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Microbiology is the branch of science that deals with the study of a variety of living organisms that are invisible to the naked eye like bacteria, fungi, etc. Virology, mycology, protistology, bacteriology, parasitology, and immunology are the various disciplines that come under microbiology.
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Keyterms: Virology, mycology, protistology, bacteriology, parasitology, immunology, living organisms, bacteria, fungi, microbiology, living organisms
What are Microorganisms?
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Microorganisms or microbes are microscopic organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. They are found either as a single celled organism or in a colony of microbes. Microbes prove to be useful as well as harmful in many cases. They are known to add nutrients to the soil in which plants grow and they fix the atmospheric gases.
Microorganisms
Microbiology helps us in understanding the reproduction, life cycle, and characteristics of the microorganisms which are useful to produce various beneficial products. Some of the common microorganisms are bacteria and viruses.
Types of Microorganisms
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Different types of microorganisms namely bacteria, fungi, archaea, algae, protozoa, and viruses are mentioned below.
Bacteria: Organisms that constitute the microbial world are characterized as the eukaryotes and prokaryotes. All bacteria are considered prokaryotic single-celled organisms without a membrane-bound nucleus. The study of bacterias is called bacteriology.
Bacteria
Some of the examples of Bacteria are LactoBacilli (found in milk), Mycobacterium Leprae (causes leprosy), Rickettsia (found in insects), E-coli bacteria.
Algae: Algae are eukaryotes and may be unicellular and microscopic in size or multicellular and up to 120 m in length. The study of photosynthetic eukaryotes is termed phycology.
Algae
Seaweed, Euglenophyta, Giant Kelp are some of the examples of Algae
Fungi: Fungi eukaryotic organisms and can either be unicellular or multicellular. Fungi do not contain chlorophyll and thus don't carry out photosynthesis. The study of fungi is termed mycology.
Fungi
Some of the examples of fungi are yeasts, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, and mushrooms.
Protozoa: Protozoa are eukaryotic microorganisms that are oval or spherical in shape. Protozoa lack cell walls and move by the beating action of short hair-like appendages i.e.flagella. The study of protozoa (single-celled eukaryotes) is termed protozoology.
Protozoa
Paramoecium, Amoeba, Euglena are some of the examples of protozoa.
Viruses: Viruses come in several shapes and are widely distributed in nature in animal cells, plant cells, and microorganisms. The study of viruses is termed virology.
Viruses
H1N1, Coronavirus, HIV are some of the examples of viruses.
Basic Microbiology
The study of the biology of microorganisms requires the use of special equipment as well as different procedures. Basic microbiology deals with the biological characteristics of microorganisms such as:
- Morphology
- Nutrition
- Physiology
- Reproduction and growth
- Metabolism
- Pathogenesis
- Antigenicity
- Genetic properties
Read More:
| Related Links | ||
|---|---|---|
| Microbes in Human Welfare | Sewage Treatment | Ganga Action Plan |
| Leprosy | Biogas | Biology and Human Welfare |
| Biocontrol Agents | Microbes as biofertilizers | Microbes in industrial products |
Branches of Microbiology
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The various branches of microbiology are given as follows:
- Bacteriology- Study of bacteria
- Mycology- Study of fungi
- Virology- Study of viruses
- Protozoology- Study of protozoa i.e.a single-celled eukaryotic
- Nematology- Study of nematodes
- Phycology- Study of algae
- Parasitology- Study of parasites that include pathogenic protozoa, certain insects, and helminth worms
Branches of Microbiology
Applied Microbiology
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Applied microbiology is the branch of microbiology that deals with the study of applications of microorganisms and the knowledge about them. Genetic engineering is considered a field of applied microbiology with the exploitation of microorganisms for a specific product or use. Genetic engineering is an example that shows how the fields of basic and applied microbiology can overlap.
Applied Microbiology
Some of the sub-branches of applied microbiology are as follows:
Soil Microbiology
The study of soil and the microbes associated with the soil is known as soil microbiology. Dead vegetation, human, animal wastes, and dead animals get deposited onto the soil which result in the formation of microbes that yields nourishment to the soil and helps in cycles such as nitrogen fixation.
Soil Microbiology
Food Microbiology
Study of microorganisms in the food and food processing industry is called food microbiology. Microorganisms are of great significance to foods. It is used in the manufacture of a wide variety of food products.
Food Microbiology
Sometimes microbial diseases can also be transmitted by foods. Food can also be considered as a medium for microbial growth. Protein-containing foods are putrefied by the organisms that break down the long peptide chains of proteins into amino acids, foul-smelling compounds such as amines, ammonia, and hydrogen sulphide.
Plant Pathology
Plants are subjected to infection by thousands of species of microbes. The study of plant diseases is termed plant pathology. These plant pathogens produce diseases that cause significant agricultural losses and include viruses, bacteria mycoplasma- like organisms, and fungi.
Plant Pathology
Applications of Microbiology
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Microbiology is a branch of science that has applications in various fields. Some of the various applications of microbiology in modern world science are mentioned below.
- Microbiology helps us in providing information about different types of organisms enabling us to understand their structure, functions, identifications, differentiation, and nomenclature.
