The Applications of Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of unicellular or cell-cluster tiny creatures known as microbes. Microorganisms are microscopic living organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microorganisms are organisms with a diameter of less than 1 mm and belong to the field of microbiology. Because most microbes are only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size, they can only be viewed under a microscope.

The scope of microbiology 

We are currently living in the microbiology period. Microorganisms are regarded as fundamental research tools because they aid in the understanding of the chemical and physical foundations of life. They are the most common group of living organisms in the biosphere and are involved in our daily activities. Microbiology is largely concerned with analysing the biochemical and genetic makeup of living organisms. Furthermore, because microorganisms are great models for studying cell activities and because there are applications of microbiology in the health, agricultural, and cosmetics industry, microbiology is regarded as a critical subject of research with enormous potential. Let us understand the importance and applications of microbiology in some detail.

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The applications of microbiology in various fields

Microorganisms in the food industry:

• Lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Leuconostoc, are used to ferment dairy products.
• Vinegar is the result of bacteria in the Acetobacter genus converting ethyl alcohol to acetic acid.
• Lactic acid is created by Lactobacillus bacteria, which are microaerophilic bacteria. This acid is a colourless, odourless liquid with a sour taste. It can be found in drinks as a flavouring, in food preservation as an additive or substitute for vinegar, and in the form of calcium lactate as a handy way to get calcium into the body.
• In the creation of wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages, yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are the primary fermenters and alcohol producers. Yeast converts sugars from various sources, including grapes for wine and barley for beer, into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
• Wine is prepared from grapes or other types of fruit. The yeasts employed to ferment the fruit form a coating on the surface. Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that have been cultivated are frequently used. Malic acid, which is found naturally in grape juice, can be transformed to lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria found in wineries or chemically added.

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Microorganisms in the health industry

• A vaccine is made up of weakened or destroyed forms of the bacterium, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins and contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing bacteria. The agent induces the immune system to recognise the agent as foreign, destroy it, and “remember” it so that the immune system can recognise and eliminate any of these germs it encounters in the future.
• Antibiotics are made in a factory using a fermentation technique in which the source microorganism is cultured in big containers with a liquid growth medium. Antibiotics are microorganisms’ secondary metabolites.
• Other than these, microorganisms are used in the production of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, steroids, etc., in the health industry.

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Microorganisms in the agricultural industry

• The importance of different plant-associated microorganisms is well understood, for example, the legume–rhizobium interaction and the significance of mycorrhiza in plant growth promotion.
• Microorganisms play an important role in the nitrogen cycle by the process of nitrogen fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.

Microorganisms in the biofuel industry

• Microbial biofuel generation is mostly accomplished by yeast fermentation of sugars to produce ethanol. In industry, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is predominantly used.
• A defined culture of a fermenter and/or syntropy in conjunction with an aceticlastic (acetate degrading) and hydrogenotrophic (hydrogen-consuming) methanogen could produce biogas. The inoculum for biogas production comprises microorganisms found in cow dung or wastewater sludge.
• Hydrogen has long been recognised as a side product of photosynthesis or as a final end product of fermentation in a variety of microbes. Biohydrogen is produced by photosynthetic microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria and green algae.

Microorganisms in the mining industry

• Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is increasingly being employed to extract important metals, particularly copper, from low-grade ores that would otherwise be unworkable using traditional methods.
• Other metals, such as uranium and gold, are also extracted by bacteria; the methods differ slightly, but they all entail the conversion of an insoluble compound to a soluble one.

Microorganisms in the water industry 

• For the treatment and purification of dirty water, biological wastewater treatment employs a variety of bacteria and other microorganisms.
• Larger protozoans are removed with filters, and bacteria and other tiny pathogens are killed by chemical or UV disinfection. The water self-purification principle is used in this process, in which microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, and metazoa) consume organic substances in the water to change and eliminate them.

Microorganisms in the cosmetic industry

• Fatty acids, enzymes, peptides, vitamins, lipopolysaccharides, and pigments found in microbes have favourable cosmetic effects. Microbes produce unique compounds, such as ceramides, mycosporine-like amino acids, carotenoids, and fatty acids, like omega-3, 6, and 9, which have a wide range of applications in the cosmetic business.

Conclusion

We are living in an era where the importance and applications of microbiology range from those in our day-to-day life to those in industrial fields. Microbiology has proven to be essential in the health industry for the production of vaccines and antibiotics as well as in the agricultural, food, biofuel, and cosmetic industries.