Students can go through AP Inter 2nd Year Botany Notes 14th Lesson Microbes in Human Welfare will help students in revising the entire concepts quickly.
AP Inter 2nd Year Botany Notes 14th Lesson Microbes in Human Welfare
→ Microbes are the major components of Biological systems on the earth.
→ They are present even at sites where no other life form could possibly exist-sites such as deep inside the greysers (140°C).
→ Lactic acid Bacteria grow in milk and convert it to curd. It also improves nutritional quality by increasing vitamin B12. In our stomach too, LAB play a main role in checking the microbes.
→ The dough which is used for making bread is fermented using Baker’s yeast (Sachharomyces cerevisiae).
→ ‘Toddy’ a traditional drink is made by fermenting sap from palms.
→ The large holes in Swiss cheese are due to the production of large amount of Co2 by Propionibacterium sharmanii:
→ The roquefort cheese is by Penicillium roqueforti.
→ Microbes are grown in large vessels called fermentors.
→ Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used for bread making and also used fqr fermenting malted cereals and fruit juices to produce Ethanol.
→ Wine and beer are produced without distillation where as whisky, brandy and rum are produced by the distillation of the fermented broth.
→ Alexander Fleming discovered an Antibiotic, Pencillin from Pencillium notatum.
→ Its .full potential as an effective antibiotic was established by Ernest Chain and Howard Florey.
→ Examples of Acid producers are Aspergillus, Acetobacter, Clostridium and Lactobacillus.
→ Lipases are used in detergent formulations and are helpful in removing oily stains from laundry.
→ Streptokinase from Streptococcus is used as a ‘clot buster’ for removing clots from the blood vessels of patients.
→ Statins from Monascus purpureus is used as blood cholesterol lowering agent.
→ Treatment of waste water is done by heterotrophic microbes.
→ Microbes can be used to remove toxic substances that are released into the environment such as oil or chemical spills and lands contaminated with toxic wastes. This process is called Bioremediation.
→ Methanobacterium, found in anaerobic sludge during sewage treatment and also present in the rumen of cattle produce methane gas or gobar gas.
→ Microbial bio-control agent used to control butterfly caterpillars is Bacillus thuringiensis.
→ Baculoviruses are pathogens that attack insects and arthropods.
→ Rhizobium, Azospirillum and Azotobacter enriches the Nitrogen content of the soil.
→ Mycorrhiza seen in Glomus helps in absorption of phosphorous from the soil.
→ Cyanobacteria (Anabaena, Nostoc) can fix the atmospheric N2.
→ Bioterrorism involves the actual use of or the threat to use Biological agents in order to spread fear or inflict disease and death upon large populations.