Presented by Mark Evans

MICROBES IN HUMAN WELFARE

What are microbes?

A microorganism (from the Greek: , mikrs, "small" and

, organisms, "organism"; also spelled microorganism, micro organism or microrganism) or microbe is a

microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell
(unicellular), cell clusters., or multicellular relatively complex
organisms. The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a
subject that began with Anton van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of
microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design.
Microorganisms are very diverse; they include bacteria, fungi,
algae, and protozoa; microscopic plants (green algae); and
animals such as rotifers and planarians. Some microbiologists
also include viruses, but others consider these as nonliving. Most
microorganisms are unicellular (single-celled), but this is not
universal, since some multicellular organisms are microscopic,
while some unicellular protists and bacteria, like Thiomargarita
namibiensis, are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye.

 Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere

where there is liquid water, including soil, hot springs,

on the ocean floor, high in the atmosphere and deep
inside rocks within the Earth's crust. Microorganisms
are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems as they
act as decomposers. As some microorganisms can fix
nitrogen, they are a vital part of the nitrogen cycle,
and recent studies indicate that airborne microbes
may play a role in precipitation and weather.
Microbes are also exploited by people in
biotechnology, both in traditional food and beverage
preparation, and in modern technologies based on
genetic engineering. However, pathogenic microbes
are harmful, since they invade and grow within other
organisms, causing diseases that kill humans, other
animals and plants. But they have a lot of uses too.
Lets discuss about some of them.

A little description
Microorganisms are vital to humans and the
environment, as they participate in the Earth's

element cycles such as the carbon cycle and

nitrogen cycle, as well as fulfilling other vital
roles in virtually all ecosystems, such as recycling
other organisms' dead remains and waste
products through decomposition. Microbes also
have an important place in most higher-order
multicellular organisms as symbionts. Many
blame the failure of Biosphere 2 on an improper
balance of microbes.

Uses in food

Microorganisms are used in brewing, winemaking, baking, pickling and

other food-making processes.
They are also used to control the fermentation process in the production
of cultured dairy products such as yogurt and cheese. The cultures also
provide flavour and aroma, and inhibit undesirable organisms.
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of
carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using
yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions.
Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into
ethanol. The science of fermentation is also known as zymology, or
zymurgy.
Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is
desirable, and the process is used to produce alcoholic beverages such
as wine, beer, and cider. Fermentation is also employed in the leavening
of bread (CO2 produced by yeast activity), and for preservation
techniques to produce lactic acid in sour foods such as sauerkraut, dry
sausages, kimchi and yogurt, or vinegar (acetic acid) for use in pickling
foods.

Uses in water treatment

Specially-cultured microbes are used in the biological treatment of sewage and

industrial waste effluent, a process known as bioaugmentation.
Bioaugmentation is the introduction of a group of natural microbial strains or a
genetically engineered variant to treat contaminated soil or water.
Usually the steps involve studying the indigenous varieties present in the
location to determine if biostimulation is possible. If the indigenous variety do
not have the metabolic capability to perform the remediation process,
exogenous varieties with such sophisticated pathways are introduced.
Bioaugmentation is commonly used in municipal wastewater treatment to
restart activated sludge bioreactors. Most cultures available contain a research
based consortium of Microbial cultures, containing all necessary microorganisms
(B. licheniformis, B. thurengensis, P. polymyxa, B. sterothemophilus, Penicillium
sp., Aspergillus sp., Flavobacterium, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces,
Saccaromyces, Triphoderma, etc.). Whereas activated sludge systems are
generally based on microorganisms like bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, rotifers
and fungi capable to degrade bio degradable organic matter.

Uses in energy

Microbes are used in fermentation to produce ethanol, and in biogas reactors to

produce methane. Scientists are researching the use of algae to produce liquid
fuels, and bacteria to convert various forms of agricultural and urban waste into
usable fuels. Ethanol fermentation, also referred to as alcoholic fermentation,
is a biological process in which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are
converted into cellular energy and thereby produce ethanol and carbon dioxide
as metabolic waste products. Because yeasts perform this conversion in the
absence of oxygen, ethanol fermentation is classified as anaerobic.
Ethanol fermentation occurs in the production of alcoholic beverages and
ethanol fuel, and in the rising of bread dough. Cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel
produced from wood, grasses, or the non-edible parts of plants.
It is a type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that
comprises much of the mass of plants. Lignocellulose is composed mainly of
cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus,
woodchips and the byproducts of lawn and tree maintenance are some of the
more popular cellulosic materials for ethanol production. Production of ethanol
from lignocellulose has the advantage of abundant and diverse raw material
compared to sources like corn and cane sugars, but requires a greater amount of
processing to make the sugar monomers available to the microorganisms that
are typically used to produce ethanol by fermentation.

