MICROORGANISMS NOTES
BY ABEER VERMA
• There are numerous organisms living around us that we may not be able to see. We can see
some of them through a magnifying glass, like the fungus on bread. Some others are so small
that they cannot be seen without a microscope.
• These organisms that cannot be seen by unaided eyes are termed microorganisms or
microbes.
• The study of microbes is called microbiology and the people who study it (scientists) are
called microbiologists.
• The Microorganisms can be Broadly Classi ed as:
1. Bacteria - Bacteria are very tiny, one-celled organisms which need nutrition from their
environment. Sometimes, these nutrients are from the human body. They can inhabit soil,
water, and every other habit found on earth. They are so small that 1000s of bacteria could
t on the full stop at the end of this sentence. Bacteria multiply very fast. Some bacteria are
helpful in cooking, for example, making yogurt and cheese. Some bacteria are harmful and
cause infection. They can be a few micrometers in length and can be of various shapes like
spheres, rods, or spirals. Bacteria produce toxins that cause cells to burst and release the
key nutrients that they need. Not all bacteria are bad; our body is full of helpful bacteria that
we need every day. Example - Escherichia coli, coliform bacteria, etc.
2. Fungi - Fungi are plant-like organisms that cannot make their own food from water, light and
soil. A few examples of fungi are yeast, moulds and mushrooms. They live in warm, dark and
damp places. A fungus breaks down dead organic matter around it and uses it as food.
Fungi are the largest of all microbes. They can be found in the air, on plants and in water.
Some antibiotics are made by fungi. Examples - Penicillium, bread mold, mushroom, etc. An
example of a condition caused by fungi is Athlete’s Foot, which is where your feet become
all aky and itchy.
3. Protozoa - Protozoa are small single-celled organisms which eat bacteria and some other
food sources. Protozoa spread infections and disease through water. They cause things like
stomach ache, nausea (sickness) and diarrhoea, dysentery and malaria. Example - Amoeba,
paramecium, etc.
4. Algae -
These groups of microorganisms may be harmful or useful in nature.
WHERE DO MICROORGANISMS LIVE?
• The microorganism may be single-celled or unicellular as in bacteria, protozoa or they may
be multicellular as in fungi, animals, etc.
• They can survive in water, air and all kinds of environmental conditions like extreme cold
climate to even the hot springs, deserts, and marshy lands. Some of them even live inside
the body of animals, and even humans.
• Some of them grow on their own whereas others thrive on the body of other animals.
MICROORGANISMS AND US
• It is to be noted that these microorganisms play a vital role in our lives. Some of them may be
bene cial to us whereas some of them may have an adverse and harmful e ect on us.
FRIENDLY USE OF MICROORGANISMS
• Microorganisms can be put to multiple uses, be it in the making of alcohol, bread, cake, or
medicines or in agriculture or cleaning the environment.
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MAKING OF CURD AND BREAD
• A bacterium, namely lactobacillus, multiplies in milk converting it into curd. The making of
cheese, pickles, and various other food products also involve the use of bacteria.
• The process of fermentation conversion of sugar to alcohol that is required in the rice batter
for making idlis and dosa is again helped by bacteria and yeast.
• When yeast is added to a dough, it reproduces rapidly releasing carbon dioxide which
bubbles into the dough, making it rise. This property of yeast is used to make bread, cakes,
etc.
COMMERCIAL USE OF MICROORGANISMS
• Yeast is an ingredient that is widely used in the production of alcohol, wine, and vinegar. This
is done by growing yeast on the natural sugar present in the fruit juices like grapes, grains
like barley, wheat, rice, etc.
• The sugars are converted to alcohol by fermentation. (This process of conversion of sugar
into alcohol is known as fermentation)
MEDICINAL USE OF MICROORGANISMS
• The source of the widely used medicines, antibiotics(medicines that stop or kill the disease-
causing agents) are again microorganisms.
• These are manufactured by growing speci c as a cure for various diseases.
• Some of the antibiotics are streptomycin, erythromycin, azithromycin, etc.
VACCINE
• A Vaccine is a biological substance that initiates the production of antibodies for a speci c
disease. Thus a vaccination protects us from that speci c disease.
• A disease-causing microorganism called a pathogen produces antibodies against it when it
enters our body. These antibodies are retained in our body and we are protected from that
disease forever.
