Jasmine Grover Content Strategy Manager
Content Strategy Manager
Microbes or microorganisms are the major part of components of biological systems on our planet. They are present almost everywhere around us like in the soil, water, air and even in our bodies. Microbes are also found in plants and animals. These microscopic organisms are found in various sources which find its application in many industrial products. Some microbes like fungi are used in bread manufacturing, lactobacillus bacteria is used for the formation of curd from milk.
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Keyterms: Microbes, Microorganisms, Planet, Animal, Microbiology, Enzymes, Biofuels, Metabolites, Biofertilizers
Industrial Microbiology
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The study of various types of microbes and its application in industrial processes is called industrial microbiology. In very large-scale industrial processes, they are used to synthesize a number of products that are valuable to human beings.
Microbes
There are various industrial processes which arise from microbes such as:
- Food additives.
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
- Biofuels, metabolites and biofertilizers.
- Chemicals, enzymes and bioactive molecules.
- Vaccines and antibiotics to kill the disease-causing microbes.
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| Human Health and Diseases | Pathogens | Infectious Diseases |
Types of Microbes
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Algae: Algae are a diverse group of autotrophic, chlorophyll-containing organisms which are capable of producing oxygen through photosynthesis.
Algae
Bacteria: Bacteria is a very tiny single-cell microbe that can live in all types of environments on the earth.
Bacteria
Protozoa: Protozoa is a microscopic unicellular eukaryote that are either free-living or parasitic.
Protozoa
Virus: Virus is a submicroscopic infectious microbe that duplicates inside the living cell of an organism.
Virus
Fungi: Fungi is a eukaryotic, multicellular organism that includes yeasts, moulds etc.
Fungi
Also Read: Microbes in human welfare
Role of Microbes in Industrial Products
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Microbes play a crucial role in the fermentation process to get a number of products. Fruit juices, malted cereals are antibiotics that are obtained by fermentation through industrial processes.
Beverages
For the manufacturing of beverages like beer, rum, wine, whiskey etc, microorganisms are widely used. Yeasts are single-celled microorganisms of Kingdom Fungi. After the fermentation process, these beverages go through the process of distillation to produce both alcoholic beverages including wine, beer, whisky etc.
Microbes in Beverage Industry
Organic Acids
Some organic acids are also produced by the use of microbes. Some examples of microbes used to produce organic acids from glucose are Aspergillus niger, Acetobacter acute and Lactobacillus.
Enzymes
Enzymes occur naturally which are mainly used to control certain biochemical reactions in the living system. They have an extensive range of applications in the manufacturing of both medical and non-medical fields. Microbes are mainly used for the production of industrial enzymes by using safe gene transfer methods.
Microbial Enzyme Production
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are types of chemical substances produced by certain types of microbes which function either by killing or slowing down the production of harmful microbes without affecting the host cells. There are various types of antibiotics produced by microorganisms including Streptomycin which are used to treat a number of bacterial infections.
Antibiotics
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds having the ability to perform many life-supporting functions inside our body. They are essential micronutrients which are required for the human body’s metabolism. As the human body cannot synthesize the vitamins directly, they are required to be supplied through diet.
Role of Microbes in Industrial Products
There are various groups of microbes which live in the digestive tracts of both humans and animals which are collectively called the gut microbiota. Examples of microbiota vitamins are ascorbic acid, biotin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, thiamine etc.
Things to Remember
- The bacteria which are used to curdle milk is known as lactobacillus bacteria.
- Acetic acid is manufactured by the bacterium acetobacter acetic and butyric acid is manufactured by the bacterium Clostridium butylicum.
- The penicillin antibiotic is acquired from the fungus Penicillium notatum.
- Rhizobium is gram-negative soil bacteria that is used to fix nitrogen and help plants to observe atmospheric nitrogen.
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| Binary Fission | Cellulose | Plant Cell |
| E.coli | Gram-negative bacteria | Warm-blooded animals |
Sample Questions
Ques. Give some common applications of enzymes. (2 Marks)
Ans. The amylases are used in the production of syrups from the corn starch. Glucose isomerase can turn the glucose formed by amylase from starch into fructose which is used instead of sucrose to sweeten many foods. The renin produced from fungi is used to form curd from milk.