Algae fuel is an alternative to fossil fuel that uses algae as its source of natural deposits.
Several companies and government agencies are funding efforts to reduce capital and
operating costs and make algae fuel production commercially viable. Harvested algae,
like fossil fuel, release CO2 when burnt but unlike fossil fuel the CO2 is taken out of the
atmosphere by the growing algae.
High oil prices, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources, and the
world food crisis, have ignited interest in algaculture (farming algae) for making
vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol and other
biofuels, using land that is not suitable for agriculture. Among algal fuels' attractive
characteristics: they can be grown with minimal impact on fresh water resources, can be
produced using ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to
the environment if spilled. Algae cost more per unit mass (as of 2010, food grade algae
costs ~$5000/tonne), due to high capital and operating costs, yet are claimed to yield
between 10 and 100 times more fuel per unit area than other second-generation biofuel
crops. One biofuels company has claimed that algae can produce more oil in an area the
size of a two car garage than a football field of soybeans, because almost the entire algal
organism can use sunlight to produce lipids, or oil. The United States Department of
Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it
would require 15,000 square miles (39,000 km2) which is only 0.42% of the U.S. map, or
about half of the land area of Maine. This is less than 17 the area of corn harvested in the
United States in 2000. However, these claims remain unrealized, commercially.
According to the head of the Algal Biomass Organization algae fuel can reach price
parity with oil in 2018 if granted production tax credits.

Use in production of
chemicals, enzymes etc.
Many microbes are used for commercial and industrial

production of chemicals, enzymes and other bioactive

molecules.
Examples of organic acid produced include
Acetic acid: Produced by the bacterium Acetobacter aceti
and other acetic acid bacteria (AAB) Acetic acid bacteria
(AAB) are bacteria that derive their energy from the
oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid during fermentation.
They are Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria.
They are not to be confused with the genus Acetobacterium,
which are anaerobic homoacetogenic facultative
autotrophs and can reduce carbon dioxide to produce
acetic acid, for example, Acetobacterium woodii.

 Butyric acid (butanoic acid): Produced by the

bacterium Clostridium butyricumClostridium

butyricum is a strictly anaerobic endospore-forming
Gram-positive butyric acid producing bacillus
subsisting by means of fermentation using an
intracellularly accumulated amylopectin-like polyglucan (granulose) as a substrate. It is
uncommonly reported as a human pathogen and
widely used as a probiotic in Asia (particularly Japan).
C. butyricum is a soil inhabitant in various parts of the
world, has been cultured from the stool of healthy
children and adults, and is common in soured milk
and cheeses.

 Lactic acid: Lactobacillus and others commonly called as lactic

acid bacteria (LAB) The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) comprise a

clade of Gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by
their common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These
bacteria, usually found in decomposing plants and lactic
products, produce lactic acid as the major metabolic end-product
of carbohydrate fermentation. This trait has, throughout history,
linked LAB with food fermentations, as acidification inhibits the
growth of spoilage agents. Proteinaceous bacteriocins are
produced by several LAB strains and provide an additional hurdle
for spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Furthermore, lactic
acid and other metabolic products contribute to the organoleptic
and textural profile of a food item. The industrial importance of
the LAB is further evinced by their generally recognized as safe
(GRAS) status, due to their ubiquitous appearance in food and
their contribution to the healthy microflora of human mucosal
surfaces.

 Citric acid: Produced by the fungus Aspergillus

niger Aspergillus niger is a fungus and one of the
most common species of the genus Aspergillus. It
causes a disease called black mold on certain
fruits and vegetables such as grapes, onions, and

peanuts, and is a common contaminant of food.

It is ubiquitous in soil and is commonly reported
from indoor environments, where its black
colonies can be confused with those of
Stachybotrys (species of which have also been
called "black mould").

 Microbes are used for preparation of bioactive

molecules and enzymes. Streptokinase produced by

the bacterium Streptococcus and modified by
genetic engineering is used as a clot buster for
removing clots from the blood vessels of patients
who have undergone myocardial infarctions leading
to heart attack.
Cyclosporin A is a bioactive molecule used as an
immunosuppressive agent in organ transplantation
Stains produced by the yeast Monascus purpureus is
commercialised as blood cholesterol lowering
agents which acts by competitively inhibiting the
enzyme responsible for synthesis of cholesterol.

Uses in science
Microbes are also essential tools in biotechnology,

biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. The

yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and fission yeast
(Schizosaccharomyces pombe) are important model
organisms in science, since they are simple
eukaryotes that can be grown rapidly in large
numbers and are easily manipulated. They are
particularly valuable in genetics, genomics and
proteomics. Microbes can be harnessed for uses
such as creating steroids and treating skin diseases.
Scientists are also considering using microbes for
living fuel cells, and as a solution for pollution.

