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Economic Importance of Bacteria

it talks about the economic importance of bacteria to the environment.
Course

Microbiology (123)

7 Documents
Students shared 7 documents in this course
Academic year: 2016/2017
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Al-Hikmah University

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ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BACTERIA.. Economic importance of any organism refers to the advantages and disadvantages of that organism to nature, the humans and the environment. Bacteria, a prokaryote and microscopic organism have the following importance: BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF BACTERIA. Bacteria plays important roles in different fields such as agriculture, industry etc. Some of them are mentioned below: A. In Nature. i. Maintenance of soil fertility: Bacteria grows in many different microenvironments and specific niches in the soil. Bacteria populations expand rapidly and the bacteria are more competitive when easily digestible simple sugars are readily available around in the rhizosphere. Root exudates, dead plants debris, simple sugars and complex polysaccharides are abundant in this region. About 10 to 30% of the soil micro organisms in the rhizoshere are actinomycetes depending on environmental conditions. Many bacteria produce a layer of polysaccharides or glycoproteins that coats the surface of soil particles. These substances play an important role in cementing sand, silt and clay soil particles into stable micro aggregates that improve soil structure. Bacteria lives around the edges of soil mineral particles, especially clay and associated organic residues. Bacteria are important in producing polysaccharides that cement sand, silt and clay particles together to form micro aggregates and improve soil structure. Bacteria do not move very far in the soil, so most movement is associated with water, growing roots or hitching a ride with other soil fauna like earthworms, ants, spiders etc. Also, bacteria provides large quantities of nitrogen to plants. Many bacteria secretes enzymes in the soil to make phosphorus more soluble and plant available. Bacteria improves the soil so that new plants can be established. Actinomycetes, an example of bacteria found in the soil decompose many substances but are more active at high soil pH levels. Actinomycetes are important in forming stable humus, which enhances soil structure, improves nutrient storage and increases water retention. Most saprophytic bacteria due to their decomposition activities, release nutrients in the soil which aids its fertility through nitrogen cycle. ii. Nitrogen fixation: Certain bacteria e. Rhizobium Leguminosarium aid nitrogen fixation into plants through the root nodules of leguminous plants. The rhizobium bacteria(gram negative rod-shaped bacteria) species associate with a plant host(legume or clover) to form nitrogen nodules to fix nitrogen for plant growth. The plant supplies the carbon to the rhizobium in the form of simple sugars. Rhizobium bacteria take nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it to a form that plants can use. For plants use, the atmospheric nitrogen(N 2) or reactive nitrogen combines with oxygen to form nitrate(NO 3-) or nitrite(NO2-) or combines with hydrogen to produce ammonia or ammonium which are used by plant cells to make amino acids and proteins. Many soil bacteria process nitrogen in organic substrates, but only nitrogen fixing bacteria can process the nitrogen in the atmosphere into a form(fixed nitrogen) that plants can use. Nitrogen fixation occurs because these specific bacteria are generally widely available in most soil types(both free living soil species and bacteria species are dependent on a plant host). Nitrogen fixation is a process where nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrite. Bacteria and fungi are typically consumed by protozoa and nematodes and the microbial wastes they excrete is ammonia which is plant available nitrogen. Nitrite bacteria(Nitrosomonas spp.) convert the ammonia into nitrites and nitrate bacteria(Nitrobacter spp.) may then whatever is left of them after the other critters are done) as the atmosphere runs out of carbon(iv)oxide and the world freezes. vii. Disposal of Sewage: Bacteria help in the disposal of sewage by decomposing it and thus, helps in environmental sanitation. viii. Preparation of Ensilage: Ensilage is preserved cattle fodder prepared by packing fresh chopped fodder sprinkled with molasses. Fermentation activity o bacteria produces lactic acids that acts as preservative in ensilage. ix. Production of Fuel: Bacteria, while converting animal dung and other organic wastes to manure, help in the production of fuel that is a must in global gas plant. B. In Industry. i. Fermentation: Anaerobic sugar fermentation reactions by various bacteria produce different end products. The production of ethanol by yeasts has been exploited by the brewing industry for thousands of years and is used for fuel production. Specific bacteria carry out the oxidation of alcohol to acetic acid in the production of vinegar. Other fermentation process make even more valuable products. Organic compounds, such as acetone, isopropanol and butyric acid are produced in fermentation by various clostridium species and can be prepared on an industrial scale. Other bacterial products and reactions have been discovered in organisms from extreme environments. There is considerable interest in the enzymes isolated from thermophilic bacteria, in which reactions may be carried out at higher rates owing to the higher temperatures at which they can occur. Sour dough bread is made to rise by fermentation, with a leaven that consists of bacteria, often combined with wild yeasts. The milk-souring bacterium Lactobacillus Bulgaricus is used to