Ques. How are antibiotics produced? (2 Marks)
Ans. The growth medium is immunized with spores of appropriate mould or streptomycete and it is aerated vigorously. After the antibiotic reaches a satisfactory concentration, it is extracted from the solution of precipitation and other industrial materials/procedures.
Ques. What is ale? (2 Marks)
Ans. Ale is manufactured like beer and it is incubated at a temperature of 50°- 70°C. The microbes' top yeast S.cerevisiae converts sugar into alcohol. The alcohol content in ale is 6 percent and the yeast grows at the top of the fermentation vessel.
Ques. Give some characteristics of primary metabolites. (2 Marks)
Ans. Primary metabolites are produced at the same time when a cell is formed. The manufacturing curve of primary metabolites follows the curve for a population of cells in parallel with only a minimal lag phase.
Ques. Give some characteristics of secondary metabolites. (3 Marks)
Ans. A secondary metabolite is formed when the microbe has completed its growth phase which is also called trophophase and accomplished a stationary phase of growth. The period in which most of the metabolite is produced is known as idiophase. Secondary metabolites may be a microbial conversion of primary metabolite or maybe an object of metabolism of the original growth that a microorganism produces only after a large number of cells and the primary metabolites have been acquired.
Ques. What are the uses of citric acid? (2 Marks)
Ans. Citric acid acts as an antioxidant and pH adjuster in many types of foods. In various types of dairy products, citric acid is used as an emulsifier. Citric acid can also be used in industry and pharmaceutical products.
Ques. Which is the type of mutant used for the maximum production of lysine? (2 Marks)
Ans. A mutant of bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum which lacks the enzymes required to produce threonine used to make lysine on a very large scale. This type of mutant is better as compared with the normal bacterium for the prevention of feedback inhibition as both amino acids play a vital role in a common enzyme in their synthetic pathway.
Ques. What is a bioreactor? (2 Marks)
Ans. The vessels used for the process of industrial fermentation are called bioreactors. These vessels are designed for proper aeration with pH control and temperature control. It is also defined as a vessel that carries out a biological reaction that employs microbes, fungus, plant cells or mammalian cell systems for the production of biological products.
Ques. Give examples to prove that microbes release gases during metabolism. (2 Marks)
Ans: There are lots of examples that prove microbes release gases during their metabolism. Some examples are as follows :
- Dough, which is used for making dosa and idli, is fermented by bacteria. The puffy appearance of dough is due to the production of CO2 by the fermentation process.
- Swiss cheese is characterized by having the characteristic flavour and large holes. The large holes are formed due to the amount of CO2 released by the bacterium Propionibacterium shermanii.
Ques. In which food would you find lactic acid bacteria? Mention some of their useful applications. (2 Marks)
Ans: Milk, Curd and Cheese are coagulated products. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) convert lactose sugar into lactic acid. They also improve the nutritional quality of curd by increasing vitamin B12. Lactic acid bacteria are also found in the stomach where they check disease-causing microbes.
Ques. Name some traditional Indian foods made of wheat, rice and Bengal gram (or their products) that involve the use of microbes. (2 Marks)
Ans: A number of dishes can be prepared through the fermentation process by using microbes. Some important traditional dishes made up of wheat, rice and Bengal gram or black gram (vernacular urad) are as follows :
- Bread: It is a fermented preparation of wheat by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- Dosa, upma and idli: They are fermented preparation of rice and black gram (urad). The two are allowed to ferment for 3-12 hrs with Leuconostoc and Streptococcus species of bacteria.
Ques. Microbes can be used to decrease the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Explain how this can be accomplished. (2 Marks)
Ans: Microbes can be used to decrease the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This can be accomplished by the use of biofertilizers. The main source of biofertilizers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. They can provide plant nutrients at a cheaper cost when compared with chemical fertilizers. Example:
- Use of leguminous plants with Rhizobium.
- Use of sulphur fixing bacteria.
- Use of hydrogen fixing bacterium.
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