The Significance and Practical Applications of

MICROBIOLOGY in Relation to BIOTECHNOLOGY

GROUP 2

Questions and

Answers

1. Explain how microbes contribute in solving these current global problems:

a. Climate Change

b. Air/water/land pollution

c. Pandemics

A. Climate Change

Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus aresingle celled cyanobacteria. Researchersestimate that Prochlorococcus andSynechococcus remove about 10 billiontons of carbon from the air each year; this isabout two-thirds of the total carbon fixationthat occurs in the oceans.

Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus

B. Air/Water/Land Pollution

Air Pollution

When applied to air filtration and purification,biofilters use microorganisms to remove airpollution. The air flows through a packed bed andthe pollutant transfers into a thin biofilm on thesurface of the packing material. Microorganisms,including bacteria and fungi are immobilized in thebiofilm and degrade the pollutant. Trickling filtersand bioscrubbers rely on a biofilm and the bacterialaction in their recirculating waters.

B. Air/Water/Land Pollution

Water Pollution

To clean this Polluted water, it is put through the process of bioremediation, or the use of microorganisms to treat water that has been contaminated by hazardous materials. Water that has been cleaned by this method can then be released into the environment or even reused.

One method of bioremediation is called biogenic hydrogen sulfide precipitation technology.

B. Air/Water/Land Pollution

Land Pollution

Bacteria and fungi are usually most abundant in therhizosphere, the area around the root where exudatesare most abundant. By decomposing organic matterthey play an essential role in controlling and makinginorganic mineral nutrients available for plant uptake.Bacteria in the soil are essential in the cycling ofnitrogen, carbon, phosphorus and sulfur. They alsoassist in making other major mineral nutrients such aspotassium, magnesium, and iron available for plantuptake.

C. Pandemics

Scientific experiments which unravel the cause of influenza,had immediate preventative applications. They would assist inthe effort to create a effective vaccine to prevent influenza.This was the ultimate goal of most studies,since vaccines were thought to be the best preventativesolution in the early 20th century. Several experimentsattempted to produce vaccines, each with a differentunderstanding of the etiology of fatal influenza infection. Thevaccines made for the British forces took a similar approachand were "mixed vaccines" of pneumococcus and lethalstreptococcus. The vaccine development therefore focused onthe culture results of what could be isolated from the sickestpatients and lagged behind the scientific progress.

2. Identify and explain three critical roles microbes play in human health and survival?

Microbes on Digestive System

Not all microbes in the digestive system are beneficial.Bacteria, viruses and fungi can all cause intestinalinfections. These illnesses are often accompanied bydiarrhea and inflammation of the stomach andintestines. Infection by harmful bacteria can occur inseveral ways.

Microbes on the Skin

Bacteria can cause skin lesions, inflammation or boils.Infection of the skin by a virus can result in warts, as isthe case with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and plantarwarts. Athlete’s foot and jock itch are two examples offungal infections of the skin.

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Athlete’s Foot

Jock Itch

Previous studies have shown that the intensivetreatment given to individuals receiving a stemcell transplant from a healthy donor can destroya significant portion of the recipients’ gutmicrobiota and reduce its overall diversity.

3. Can you think of negative consequences if the principles and technology of microbiology will be exploited in the wrong way?

Surface Water Treatment Technique Microbiological Contaminants

If water is inadequately treated, microbiologicalcontaminants in that water may cause disease.Disease symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps,nausea, and possibly jaundice, and any associatedheadaches and fatigue. These symptoms, however,are not just associated with disease-causingorganisms in drinking water, but also may becaused by a number of factors other than yourdrinking water contaminants.

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Total coliform

Total coliform bacteria are common in the environment(soil or vegetation) and are generally harmless. If a labdetects only total coliform bacteria in drinking water,the source is probably environmental and fecalcontamination is unlikely. However, if environmentalcontamination can enter the system, pathogens couldget in too. It is important to find and resolve the sourceof the contamination.

Fecal Coliforms/E. coli

The presence of these bacteria in drinking watergenerally is a result of a problem with watertreatment or the pipes which distribute the water,and indicates that the water may be contaminatedwith organisms that can cause disease.

4. Discuss at least three possible ways where the applications in this field can help alleviate if not solve the economic problems in our country.

Nitrogen fixation

is a process found only in some bacteria whichremoves N2from the atmosphere and converts it toammonia (NH3), for use by plants and animals.Nitrogen fixation also results in replenishment of soilnitrogen removed by agricultural processes.

Oxygenic photosynthesis

occurs in plants, algae and cyanobacteria. It is thetype of photosynthesis that results in theproduction of O2 in the atmosphere. At least 50percent of the O2 on earth is produced byphotosynthetic microorganisms, and for at least abillion years before plants evolved, microbes werethe only organisms producing O2 on earth. O2 isrequired by many types of organisms, includinganimals, in their respiratory processes.

Decomposition

results in the breakdown of complex organic materialsto forms of carbon that can be used by otherorganisms. There is no naturally-occurring organiccompound that cannot me degraded by some microbe,although some synthetic compounds such as teflon,styrofoam, plastics, insecticides and pesticides arebroken down slowly or not at all. Through themetabolic processes of fermentation and respiration,organic molecules are eventually broken down toCO2 which is returned to the atmosphere.

5. Enumerate and explain three situations where the principles of microbiology can be applied in clinical practice of medicine.

Making of Medicines

The ability to correlate, evaluate, prioritize andsynthesize information, including the relevantethical issues acquired by history taking andphysical examination. The resident shouldrecognize and define problems and generatedifferential diagnosis and problem list.

The performance of molecular methodsapplied to the detection of micro-organismsand their virulence factors and to determinethe epidemiologic links between isolates.