Microbes in Human Welfare

SYNOPSIS

• Microbes in Household Products
  
  

  Lactic acid bacteria (LAB)	Curd from milk
  	Fermentation of idli and dosa dough
  Propionibacterium shermanii	Production of Swiss cheese

  
  
• Microbes in Industrial Products:
  
  

• Antibiotic is a chemical substance which is obtained as a metabolic product from one living organism and has an inhibitory effect on another living organism.

• Masses of bacteria associated with fungal filaments to form mesh-like structures are called flocs.

• Sewage is the municipal waste water containing large amounts of organic matter and microbes.

• Difference between Primary Treatment and Secondary Treatment of Sewage
  
  

• Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) refers to the amount of oxygen which would be consumed if all the organic matter in one litre of water was oxidised by bacteria.

• Biogas is a mixture of gases produced during the decay of biomass in the absence of oxygen.
  
  

• Bacteria which grow anaerobically on cellulosic material and produce a large amount of methane along with CO2 and H2 are collectively called methanogens.

• Biological control is the control of destructive insects with the utilisation of other insects.

• The soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis acts as a biopesticide.

• Integrated pest management (IPM) aims at the minimum use of pesticides to prevent agrochemical pollution and to adopt natural methods of pest control.

• Biofertilisers are organisms which can bring about soil nutrient enrichment.

• Mycorrhiza is the symbiotic association of fungal hyphae and the roots of higher plants.

• Cyanobacteria are autotrophic microbes which can fix atmospheric nitrogen. Examples: Anabaena, Nostoc, Oscillatoria