Biology Project

INDEX
 Certificate
 Acknowledgement
 Introduction
 Microbes in Household products
 Food products
 Industrial product
 Microbes in sewage treatment
 Microbes in Biogas production
 Microbes in Biocontrol agents
 Microbes in Biofertilisers
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
Introduction :
 A microorganisms or microbe is an organism

which is too small to be seen by the unaided
eye. They are microscopic
 The study of microorganisms is called
microbiology
 Microorganisms present everywhere
eg: geysers(thermal vents), under snow, deep
in soil etc.
Types of Microbes:
 Microbes are diverse: protozoa, bacteria, fungi,
and microscopic plant viruses and also prions
(proteinaceous infectious agents)
 Microbes cause a large number of diseases in
human beings, animals and plants.
 But all microbes are not harmful; several
microbes are useful to human beings in diverse
ways.
Microbes in Household production:
 A number of microbes are involved in their
production through the process of fermentation.
 The use of microbes in food production is as
old as human civilization.
 Traditionally a number of microbes from
the surrounding environment are being used in
production of several indigenous fermented
foods.
 Few examples are idli, dhokla, jalebi
1. Food Production:
i. Production of curd from milk:
a.Microbes such as lactobacillus and a group
called Acid bacteria(LAB) convert milk to curd
by producing acids which partially digest and
coagulate milk proteins.
b. A small of curd (starter or inoculum) which is
added to milk contains millions of bacteria
which multiply under suitable conditions and
thus converting it to curd
c. This process increases the nutritional value of
milk by increasing vitamin B12.
2.Making of idli, bread, toddy drink and
cheese :
 The dough … dosa and idli … fermented by
bacteria. The puffed-up appearance…. Due to
production of Carbon dioxide
 Dough---bread---fermented using baker's yeast;
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
 Cheese: 'Swiss cheese'--large holes--- large
amount of carbon dioxide by a bacterium
named Propionibacterium sharmanii
 The 'Roquefort cheese' are ripened by growing
a specific fungi on them, which gives them a
particular flavour.
3.Microbes as a source of food:
 Some microorganisms are used as a food. Yeast
is rich in proteins and used as single cell protein.
 The dried and dead cells of microbes like
bacteria,algae and fungus are also used as a
source of food (SCP)
 Mushrooms can directly be used as a source of
food because of its high nutritive value (Rich in
proteins)
 Eg:i) Whitebutton mushroom..Agaricus bisporus
ii) Oyster mushroom….. Pleuratus florida
B.Microbes in Industrial Products:
1.Beverages
2.Antibiotics
3.Organic Acids
4.Enzymes
5.Bio-Active molecules
6.Vitamins
1.Beverages
 When juices and malted cereals are fermented
they get converted to ethanol.
 Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is
commonly used for fermentation.
 Drinks with versatile colour and flavour are
produced depending upon the raw material and
nature of processing Used.
 Classification of beverages
1. Whisky, Rum and Brandy are distilled
beverages.
2. Wine and beer are not distilled
3.Antibiotic Production:
Antibiotics are chemical substances, which are
produced by some microbes and can kill or
retard the growth of other (disease-causing)
microbes.
Penicillin produced by Alexander Fleming from
Penicillium notatum while working with
staphylococci ---- Earnest chain and Howard
Plorey awarded Nobel Prize in 1945 for
establishing Penicillin as an effective antibiotic.
Penicillin produced by Alexander Fleming from
Penicillium notatum while working with
staphylococci ---- Earnest chain and Howard
Plorey awarded Nobel Prize in 1945 for
establishing Penicillin as an effective antibiotic.
3.Organic Acids:
Various organic acids are obtained by fermentation
using various microbes as given below
4.Enzyme Production:
i. Lipase ( produced by Candida lipolytica )
ii. Pectinases
iii. Proteases
iv. Streptokinase
5.Bioactive Molecule:
a) Cyclosporin A
b)Statins
6.Vitamin Production:
Vitamins are organic compounds that perform
specific biological functions for normal maintenance
and optimal growth of an organism. These vitamins
cannot be synthesized by the higher organisms,
including man, and therefore they have to be
supplied in small amounts in the diet.
Vitamins are manufactured by fermentation

technology using different microbial sources as
given in table.
Microbes in Sewage Treatment:

