microorganisms are called pathogens.

There are some insects and animals

Some microorganisms spoil food, which act as carriers of disease-
clothing and leather. Let us study more causing microbes. Housefly is one such
about their harmful activities. carrier. The flies sit on the garbage and
animal excreta. Pathogens stick to their
Disease causing Microorganisms bodies. When these flies sit on uncovered
in Humans food they may transfer the pathogens.
Pathogens enter our body through the Whoever eats the contaminated food is
air we breathe, the water we drink or likely to get sick. So, it is advisable to
the food we eat. They can also get always keep food covered. Avoid
transmitted by direct contact with an consuming uncovered items of food.
infected person or carried by an animal. Another example of a carrier is the
Microbial diseases that can spread from female Anopheles mosquito (Fig. 2.8),
an infected person to a healthy person which carries the parasite of malaria
through air, water, food or physical (Plasmodium). Female Aedes mosquito
contact are called communicable acts as carrier of dengue virus.
diseases. Examples of such diseases How can we control the spread of malaria
include cholera, common cold, chicken or dengue?
pox and tuberculosis.
When a person suffering from
common cold sneezes, fine droplets of
moisture carrying thousands of viruses
are spread in the air. The virus may enter
the body of a healthy person while
breathing and cause infection.
Fig. 2.8 : Female Anopheles mosquito

Then how do you

prevent the spread of Why does the teacher
communicable keep telling us not
diseases? to let water collect
anywhere in the
neighbourhood?

All mosquitoes breed in water. Hence,

one should not let water collect
We should keep a anywhere, in coolers, tyres, flower pot,
handkerchief on the etc. By keeping the surroundings clean
nose and mouth while and dry we can prevent mosquitoes from
sneezing. It is better to
breeding. Try to make a list of measures
keep a distance from
which help to avoid the spread of
infected persons.
malaria.
MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE 23

2024-25
 Table 2.1: Some Common Human Diseases caused by Microorganisms
Human Disease Causative Mode of Preventive Measures
Microorganism Transmission (General)

Tuberculosis Bacteria Air Keep the patient in complete

isolation. Keep the personal
Measles Virus Air
belongings of the patient away
from those of the others.
Chicken Pox Virus Air/Contact
Vaccination to be given at
Polio Virus Air/Water suitable age.

Cholera Bacteria Water/Food Maintain personal hygiene

and good sanitary habits.
Typhoid Bacteria Water Consume properly cooked food
and boiled drinking water.
Vaccination.

Hepatitis A Virus Water Drink boiled drinking water.

Vaccination.

Use mosquito net and

Malaria Protozoa Mosquito
repellents. Spray insecticides
and control breeding of
mosquitoes by not allowing
water to collect in the
surroundings.

Some of the common diseases in other animals. For example, anthrax

affecting humans, their mode of is a dangerous human and cattle
transmission and few general methods disease caused by a bacterium. Foot
of prevention are shown in Table 2.1. and mouth disease of cattle is caused
by a virus.
Disease causing Microorganisms
in Animals Disease causing Microorganisms
Several microorganisms not only cause in Plants
diseases in humans and plants, but also Several microorganisms cause
diseases in plants like wheat, rice, potato,
Robert Köch (1876) sugarcane, orange, apple and others.
discovered the bacterium The diseases reduce the yield of crops.
(Bacillus anthracis) which See Table 2.2 for some such plant
causes anthrax disease.
diseases. They can be controlled by the
24 SCIENCE

2024-25
 Table 2.2: Some Common Plant Diseases caused by Microorganisms

Plant Micro- Mode of

Diseases organism Transmission

Citrus Bacteria Air

canker

Rust of Fungi Air,

wheat seeds

Yellow vein Virus Insect

mosaic of
bhindi (Okra)

use of certain chemicals which kill the make the food poisonous causing
microbes. serious illness and even death. So, it
is very important that we preserve
Food Poisoning food to prevent it from being spoilt.
Boojho was invited by his friend to a
party and he ate a variety of foodstuff. 2.5 Food Preservation
On reaching home he started vomiting In Chapter 1, we have learnt about the
and had to be taken to a hospital. The methods used to preserve and store food
doctor said that this condition could be grains. How do we preserve cooked food
due to food poisoning. at home? You know that bread left
unused under moist conditions is
attacked by fungus. Microorganisms
spoil our food. Spoiled food emits bad
Paheli wonders how smell and has a bad taste and changed
food can become a colour. Is spoiling of food a chemical
‘poison’. reaction?
Paheli bought some mangoes but she
Food poisoning could be due to the could not eat them for a few days. Later
consumption of food spoilt by some she found that they were spoilt and
microorganisms. Microorganisms rotten. But she knows that the mango
that grow on our food sometimes pickle her grandmother makes does not
produce toxic substances. These spoil for a long time. She is confused.
MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE 25

2024-25
 Let us study the common methods Similarly, we keep our food in the
of preserving food in our homes. We refrigerator. Low temperature inhibits
have to save it from the attack of the growth of microbes.
microorganisms.