• Children are generally vaccinated for many diseases like polio, tuberculosis, chickenpox,
hepatitis, etc. Smallpox has been eradicated this way. And currently, the Covid vaccine is
doing the same.
INCREASING SOIL FERTILITY
• There are some bacteria, like rhizobium that are present in the soil, generally in the roots of
leguminous plants, that are capable of xing the atmospheric nitrogen to enrich the soil with
nitrogen which increases the fertility of the soil and the yield of the crop.
CLEANING THE ENVIRONMENT
• Some of the microorganisms have the ability to decompose dead organic matter and
convert them into simpler substances or manure that can be reused for animals or plants,
making the environment clean.
HARMFUL MICROORGANISMS
• They can be harmful in numerous ways to humans, plants, and animals and cause diseases.
The disease-causing microorganisms are known by the name of pathogens.
DISEASE CAUSING MICROORGANISMS IN HUMANS
• The harmful pathogens enter the body of humans by means of air, water, or food. They can
then spread to others by contact with the infected person or through an animal or insect.
• The diseases that can spread from an infected person to a healthy person by means of air,
water, or contact are termed communicable diseases. Examples - plague, chickenpox,
tuberculosis, common cold, and the current Covid 19 infections.
• These disease-bearing microorganisms are sometimes carried by insects and animals then
they are termed as carriers of that disease. For example - the female anopheles mosquito is
the carrier of Plasmodium that causes malaria.
• The prevention of these diseases follows a general pattern of keeping the a ected person
and his belongings isolated, personal hygiene, proper sanitary practices, drinking boiled and
clean water, controlling breeding sites of mosquitoes, consuming properly cooked food, and
above vaccination against all these diseases on schedule.
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DISEASE CAUSING MICROORGANISMS IN ANIMALS
• Several microorganisms cause diseases in animals.
• For example, anthrax is a dangerous human and cattle disease caused by a bacterium.
• Foot and mouth disease of cattle is caused by a virus.
DISEASE CAUSING MICROORGANISMS IN PLANTS
• Many microorganisms are responsible for diseases in plants of potato, rice, wheat, sugarcane,
etc reducing the quality and quantity of the yield of the crops.
• These diseases can be controlled by the use of chemicals that destroys these organisms.
FOOD POISONING
• Food poisoning is the process of treating and handling food with an aim to stop or slow down
its spoilage while maintaining its nutritional value, texture and avour.
• When the microorganisms contaminate the food, they sometimes produce toxic substances
which leads to the ill health of a person consuming it and has health problems like vomiting
and needs to be taken to a hospital. This condition of consuming food contaminated with
microorganisms is called food poisoning.
FOOD PRESERVATION
• The contamination of the food by microorganisms leads to a change in the colour and taste of
the food. Several methods can be followed to prevent this microorganism attack. Some of
them are as follows:
CHEMICAL METHOD
• Generally salts and edible oils are used to control the growth of microorganisms.
• These are termed preservatives.
• Example - salt in pickles, sodium benzoate in jams.
PRESERVATION BY COMMON SALT
• This is a common practice where meat and sh or some fruits like raw mangoes, tamarind, etc
are covered with salt to last them for longer periods.
PRESERVATION BY SUGAR
• Some food items like jams and jellies are preserved in sugar which reduces the moisture to
inhibit the growth of microorganisms.
PRESERVATION BY OIL AND VINEGAR
• This is also used commonly as the microorganisms cannot live in such conditions. This is
widely used in making pickles.
HEAT AND COLD TREATMENTS
• It is a common practice to boil milk in order to store it. The method of heating milk to eliminate
the microbes present in it is called pasteurisation. Similarly storing food at low temperatures
also prevents the growth of these microbes.
STORAGE AND PACKAGING
• These days dry fruits and even vegetables are sold in sealed air tight packets to prevent the
attack of microbes.
NITROGEN FIXATION
NITROGEN CYCLE
• The nitrogen cycle can be de ned as a biochemical process of circulating the nitrogen in the
atmosphere, through soil, organisms, and back to the atmosphere.
• The nitrogen present in the atmosphere cannot be consumed by plants or animals directly.
• This nitrogen needs to be converted to nitrogenous compounds by some bacteria in the soil.
• This converted form of nitrogen is used by the plants and when the animals feed on them
they get that.
• The fungi and bacteria in the soil convert the nitrogen present in dead plants and animals to
either gaseous or compounds that are reused by the plants.
• Thus the balance of nitrogen is maintained in the atmosphere.
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