Microorganisms play an important role in our lives. They are used for various purposes. In this blog, we will learn about some beneficial uses of microorganisms.

Preparation of curd: You must have seen your mother boiling the milk, then cooling it, and then putting some curd in that. After several hours, the milk sets as curd. Curd contains Lactobacillus bacteria which promotes the formation of curd.

Increasing soil fertility: Some bacteria and blue-green algae are able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere to enrich the soil with nitrogen and increase its fertility. These microbes are commonly known as Biological Nitrogen Fixers

Cleaning the environment: You must have seen a large amount of dead organic matter in the form of decaying plants and sometimes dead animals.

The microorganisms decompose dead organic waste of plants and animals and convert them into simple substances and therefore the dead and decaying plants and animals disappear after some time. Thus, microorganisms can be used to decompose harmfully and usually waste substances and thereby clean up the environment. So, we have seen that microorganisms are very useful

Microorganisms help in:

1. In the preparation of curd and bread
2. In the preparation of alcohol, wine, and acetic acid
3. In the preparation of antibiotics
4. In the preparation of vaccine
5. Increasing the fertility of the soil
6. Cleaning up the environment

Harmful Microorganisms

Microorganisms are harmful in many ways. Some of the microorganisms cause diseases in human beings, plants, and animals. Such disease-causing microorganisms are called pathogens. Some microorganisms spoil food, clothing, and leather. Let us study more about their harmful activities.

Disease-causing Microorganisms in Humans

Pathogens enter our bodies through the air we breathe, the water we drink, or the food we eat. They can also get transmitted by direct contact with an infected person or carried through an animal. Microbial diseases that can spread from an infected person to a healthy person through the air, water, food, or physical contact are called communicable diseases.

Examples of such diseases include cholera, common cold, chickenpox, and tuberculosis

When a person suffering from common cold sneezes, fine droplets of moisture carrying thousands of viruses are spread in the air. The virus may enter the body of a healthy person while breathing.
There are some insects and animals which act as carriers of disease-causing microbes. The housefly is one such carrier.

The flies sit on the garbage and animal excreta. Pathogens stick to their bodies. When these flies sit on uncovered food they may transfer the pathogens. Whoever eats the contaminated food is likely to get sick. So, it is advisable to always keep food covered.

Avoid consuming uncovered items of food. Another example of a carrier is the female Anopheles mosquito, which carries the parasite of malaria. The Female Aedes mosquito acts as the carrier of the dengue virus.

How can we control the spread of malaria or dengue?

All mosquitoes breed in water. Hence, one should not let water collect anywhere, in coolers, tires, flowerpots, etc. By keeping the surroundings clean and dry we can prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Try to make a list of measures that help to avoid the spread of malaria.

Disease-causing Microorganisms in animals not only cause diseases in humans and plants but also in other animals. For example, anthrax is a dangerous human and cattle disease caused by a bacterium. Foot and mouth disease of cattle is caused by a virus.

Disease-causing Microorganisms in Plants

Several microorganisms cause diseases in plants like wheat, rice, potato, sugarcane, orange, apple, and others. The diseases reduce the yield of crops. This Table shows some such plant diseases. They can be controlled by the use of certain chemicals which kill the microbes.

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