of
protein.
•Yeast is used in preparing food items like bread and cakes.
(Activity-2.3 Dough making using yeast and flour)
• Yeast is also used in breweries for making alcohol, wines and acetic acid
(commercial use) by the process of fermentation (conversion of sugar
into alcohol). Yeast is grown on natural sugars present in grains like
barley, wheat, rice, crushed fruit juices, etc.
(Activity-2.4 Alcohol preparation using sugar solution and
yeast) Louis Pasteur discovered fermentation in 1857
 In agriculture
•Some bacteria (Rhizobium) and blue green algae (Nostoc) live in the
root nodules of plants such as gram, pea (leguminous plants) etc.
•These bacteria absorb the nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert
it into nitrate which serves as natural fertilizers for plants, hence,
enhancing soil fertility.
• These microbes are commonly called as biological nitrogen fixers.
 In cleaning the environment
•The microorganisms decompose dead organic waste of plants
and animals converting them into simple substances. These
substances are again used by other plants and animals.
•Thus, microorganisms can be used to degrade the harmful and
smelly substances and thereby clean up the environment.
•The plant waste can be converted into manure by the action of
microbes. The nutrients released in the process can be used by the
plants again. (Activity-2.5 Making manure using plant waste, fruit
and vegetable peels vs. plastic waste, e-waste)
 In making medicines - vaccines
• When a disease-carrying microbe enters our body, the body
produces antibodies to fight the invader.
• The body also remembers how to fight the microbe if it enters
again.
• So, if dead or weakened microbes are introduced in a healthy body,
the body fights and kills them by producing suitable antibodies.
• The antibodies remain in the body and we are protected from the
disease-causing microbes. This is how a vaccine works.
• Diseases like cholera, tuberculosis, smallpox and hepatitis can be
prevented by vaccination.
 In making medicines-antibiotics
• Antibiotics are medicines which kill or stop the growth of the
disease- causing microorganisms.
• A number of antibiotics are being produced from bacteria
and fungi. Ex: Streptomycin, tetracycline, erythromycin
• Antibiotics are mixed with the feed of livestock and poultry to check
microbial infection in animals.
• They are also used to control many plant diseases.
• Antibiotics are not effective against cold and flu as these are
caused by viruses.
Note: Antibiotics should be taken only on the advice of a qualified
doctor and the prescribed course should be completed.
 Harmful microorganisms
Some of the microorganisms cause diseases in human beings, plants and
animals. Such disease-causing microorganisms are called pathogens.
In Humans
• Pathogens enter our body through the air we breathe, the water we drink or food
we eat.
• They can also get transmitted by direct contact with an infected person or
carried through an animal.
• Microbial diseases that can spread from an infected person to a healthy person
through air, water, food or physical contact are called communicable diseases.
Ex: common cold, chicken pox, tuberculosis.
DISEASES CAUSED BY
MICROORGANISMS
 In Animals
[1] Anthrax
Host: Humans, cattle
Pathogen: bacteria (Bacillus . anthracis )
[1] Foot and mouth disease Host: cattle
Pathogen: virus Foot-and-mouth disease virus
(FMDV)
 In Plants
•Microorganisms cause diseases in plants like wheat, rice, potato, orange,
sugarcane, apple and others.
• The diseases reduce the yield of crops.
•They can be controlled by the use of certain chemicals which kill the
microbes.
 food poisoning
• Microorganisms spoil our food.
• Spoiled food emits bad smell and has a bad taste and colour change.
• Spoiling of food is a chemical reaction
•Food poisoning could be due to the consumption of food spoilt by
some microorganisms.
•Microorganisms that grow on food sometimes produce toxic
substances. These make the food poisonous causing serious illness
and even death.
 Food preservation
 Processing of food to prevent their spoilage and to retain their nutritive value
for longer period is called food preservation.
 Preservatives: The common chemicals generally used to prevent the

growth of microorganisms. Ex: salt, sugar, edible oil, acids, etc.

 Food can be preserved using many methods:

1. Chemical method
 Standard preservatives (recognized safe by national food agencies)
Salt
 Sugar
 Oil and Vinegar
2. Heat and cold treatments
Pasteurization
3. Storage and packing
 Pasteurisation
 Pasteurised milk can be
consumed without boiling as
it is free from harmful
microbes.
Milk is heated to about 70°C

for 15 to 30 seconds and then

suddenly chilled and stored.
This process prevents the growth
of microbes.
 Discovery: Louis Pasteur -
Pasteurisation.
 Nitrogen Fixation
•Rhizobium is involved in the fixation of nitrogen in leguminous
plants. It lives
in the root nodules of leguminous plants such as beans and peas,
with
which it has a symbiotic relationship.
• Nitrogen also gets fixed through the action of lightning.
• The amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere remains constant.
• Our atmosphere has 78% nitrogen gas.
NITROGEN
CYCLE
Mindma
p
 References
• NCERT : Science, Class 8th textbook, Chapter 2, Microorganisms: Friends
and Foe(Pg. no 17-31)
•
https://www.geor
gianjournal.ge/society/33572-georgian-student-who-pain ts-with-
bacteria-earns-third-place-at-microbiology-art-contest.html
• https://www.britannica.com/biographies
• Google images- https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBK1O3x8QXvLJIEpc9ecxZQ
Thankyou