make youghurt and cheese. ii. Fibre Retting: Bacteria such as Clostrodium Butyricum are used to separate fibres of jute, hemp and flax in the process of retting. The plants are immersed in water and when they swell, are inoculated with bacteria which hydrolyze pectic substances of the cell walls and separate the fibres. Alternatively the plants are left spread out on the ground, wetted by the dew, to ret naturally. These separated fibres are used to make ropes and sacks etc. iii. Curing of Tobacco and Tea: Bacteria are useful in the curing or ripening of tobacco leaves. Mirococcus and Bacillus Megatherium are used in the curing of tea, tobacco, beans of coffee and cocoa to cure off their bitterness. iv. Dairy Industry: Bacteria such as Streptococcus Lactis convert milk sugar lactose into lactic acid that coagulates casein(milk protein). Then, milk is converted into curd, youghurt, cheese etc. neede for the industry. v. Biotechnology: It is the use of micro organisms including bacteria in the manufacturing and services industries. These include chemical manufacturing such as ethanol, acetone, organic acids, enzymes and perfumes. In the chemical industry, bacteria are most important in the production of pharmaceuticals. vi. Sterilization: This is a process to eradicate microbial contamination from finished products. Few bacteria are used as biological indicators for sterilization validation. These bacteria are available commercially as strips containing spores. vii. Tanning of Hides and Skins: The action of bacteria is useful in the conversion of hides and skins to leather during the tanning process. The Rhizobium is an example of such bacteria. This bacteria resides in the nodes of the roots of leguminous plants and helps absorb nitrogen from air and fix it in the roots. In turn, these bacteria extract nutrients from the plant(symbiosis). Thus, bacteria helps the plant and also builds fertility in the soil. C. In Medicine. i. Production of Antibiotics: A number of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal antibiotics such as hamycin, polymyxin, trichomycin etc. are obtained from Mycelia bacteria(like Streptomyces). Similarly, Bacillus is used for production of antibiotics such as bacitracin, gramicidin etc. ii. Production of Vitamins: Different kinds of vitamins are produced from bacteria like riboflavin from Clostrodium Butylicum, vitamin B12 from Bacillus Megatherium and vitamin K and B-complex from Escherichia coli. iii. Genetic Engineering: Bacteria have short reproduction cycles. Some of them can divide in minutest to produce new daughter cells. This factor of bacteria is used in biotechnology to produce biological compounds. Products like insulin, vitamin B 12 etc. are supplied in large scale in continous basis due to their manufacture using genetically modified bacteria cells. iv. Production of Vaccines: Bacteria are used to produce vaccines by either separating their antigens or sometimes dead form or else even live one with lack of pathogenic character. Example: TB-vaccine is one where dead bacteria of TB are administered to build up resistances to tuberculosis in humans. Once administered, these bacteria cannot cause diseases. But the body will be able to produce antibodies to kill any infections of mycobacterium. HARMFUL EFFECTS OF BACTERIA. Bacteria are unique micro organisms that have a variety of physiological functions which are beneficial to human beings. However, bacteria can also be harmful and cause infections. Some of them include: i. Dentrification: Dentrifying bacteria allows nitrate to be converted to nitrous oxide or dinitrogen. For dentrification to occur, a lack of oxygen or anaerobic conditions must occur to allow the bacteria to cleave off the oxygen. These conditions are common in ponded or saturated fields, compacted fields, or deep inside the micro aggregates of soil where oxygen is limited. Dentrifying bacteria decrease the nitrogen fertility of soils by allowing the nitrogen to escape back into the atmosphere. On a saturated clay soil, as much as 40 to 60% of the soil nitrogen may belost by dentrification to the atmosphere. ii. Food Spoilage: Saprophytic bacteria always not only help in decomposition of dead matters, but they also cause the rotting of vegetables, fruits, meat, bread etc. Similarly, milk and milk products are easily contaminated by bacteria and spoiled. iii. Food Poisoning: Bacteria toxin present in food causes food poisoning. This leads to nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea and even death. The food poisoning bacteria are Clostrodium Bolutinum, Salmonella Enteritis, Staphylococcus Aureus etc. iv. Destruction of Domestic Articles: Spirochaete Cytophaga cause cellulose degradation thereby destroying textiles, wooden articles and canvas. v. Reduction of Soil Fertility: S/N Bacteria 1 Singella species 2 Staphylococcus aureus 3 Streptococcus pyogenes 4 5 6 7 Troponema pallidum Vibro cholerae Yersinia enterocolitica Pseudomonas aeruginosa 8 Rickettsia species 9 Salmonella species 10 11 12 13 14 15 Bacillus anthracis Bacteroides species Bordetella pertussis Borrelia burgdorferi Mycobacterium species Haemophilus influenzae Disease Caused Shigellosis(dysentery). Wound infection, boils, food poisoning, mastitis. Rheumatic fever, impetigo, scarlet fever, puerperal fever, strep throat, necrotizing fasciitis. Syphilis. Cholera. Versiniosis. Nosocomial infections(infections acquired in a hospital setting), gastroenteritis, dermatitis, bacteremia,pericondritis(ear disease). Rocky mountain spotted fever, boutonneuse fever, typhus, trench fever. Salmonelloses e. food poisoning or typhoid fever. Anthrax. Abscess. Whooping cough. Lyme disease. Tuberculosis, leprosy. Meningitis, bacteremia, pneumonia. NAME:BARAU FATIMA MAMMA. MATRIC NO.: 1703BI032. COURSE CODE: BGY 106. ASSIGNMENT:ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BACTERIA. DATE:9-05-2018.

