Microorganisms –
Friend and Foe
Microorganisms and
Macroorganisms
Microorganisms Macroorganisms
• All the organisms that • All the organisms that can
cannot be seen through be seen through naked eyes
naked eyes are called are called macroscopic
microscopic organisms. organisms.
• They need a microscope or • They do not need a
magnifying instruments to microscope or any
be visible or seen. instrument to be visible.
• They are small in size and • They have a larger size and
are measured in lower units are measured in higher units
of measurement like- of measurement like-
micrometers or nanometers. millimeters or centimeters.
• The branch of biology that • The branch of biology that
deals with their study is deals with their study is
called Microbiology. called Macrobiology.
How small are the
microorganisms????
Classification of Microorganisms
• Classification is the process by which organisms
are grouped into various categories based on
morphological and physiological characteristics.
There have been various attempts to classify
organisms based on their morphological,
physiological, cellular and molecular
characteristics.
Bacteria
Fungi
Classificatio
n of Protozoa
microbes
Algae
Viruses
• Viruses cannot be classified either a living organism or
non-living. A virus can be an infectious agent which only
replicates within a host organism.
• Virus is a non-cellular, infectious entity made up of
genetic material and protein.
• A virus cannot replicate itself outside the host cell.
Where do they live???
Friend or Foe??????
Friendly Microorganisms
Food Medical
Industry Industry
Waste
Manageme
nt
Food Industry
MAKING OF CURD
Curd contains several micro-
organisms. Of these, the
bacterium,
Lactobacillus promotes the
formation
of curd. It multiplies in milk and
converts it into curd.
Making of bread, pastries, bun, dough
etc.
Yeast is a type of unicellular microbe
that is used to create bread.
Yeast reproduces rapidly and
produces carbon dioxide during
respiration. Bubbles of the gas fill
the
dough and increase its volume
The carbon dioxide generated
throughout the procedure rises and
softens the dough.
Fermentation is the process through
which yeast transforms sugar into
• Yeast is used for large-scale production of
alcohol, wine and beer. It ferments the sugars
present in the source material like grains or fruits
and gives alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Acetobacter is used for the production of vinegar
from alcohol. Aspergillus is used for the
production of citric acid which is used in the soft
drink industry.
Fermentation
• Fermentation is a process in which sugars are
transformed into a new product through chemical
reactions carried out by microorganisms.
• Fermentation is the process in which a substance
breaks down into a simpler substance
Medical Industry
Antibiotics
Microbes are the source of many medicines.
For example, the antibiotic capsules and tablets that a
doctor prescribes for us when we are sick or infected
are made from microbes.
Disease-causing microorganisms are stopped or killed
by medicines made from fungus and bacteria.
Microbes are also used to combat a variety of plant
diseases.
Erythromycin, tetracycline, and streptomycin are
some of the most commonly used antibiotics.
• Antibiotics are given to poultry and livestock to
prevent microbial infections.
Antibodies and Vaccination
• Antibodies: The chemical released by the body in response to
the invasion of foreign microbes which may cause disease is
called antibodies.
• 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. If
dead or weakened microbes are introduced into a healthy
body, the body fights and kills the invading bacteria by
producin suitable antibodies. The antibodies remain in the
body and we are protected from the disease-causing
microbes for ever. This is how a vaccine works.
• Several diseases, including cholera,tuberculosis, smallpox
and hepatitis can be prevented by vaccination
Harmful Microorganisms
• Microorganisms are harmful in many ways. Some of the
microorganisms cause diseases in human beings, plants
and animals.Some microorganisms spoil food,clothing
and leather.
• Disease causing microorganisms are called pathogens.
Pathogens
• Pathogens enter our body through the air we breathe,
the water we drink or the food we eat.They can also get
transmitted by direct contact with an infected person or
carried by 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.
Examples of such diseases include cholera, common
cold, chicken pox and tuberculosis.
• There are some insects and animals which act as
carriers of disease
• Female Anopheles
Mosquito – which
carries the parasite
of malaria
(Plasmodium).
Female Aedes mosquito
acts as carrier of
dengue virus.
• Anthrax is a dangerous human and cattle disease
caused by a bacterium. Foot and mouth disease of
cattle is caused by a virus.
• Can You find more?????
Food poisoning and Food
preservation
• We consume food that sometimes grows
microorganisms. The contamination of food is a result of
these microorganisms multiplying and releasing toxic
substances.
• Microorganisms that grow on our food sometimes
produce toxic substances. These make the food
poisonous causing serious illness and even death.
• The harmful organisms transfer from one surface to the
other and result in food contamination. It is more
important to watch out for raw, ready-to-cook food
products. Food poisoning occurs as a result of these
foods not being cooked, which does not destroy the
pathogens.
• Food Poisoning Symptoms
• Weakness
• Headache
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Irritable abdominal cramps
• Mild fever
• Loss of appetite
How to Prevent Contamination of Food?
• It is very important to preserve food
properly in order to prevent contamination.
• We can preserve food by inhibiting the growth of
microorganisms on it.
• Whole grains and cooked foods require different storage
and preservation methods. Because bacteria breed in
moist environments and whole-food typically lacks
moisture, they tend to attack cooked food. Due to this
reason, left unused bread will be infested by microbes
under moist conditions.
• As well as visible changes in food, food contaminated
with the disease has a foul smell and tastes different.
Heat&
Chemic cold
al Treatmen Storag
Method ts e and
s packin
g
Preservati
on
Methods
Commo
n salt Oil and
Vinega
Sugar r
Nitrogen fixation
• Some bacteria are able to fix nitrogen from the
atmosphere to enrich soil with nitrogen and
increase its fertility. These microbes are
commonly called biological nitrogen fixers.
• Bacterium Rhizobium is involved in the fixation of
nitrogen in leguminous plants (pulses).
• Rhizobium lives in the root nodules of leguminous
plants like beans and peas, with which it has a
symbiotic relationship.Root Nodules fix
atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into
ammonia that can be used by the plant for its
growth and development; in exchange the plant
provides carbohydrates to the bacteria.
Sometimes nitrogen gets fixed through the action
of lightning also. But the amount of nitrogen in
the atmosphere remains constant.
Why??????
Nitrogen cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle is a biogeochemical process which
transforms the inert nitrogen present in the atmosphere
to a more usable form for living organisms.”
• The nitrogen cycle is the recycling phase of the nitrogen
which includes
• Nitrogen fixation
• Assimilation
• Ammonification
• Denitrification.
• The atmospheric 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- Nitrogen Fixation
• 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- Assimilation .Animals feeding
on plants get these proteins and other nitrogen compounds.
• When plants and animals die, bacteria and fungi present in the
soil convert the nitrogenous wastes into nitrogenous
compounds to be used by plants again.
( Ammonification )Certain other bacteria convert some part
of them to nitrogen gas which goes back into the atmosphere.(
Denitrification)
• As a result, the percentage of nitrogen in the atmosphere
remains more or less constant.