Chemical Method
Salts and edible oils are the common Why does the milk that
chemicals generally used to check the comes in packets not spoil?
growth of microorganisms. Therefore My mother told me that the
they are called preservatives. We add milk is ‘pasteurised’. What
salt or acid preservatives to pickles to is pasteurisation?
prevent the attack of microbes. Sodium
benzoate and sodium metabisulphite are Pasteurised milk can be consumed
common preservatives. These are also without boiling as it is free from harmful
used in jams and squashes to check microbes. The milk is heated to about
their spoilage. 700C for 15 to 30 seconds and then
suddenly chilled and stored. By doing
Preservation by Common Salt so, it prevents the growth of microbes.
Common salt has been used to preserve This process was discovered by Louis
meat and fish for ages. Meat and fish Pasteur. It is called pasteurisation.
are covered with dry salt to check
the growth of bacteria. Salting is also Storage and Packing
used to preserve amla, raw mangoes, These days dry fruits and even
tamarind, etc. vegetables are sold in sealed air tight
packets to prevent the attack of
Preservation by Sugar microbes.
Jams, jellies and squashes are preserved
by sugar. Sugar reduces the moisture 2.6 Nitrogen Fixation
content which inhibits the growth of You have learnt about the bacterium
bacteria which spoil food. Rhizobium in Classes VI and VII. It is
involved in the fixation of nitrogen in
Preservation by Oil and Vinegar
leguminous plants (pulses). Recall that
Use of oil and vinegar prevents spoilage Rhizobium lives in the root nodules of
of pickles because bacteria cannot live leguminous plants (Fig. 2.9), such as
in such an environment. Vegetables, beans and peas, with which it has a
fruits, fish and meat are often preserved symbiotic relationship. Sometimes
by this method. nitrogen gets fixed through the action
of lightning. But you know that the
Heat and Cold Treatments
amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere
You must have observed your mother remains constant. You may wonder
boiling milk before it is stored or used. how? Let us understand this in the next
Boiling kills many microorganisms. section.
26 SCIENCE

2024-25
 nitrogen cannot be taken directly by
plants and animals. Certain bacteria and
blue green algae present in the soil fix
nitrogen from the atmosphere and
convert it into compounds of nitrogen.
Once nitrogen is converted into these
usable compounds, it can be utilised by
plants from the soil through their root
system. Nitrogen is then used for the
synthesis of plant proteins and other
compounds. Animals feeding on plants
get these proteins and other nitrogen
compounds (Fig. 2.10).
When plants and animals die,
Fig. 2.9 : Roots of a leguminous plant with root bacteria and fungi present in the soil
nodules convert the nitrogenous wastes into
nitrogenous compounds to be used by
2.7 Nitrogen cycle plants again. Certain other bacteria
Our atmosphere has 78% nitrogen gas. convert some part of them to nitrogen
Nitrogen is one of the essential gas which goes back into the
constituents of all living organisms as atmosphere. As a result, the percentage
part of proteins, chlorophyll, nucleic of nitrogen in the atmosphere remains
acids and vitamins. The atmospheric more or less constant.

Fig. 2.10 : Nitrogen cycle

MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE 27

2024-25
KEYWORDS WHA
WHAT OU HA
YOU
T Y VE LEARNT
HAVE
ALGAE Ü Microorganisms are too small and are not
ANTIBIOTICS visible to the unaided eye.
Ü They can live in all kinds of environment,
ANTIBODIES ranging from ice cold climate to hot springs

BACTERIA and deserts to marshy lands.

Ü Microorganisms are found in air, water and
CARRIER in the bodies of plants and animals.
Ü They may be unicellular or multicellular.
COMMUNICABLE
Ü Microorganisms include bacteria, fungi,
DISEASES
protozoa and some algae. Viruses, though
FERMENTATION different from the above mentioned living
organisms, are considered microbes.
FUNGI
Ü Viruses are quite different from other
LACTOBACILLUS microorganisms. They reproduce only inside
the host organism: bacterium, plant or ani-
MICROORGANISM
mal cell.
NITROGEN CYCLE Ü Some microorganisms are useful for
commercial production of medicines and
NITROGEN FIXATION
alcohol.