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Economic Importance of Bacteria

Course: Microbiology (123)

7 Documents
Students shared 7 documents in this course

University: Al-Hikmah University

Was this document helpful?
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BACTERIA..
Economic importance of any organism refers to the advantages and
disadvantages of that organism to nature, the humans and the environment.
Bacteria, a prokaryote and microscopic organism have the following
importance:
BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF BACTERIA.
Bacteria plays important roles in different fields such as agriculture, industry
etc. Some of them are mentioned below:
A. In Nature.
i. Maintenance of soil fertility:
Bacteria grows in many different microenvironments and specific niches in
the soil. Bacteria populations expand rapidly and the bacteria are more
competitive when easily digestible simple sugars are readily available around in
the rhizosphere. Root exudates, dead plants debris, simple sugars and complex
polysaccharides are abundant in this region. About 10 to 30% of the soil micro
organisms in the rhizoshere are actinomycetes depending on environmental
conditions.
Many bacteria produce a layer of polysaccharides or glycoproteins that coats the
surface of soil particles. These substances play an important role in cementing
sand, silt and clay soil particles into stable micro aggregates that improve soil
structure. Bacteria lives around the edges of soil mineral particles, especially
clay and associated organic residues. Bacteria are important in producing
polysaccharides that cement sand, silt and clay particles together to form micro
aggregates and improve soil structure. Bacteria do not move very far in the soil,
so most movement is associated with water, growing roots or hitching a ride
with other soil fauna like earthworms, ants, spiders etc.

Students also viewed

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