- Energy from microbial sources- there are several substrates that are used as a source of energy as biogas from methanogenic microorganisms. The microbes like methanococcus and methanobacterium can be utilized to produce methane. Thus, they are effectively used for producing energy.
Applications of Microbiology
- Microorganisms are used in the production of a large number of fermented foods such as sourdough bread, leavened bread, fermented milk products such as yogurt, cheese, and several other products are made using them.
Applications of Microbiology
- Microbiology has been very useful in the preservation of food by pasteurization and appertization, heat processing, calculating thermal death values, prevention of spoilage of canned foods, UV radiation, and ionizing radiation, high-pressure processing.
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Things to Remember
- Microbiology is the branch of science that deals with the study of a variety of living organisms that are invisible to the naked eye like bacteria and fungi.
- Microbiology helps us in understanding the reproduction, life cycle, and characteristics of the microorganisms which are useful to produce various beneficial products.
- Different types of microorganisms are bacteria, fungi, archaea, algae, protozoa, and viruses.
- Applied microbiology is the branch of microbiology that deals with the study of applications of microorganisms and the knowledge about them.
- Microbiology helps us in providing information about different types of organisms enabling us to understand their structure, functions, identifications, differentiation, and nomenclature.
Previous Year Questions
- The citric acid is produced by….[NEET 1995]
- When domestic sewage mixes with river water...[NEET 2010]
- Which aquatic fern is used to increase the yield in paddy crop?...[NEET 2000]
- Which bacteria is utilized in Gober gas plant:-..[NEET 2002]
- Which of the following fern is an excellent biofertilizer?...[NEET 1999]
- Which one of the following is not used in organic farming ?...[NEET 2010]
- Which of the following species does not have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen?....[NEET 1994]
- Which of the following is the pair of biofertilizers….[NEET 2001]
- Which of the following is not a biofertilizer ?...[NEET 2011]
- Which of the following is a commercial blood cholesterol lowering agent ?..[NEET 2019]
- Which of the following in sewage treatment removes suspended solids ?...[NEET 2017]
- Ernest chain and Howard Florey's contribution was...[KCET 2015]
- Cyclosporin A, an immunosuppressive drug, is produced by….[JIPMER 2012]
- Which enzyme converts glucose into alcohol..
- Yeast is used for commercial production of...[AMUEEE 2014]
- Microbe used as clot buster during myocardial infraction..[AMUEEE 2014]
Sample Questions
Ques. Who was the father of microbiology? (2 marks)
Ans. 'Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is called the father of microbiology. He is a self-taught scientist who lived in the 17th century.
Ques. What are the different types of microbes? (2 marks)
Ans. Bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, protozoa, eukaryotic, Protozoa, and Algae are the different types of microbes.
Ques. What do microbiologists do? (2 marks)
Ans. The work of a microbiologist is to study the prevention, diagnosis, and control of infectious diseases, ensure food and drink is safe to consume, understand the role of the microbes in climate change and develop technologies too.
Ques. What are the useful microorganisms? (2 marks)
Ans. Being decomposers, bacteria and fungi play an important role in an ecosystem. They break down the dead or waste organic matter and release it inorganic molecules. These nutrients are then taken by the green plants which in turn are consumed by animals and the products of these plants and animals are again broken down by the decomposers. That's how microorganisms are really very useful.
Ques. Give an example of a useful microorganism. (2 marks)
Ans. Yeast is a single-celled fungus that lives naturally on the surface of the fruit and is economically important in bread making and brewing beer. It is also important in the making of yogurt.
Ques. Name some of the human diseases that are caused by harmful microorganisms, specifically bacteria? (2 marks)
Ans. Pneumonia, diphtheria, cholera, typhoid, salmonella, meningitis, bacterial dysentery are some of the human diseases that are caused by bacteria.
Ques. Define bacillus. (2 marks)
Ans. Bacillus is a rod-shaped, gram-positive aerobic or anaerobic (under some conditions) bacteria that is widely found in soil and water. Some types of Bacillus bacteria are harmful to plants, humans, and other organisms as well.
Ques. What are multicellular organisms? (2 marks)
Ans. The organisms that are composed of more than one cell are termed multicellular organisms. Humans, dogs, cows, horses are some of the various examples of multicellular organisms.
Ques. What are the various sub-disciplines under microbiology? (2 marks)
Ans. Virology, bacteriology, parasitology, mycology, protozoology, parasitology, phycology, nematology are the various disciplines that come under microbiology.
Ques. Which disease is caused by the bacteria 'Pasteurella Multocida'? (2 marks)
Ans. Cellulitis is caused by the bacteria Pasteurella multocida.
Ques. Give examples to prove that microbes release gases during metabolism. (2 marks)
Ans. There are lots of examples which prove that 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 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 a bacterium Propionibacterium sharmanii.
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) which involve 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. Do you think microbes can also be used as a source of energy? If yes, how? (2 marks)
Ans. Yes, the microbes present in activated sludge are digested anaerobically to generate a biogas i.e. by release of inflammable biogas in a biogas plant, which is a source of energy.
Use of microbial culture for SCP (single cell protein).
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 cheaper cost when compared with the chemical fertilizers. e.g.
(i) Use of leguminous plants with Rhizobium.
(ii) Use of sulphur fixing bacteria.
(iii) Use of hydrogen fixing bacteria.
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