Benefits and Uses of Microbes

These tiny microbes are present anywhere and everywhere, even where no other life could exist in any temperature or circumstances. Microbes have diversity like protozoa,

bacteria, fungi, microscopic animal and plant viruses, viroids, and prions that are proteinaceous infectious agents. Microbes like different types of bacteria and fungi can be accumulated on a nutritional medium to create life; naked eyes can see few. These bacteria and fungi are useful to study microorganisms. Microbes are the reason for many diseases in humans and animals, but not all microbes are harmful in various ways; we will see most of the tributes of microbes in human welfare notes further.  

Let’s see the examples, uses and benefits of microbes in different places.

Microbes present in our house:

Microbes are present in our daily consumption, which is a curd made by milk. The microbes present in curd are known as Lactobacillus; this is commonly called lactic acid bacteria, Which turns milk into curd at appropriate temperatures, enhancing its nutritional quality by growing vitamin B12. The dough, which is normally for making foods like dosa or idli, is fermented by bacteria. The puffiness in the dough is because of the presence of CO2 gas. Many traditional drinks or foods go through the fermentation of microbes. Microbes are useful for fermenting fish, soybean, and other things. Cheese is one of the ancient food things where microbes are used. Various types of cheese are known for their typical texture, flavour and taste; the particularity comes from the microbes’ use.

Microbes used in industrial products:

In industry, microbes in human welfare are utilised for many products.

 Useful to human beings. Drinks and antibiotics are examples. On an industrial scale, the production of microbes is done in large containers called fermentors. Microbes like yeasts produce drinks

like wine, beer, whisky, and rum; for this yeast, Saccharomyces

cerevisiae is used, which is also used for bread-making. It is also called brewer’s yeast. 

 1. Antibiotics

Antibiotics made by microbes are considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century and have been useful microbes in a human welfare society. Antibiotics are chemical substances made by microbes and can destroy the growth of other microbes, which are harmful and useless.

2. Chemicals, Enzymes and other Molecules

Microbes are also used for retail and industrial production of some chemicals like organic acids and enzymes. Examples of acid are Aspergillus niger, a type of fungus from citric acid, Clostridium bretylium; a type of bacteria from butyric acid and Lactobacillus; a type of bacteria from lactic acid. Yeast is used for the production of ethanol and enzymes.

Microbes in sewage use: 

We, Humans, make large amounts of water waste every day; a major part of this water waste is human faeces; this municipal water waste is called sewage. It includes large portions of organic matter and microbes, most of which are pathogenic. So this cannot be released into nature.

Water bodies like rivers directly, but before dumping, sewage is treated in sewage treatment plants (STPs), making it less polluting. The water waste treatment is done by the heterotrophic microbes innately present in the sewage. One of the Treatment is as follows:

Primary Treatment involves physical dumping particles large and small from the sewage via filtration and sedimentation. These are removed in stages; initially, sequential filtration removes floating debris. Later the soil and small pebbles are taken out by sedimentation. The solids that sink form the primary sludge, and the supernatant forms the effluent. The effluent from the primary treatment settling tank is taken for secondary treatment.

Secondary treatment: The primary effluent is given into big aeration tanks, where it is constantly stirred mechanically, and the air is pushed into it. This permits the strong growth of helpful aerobic microbes into flocs. While developing, these microbes ingest the main part of the organic matter in the effluent. This greatly decreases the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) of the effluent. The sewage water is treated till the BOD is decreased. Once the BOD of sewage or water waste is decreased, the effluent is handed into a settling tank where the bacterial ‘flocs’ are

permitted to sediment. The remaining main part is pumped into big tanks called anaerobic sludge digesters. Here, other bacteria, which develop anaerobically, digest the bacteria and the fungi. Bacteria produce gases such as methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. These gases from biogas this way, microbes help in human welfare.

Microbes used in the making of Biogas: 

Biogas is a combination of gases containing mostly methane created by microbial movement. Microbes in human welfare note that they produce different kinds of gases and end-products during growth; the type of gas created depends on the microbes and the organic substrates they use. These bacteria are called methanogens, commonly called Methanobacterium.

Microbes used as biological agents:

Biocontrol directs biological techniques for controlling plant diseases and pests. These issues have been handled by using many chemicals like insecticides and pesticides in today’s society. These chemicals are harmful to human beings and animals and pollute our environment. Our soil is also polluted due to our use of weedicides to clear weeds. Biocontrol steps will vastly decrease our dependence on toxic chemicals. An important factor in biological farming is to become familiar with the different life forms that occupy the field, predators and pests, and their life cycles, feeding habits.. This will help create appropriate means of biocontrol. A biological control developed for use in treating plant disease is the fungus named Trichoderma.

Conclusion:

Microbes useful in human welfare microbes make many things easier. Microbes are the major elements of biological systems on this earth. Microbes are the reason for many diseases in humans and animals, but not all microbes are harmful in various ways. In industries, microbes are produced in large quantities for food and other food products. Microbes also help in sewage cleaning in a very good manner. As we saw above, these processes have been practised for a very long time in food and other places, and still, much research is going on to make more good uses of microbes for this generation and future.