 Municipal waste-water is also called sewage
(contains waste water, human excreta).
 It contains large amounts of organic matter and
microbes, many of which are pathogenic.
 This cannot be discharged into natural water
bodies like rivers and streams directly.
 Before disposal, sewage is treated in sewage
treatment plants (STPs) to make it less
polluting.
Types of Sewage Treatment:

i. Primary Treatment
ii. Secondary Treatment
i. Primary treatment:
 Physical Removal of Particles - large and small
- from the sewage through filtration and
sedimentation.
 Stages -- floating debris is removed by
sequential filtration.
 Then the grit (soil and small pebbles) are
removed by sedimentation.
 All solids that settle form the primary sludge,
and the supernatant forms the effluent.
 The effluent from the primary settling tank is
taken for secondary treatment.
ii. Secondary Treatment:

 The primary effluent is passed into large
aeration tanks
 constantly agitated mechanically and air is
pumped into it
 This allows vigorous growth of useful aerobic
microbes into flocs
 microbes consume the major part of the
organic matter in the effluent.
 This significantly reduces the BOD (biochemical
oxygen demand) of the effluent.
Sewage Treatment Plant:

Essentially, a sewage treatment plant operates by
circulating air to encourage the growth of bacteria
to break down sewage. The goal is to deliver much
cleaner, more environmentally friendly effluent. It
involves a similar process to a typical septic tank but
has some key differences. Sewage treatment plants,
depending on their size, can treat the waste of
commercial properties or a number of domestic
dwellings.
Biogas Production:
 Biogas is a mixture of gases (containing
predominantly methane) produced by the
microbial activity and which may be used as
fuel.
 The biogas plant consists of a concrete tank (10-
15 feet deep) in which bio-wastes are collected
and a slurry of dung is fed.
 The biogas plant has an outlet, which is
connected to a pipe to supply biogas to nearby
houses.
Microbes As Biocontrol Agents:

 Biocontrol refers to the use of biological
methods for controlling plant diseases and
pests.
 Chemicals, insecticides and pesticides are
extremely harmful to human beings and also
these pollute our environment.
 The use of biocontrol measures will greatly
reduce our dependence on toxic chemicals and
pesticides.
Bacillus Thuringiensis:
Bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is
used to get rid of butterfly caterpillars where dried
spores of Bacillus thuringiensis are mixed with
water and sprayed onto vulnerable plants such as
brassicas and fruit trees and these are eaten by the
insect larvae and in the gut of the larvae, the toxin
is released and the larvae get killed.
Microbes As Biofertilisers:
 Biofertilizers are living organisms that improve
the supplement nature of the soil.
 Important biofertilizers include fungi, bacteria,
and cyanobacteria.
 Rhizobium frame root knobs in leguminous
plants and fixes nitrogen present in the air
 Azospirilium and Azotobacter are free-living
bacteria that fix nitrogen present in the
atmosphere and in this way expanding nitrogen
content of soil.
 Mycorrhiza: fungi that are symbiotically
connected with the roots of the plants.
Conclusion:
Microbes are a very important
component of life on earth. Not all microbes are
pathogenic. Many microbes are very useful to
human beings. We use microbes and
microbially derived products almost every day.
Microbes are essential in processes like Wine
making and Cheese making. Bacteria called
lactic acid bacteria (LAB) grow in milk to convert
it into curd. The dough, which is used to make
bread, is fermented by yeast called
Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Certain dishes such
as idli and dosa, are made from dough
fermented by microbes. Bacteria and fungi are
used to impart particular texture, taste and
flavour to cheese.
Many microbes are used for commercial and

industrial production of chemicals, enzymes and
other bioactive molecules Antibiotics like
penicillins produced by useful microbes are
used to kill disease-causing harmful microbes.
For more than a hundred years, microbes are
being used to treat sewage (waste water) by
the process of activated sludge formation and
this helps in recycling of water in nature.
Microorganisms are used in fermentation to
produce ethanol, and in biogas reactors to
produce methane Methanogens produce
methane (biogas) while degrading plant waste.
Biogas produced by microbes is used as a
source of energy in rural areas. It is clear from
the diverse uses human beings have put
microbes to that they play an important role in
the welfare of human society.

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INDEX

 A microorganisms or microbe is an organism

Vitamins are manufactured by fermentation

Microbes in Sewage Treatment:

Types of Sewage Treatment:

ii. Secondary Treatment:

Sewage Treatment Plant:

Microbes As Biocontrol Agents:

Many microbes are used for commercial and

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