Ch. 6 Beneficial Aspects of Microbes: The Other Side of the Coin
What are positives in new or improved biotech products?
-novel and safer vaccines -novel antimicrobials -cheaper and safer medicinal agents --recombinant human growth hormone --recombinant human insulin -novel agricultural applications --Bt, an environmentally friendly bioinsecticide --pseudomonas syringae
How much of the atmosphere is nitrogen?
80% a form of nitrogen unusable for most life
What other elements in a cyclic manner depend on microbial communities?
sulfur, phosphorous, and iron
What are microbes involved in the bread products?
yeasts like Saccharomyces cerevisiae ferment sugar, producing ethanal and CO2 gas- CO2 makes bread rise and the ethanol evaporates. The types of microbes found in the starter culture determine the taste and odor palate of the bread
what are the biotic components of an ecosystem?
animals, plants, and microbes
What is the ancestor of all other life?
bacteria
What are biogeochemical cycles?
bacteria are integral to the functioning of the biogeochemical cycles involved in the recycling of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, iron, and phosphorous
What is nitrogen fixing?
bacteria convert N2 to ammonia- Rhizobium are bacterial symbionts in root nodules of leguminous plants (peas, soybeans, etc)
What is nitrification?
bacteria convert ammonia into nitrate, the form of nitrogen best used by plants- Nitrosomonas, and Nitrobacter
What is denitrification?
bacteria return nitrogen back to the atmosphere as nitrogen
What is bioaugmentation?
biodegradation can be enhanced by spraying nutrients on beaches, etc. to foster the growth of indigenous microbes to accelerate degradation of pollutants
How does microbes break down oil?
break down oil to CO2 and water
What are the producers in the carbon biogeochemical cycle?
cyanobacteria and algea, etc. fix carbon from CO2 into glucose (C6H12O6)
How do microbes treat sewage and waste water?
goal is to eliminate fecal pathogens before returning treated water to river and streams. In the second stage of treatment, wastewater passes over microbial communities of bacteria, algae, and protozoa, which form on rocks and biofilms (organic matter and pathogens are eliminated)
What is the process of pasteurization?
heated to 50-60C, cooled, and then added yeast starter culture
What are the consumers in an ecosystem?
heterotrophic microbes, insects, and animals
what are fermentation byproducts used in fermenting foods?
lactic acid, CO2, and ethanol
What probiotic is beneficial consuming?
lactobacilli
What are decomposers?
microbes
What are essential in the biotech industry?
microbes
What are essential to the function of biosphere and biogeochemical cyles?
microbes
fermented foods require what?
microbes
What are the decomposers in an ecosystem?
microbes that recycle limited resources. microbes are the ultimate decomposers
can life exist without microbes?
no
What are the producers in an ecosystem?
photosynthetic plants and microbes
What are the herbivores of carbon in biogeochemical cycles?
primary consumers, depend upon microbes to release glucose from cellulose
What the the decomposers of carbon from the biogeochemical cycle?
return CO2 to the atmosphere
What is bioremediation?
the act of adding materials to the environment, such as fertilizers or microorganisms, to increase the rate at which natural biodegradation occurs
What are the abiotic components of an ecosystem?
the chemical and physical environments
what is bioremediation?
the use of organisms to remove pollutants from the environment
does gene therapy depend upon use of microbes?
yes
