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    1 Microbiology

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    Jazmine
    This document provides an overview of microbes (microorganisms) including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, and viruses. It discusses that while some microbes cause disease, the majority play crucial roles in environments like maintaining balances in living organisms and chemicals. Microbes are found in oceans, soils, plants and animals. They are important in processes like photosynthesis, digestion, and vitamin synthesis. Microbes are also used commercially to produce items like chemicals, foods, medicines, and more. Though some microbes are pathogens, knowledge of microbes is important for medicine and health sciences.

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    1 Microbiology

    Uploaded by

    Jazmine
    31 views10 pages
    This document provides an overview of microbes (microorganisms) including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, and viruses. It discusses that while some microbes cause disease, the majority play crucial roles in environments like maintaining balances in living organisms and chemicals. Microbes are found in oceans, soils, plants and animals. They are important in processes like photosynthesis, digestion, and vitamin synthesis. Microbes are also used commercially to produce items like chemicals, foods, medicines, and more. Though some microbes are pathogens, knowledge of microbes is important for medicine and health sciences.

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    This document provides an overview of microbes (microorganisms) including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, and viruses. It discusses that while some microbes cause disease, the majority play crucial roles in environments like maintaining balances in living organisms and chemicals. Microbes are found in oceans, soils, plants and animals. They are important in processes like photosynthesis, digestion, and vitamin synthesis. Microbes are also used commercially to produce items like chemicals, foods, medicines, and more. Though some microbes are pathogens, knowledge of microbes is important for medicine and health sciences.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    31 views10 pages

    1 Microbiology

    Uploaded by

    Jazmine
    This document provides an overview of microbes (microorganisms) including bacteria, fungi, protozoa, microscopic algae, and viruses. It discusses that while some microbes cause disease, the majority play crucial roles in environments like maintaining balances in living organisms and chemicals. Microbes are found in oceans, soils, plants and animals. They are important in processes like photosynthesis, digestion, and vitamin synthesis. Microbes are also used commercially to produce items like chemicals, foods, medicines, and more. Though some microbes are pathogens, knowledge of microbes is important for medicine and health sciences.

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    of 10

    Fundamentals of Microbiology

    BNB-304 4(3-1)
    Microbes in Our lives
    • The words germ and microbe bring to mind a
    group of tiny creatures that do not quite fit into
    any of the categories in that old question,

    "Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?"

    2
    Microbes/Microorganisms
    • Microbes, also called microorganisms, are
    minute living things that individually are
    usually too small to be seen with the unaided
    eye.

    3
    Microbes/Microorganisms
    The group includes
    1. Bacteria
    2. Fungi (yeasts and molds)
    3. Protozoa, and
    4. Microscopic algae.
    5. It also includes viruses, those non cellular
    entities sometimes regarded as straddling
    the border between life and nonlife
    4
    Microbes/Microorganisms
    We tend to associate these small organisms only with
    major diseases such as
    1. AIDS,
    2. Uncomfortable infections, or
    3. Such common inconveniences as spoiled food.

    However, the majority of microorganisms make


    crucial contributions by helping to
    maintain the balance of living organisms and
    chemicals in our environment.
    5
    Microbes/Microorganisms
    • Marine and freshwater microorganisms form the basis of
    the food chain in oceans, lakes, and rivers.
    • Soil microbes help break down wastes and incorporate
    nitrogen gas from the air into organic compounds, thereby
    recycling chemical elements between the soil, water, life,
    and air.
    • Certain microbes play important roles in photosynthesis, a
    food- and oxygen-generating process that is critical to life
    on Earth.
    • Humans and many other animals depend on the microbes
    in their intestines for digestion and the synthesis of some
    vitamins that their bodies require, including some vitamins
    B for metabolism and vitamin K for blood clotting.

    6
    Commercial Applications of
    Microorganisms
    They are used in the synthesis of such chemical
    products as
    1. Vitamins,
    2. Organic acids,
    3. Enzymes,
    4. Alcohols, and
    5. Many drugs

    7
    Applications of Microorganisms in
    Food Industry
    The food industry also uses microbes in producing
    1. Vinegar,
    2. Pickles,
    3. Alcoholic beverages,
    4. Green olives,
    5. Soy sauce,
    6. Buttermilk,
    7. Cheese,
    8. Yogurt, and
    9. Bread.

    8
    • Though only a minority of microorganisms are
    pathogenic (disease-producing), practical
    knowledge of microbes is necessary for
    medicine and the related health sciences.
    • For example, hospital workers must be able to
    protect patients from common microbes that
    are normally harmless but pose a threat to the
    sick and injured.

    9
    • Today we understand that microorganisms are
    found almost everywhere. Yet not long ago,
    before the invention of the microscope, microbes
    were unknown to scientists.
    • Thousands of people died in devastating
    epidemics, the causes of which were not
    understood .
    • Entire families died because vaccinations and
    antibiotics were not available to fight infections.
    10

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