Uses in warfare

In the Middle Ages, diseased corpses were thrown into castles during sieges
using catapults or other siege engines. Individuals near the corpses were
exposed to the deadly pathogen and were likely to spread that pathogen to
others. Biological warfare (also known as germ warfare) is the use of biological
toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill
or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Biological weapons
(often termed "bio-weapons" or "bio-agents") are living organisms or replicating
entities (viruses) that reproduce or replicate within their host victims.
Entomological (insect) warfare is also considered a type of biological warfare.
Biological weapons may be employed in various ways to gain a strategic or
tactical advantage over an adversary, either by threats or by actual
deployments. Like some of the chemical weapons, biological weapons may also
be useful as area denial weapons. These agents may be lethal or non-lethal, and
may be targeted against a single individual, a group of people, or even an entire
population. They may be developed, acquired, stockpiled or deployed by nation
states or by non-national groups. In the latter case, or if a nation-state uses it
clandestinely, it may also be considered bioterrorism.

Importance in human health

Microorganisms can form an endosymbiotic relationship with other, larger

organisms. For example, the bacteria that live within the human digestive
system contribute to gut immunity, synthesise vitamins such as folic acid and
biotin, and ferment complex indigestible carbohydrates. The human
microbiome (or human microbiota) is the aggregate of microorganisms that
reside on the surface and in deep layers of skin, in the saliva and oral mucosa, in
the conjunctiva, and in the gastrointestinal tracts. They include bacteria, fungi,
and archaea. Some of these organisms perform tasks that are useful for the
human host. However, the majority have no known beneficial or harmful effect.
Those that are expected to be present, and that under normal circumstances do
not cause disease, but instead participate in maintaining health, are deemed
members of the normal flora. Though widely known as "microflora", this is, in
technical terms, a misnomer, since the word root "flora" pertains to plants, and
biota refers to the total collection of organisms in a particular ecosystem.
Recently, the more appropriate term "microbiota" is applied, though its use has
not eclipsed the entrenched use and recognition of "flora" with regard to
bacteria and other microorganisms. Both terms are being used in different
literature. Studies in 2009 questioned whether the decline in biota (including
microfauna) as a result of human intervention might impede human health

Importance in ecology
Microbes are critical to the processes of decomposition required

to cycle nitrogen and other elements back to the natural world.

Decomposition (or rotting) is the process by which organic
substances are broken down into simpler forms of matter. The
process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies
physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to
decompose shortly after death. Although no two organisms
decompose in the same way, they all undergo the same
sequential stages of decomposition. The science which studies
decomposition is generally referred to as taphonomy from the
Greek word taphos, meaning tomb.
One can differentiate abiotic from biotic decomposition
(biodegradation). The former means "degradation of a substance
by chemical or physical processes, eg hydrolysis). The latter one
means "the metabolic breakdown of materials into simpler
components by living organisms", typically by microorganisms.

Hygiene
Hygiene is the avoidance of infection
or food spoiling by eliminating microorganisms from the

surroundings. As microorganisms, in particular bacteria, are

found virtually everywhere, the levels of harmful
microorganisms can be reduced to acceptable levels.
However, in some cases, it is required that an object or
substance be completely sterile, i.e. devoid of all living
entities and viruses. A good example of this is a hypodermic
needle.
In food preparation microorganisms are reduced by
preservation methods (such as the addition of vinegar),
clean utensils used in preparation, short storage periods, or
by cool temperatures. If complete sterility is needed, the
two most common methods are irradiation and the use of
an autoclave, which resembles a pressure cooker.

 There are several methods for investigating the level of hygiene

in a sample of food, drinking water, equipment, etc. Water

samples can be filtrated through an extremely fine filter. This
filter is then placed in a nutrient medium. Microorganisms on the
filter then grow to form a visible colony. Harmful microorganisms
can be detected in food by placing a sample in a nutrient broth
designed to enrich the organisms in question. Various methods,
such as selective media or PCR, can then be used for detection.
The hygiene of hard surfaces, such as cooking pots, can be tested
by touching them with a solid piece of nutrient medium and then
allowing the microorganisms to grow on it.
There are no conditions where all microorganisms would grow,
and therefore often several different methods are needed. For
example, a food sample might be analyzed on three different
nutrient mediums designed to indicate the presence of "total"
bacteria (conditions where many, but not all, bacteria grow),
molds (conditions where the growth of bacteria is prevented by,
e.g., antibiotics) and coliform bacteria (these indicate a sewage
contamination).