PASTEURISATION Ü Some microorganisms decompose the organic

waste and dead plants and animals into simple
PATHOGEN substances and clean up the environment.
Ü Protozoans cause serious diseases like
PRESERVATION
dysentery and malaria.
PROTOZOA Ü Some of the microorganisms grow on our food
and cause food poisoning.
RHIZOBIUM
Ü Some microorganisms reside in the root
VACCINE nodules of leguminous plants. They can fix
nitrogen from air into soil and increase the
VIRUS
soil fertility.
YEAST Ü Some bacteria present in the soil fix nitrogen
from the atmosphere and convert into
nitrogenous compounds.
Ü Certain bacteria convert compounds of nitro-
gen present in the soil into nitrogen gas which
is released to the atmosphere.

28 SCIENCE

2024-25
 Exercises
1. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Microorganisms can be seen with the help of a ____________.

(b) Blue green algae fix __________ directly from air and enhance fertility
of soil.
(c) Alcohol is produced with the help of __________.

(d) Cholera is caused by __________.

2. Tick the correct answer.
(a) Yeast is used in the production of

(i) sugar (ii) alcohol (iii) hydrochloric acid (iv) oxygen

(b) The following is an antibiotic
(i) Sodium bicarbonate (ii) Streptomycin (iii) Alcohol (iv) Yeast

(c) Carrier of malaria-causing protozoan is

(i) female Anopheles mosquito (ii) cockroach
(iii) housefly (iv) butterfly

(d) The most common carrier of communicable diseases is

(i) ant (ii) housefly (iii) dragonfly (iv) spider
(e) The bread or idli dough rises because of

(i) heat (ii) grinding (iii) growth of yeast cells (iv) kneading
(f) The process of conversion of sugar into alcohol is called
(i) nitrogen fixation (ii) moulding (iii) fermentation (iv) infection

3. Match the organisms in Column A with their action in

Column B.
A B
(i) Bacteria (a) Fixing nitrogen
(ii) Rhizobium (b) Setting of curd
(iii) Lactobacillus (c) Baking of bread
(iv) Yeast (d) Causing malaria
(v) A protozoan (e) Causing cholera
(vi) A virus (f) Causing AIDS
(g) Producing antibodies
4. Can microorganisms be seen with the naked eye? If not, how can they be
seen?
MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE 29

2024-25
 5. What are the major groups of microorganisms?
EXERCISES 6. Name the microorganisms which can fix atmospheric nitrogen in the soil.
7. Write 10 lines on the usefulness of microorganisms in our lives.
8. Write a short paragraph on the harmful effects of microorganisms.

9. What are antibiotics? What precautions must be taken while taking

antibiotics?

Extended Learning — Activities and Projects

1. Pull out a gram or bean plant from the field. Observe its roots. You
will find round structures called root nodules on the roots. Draw a
diagram of the root and show the root nodules.
2. Collect the labels from the bottles of jams and jellies. Write down
the list of contents printed on the labels.
3. Visit a doctor. Find out why antibiotics should not be overused.
Prepare a short report.
4. Project : Requirements – 2 test tubes, marker pen, sugar, yeast
powder, 2 balloons and lime water.
Take two test tubes and mark them A and B. Clamp these tubes in
a stand and fill them with water leaving some space at the top. Put
two spoonfuls of sugar in each
of the test tubes. Add a spoonful
of yeast in test tube B. Inflate the
two balloons incompletely. Now
tie the balloons on the mouths
of each test tube. Keep them in
a warm place, away from
sunlight. Watch the setup every
day for next 3-4 days. Record A B
your observations and think of
an explanation.
Now take another test tube
filled 1/4 with lime water.
Remove the balloon from test
tube B in such a manner that
gas inside the balloon does not
escape. Fit the balloon on the
test tube and shake well.
Observe and explain.

30 SCIENCE

2024-25
 Did You Know?
Bacteria have lived on the earth for much longer than human beings.
They are such hardy organisms that they can live under extreme conditions.
They have been found living in boiling mudpots and extremly cold icy waters.
They have been found in lakes of caustic soda and in pools of concentrated
sulphuric acid. They can survive at depths of several kilometres. They
probably can survive in space, too. A kind of bacterium was recovered
from a camera which stood on the moon for two years.There is probably no
environment in which bacteria cannot survive.

MICROORGANISMS : FRIEND AND FOE 31

2024-25