How are microorganisms used? Bacteria are dangerous and useful, their role in human life

Microbiological processes are widely used in various sectors of the national economy. Many processes are based on metabolic reactions that occur during the growth and reproduction of certain microorganisms.

With the help of microorganisms, feed proteins, enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, organic acids, etc. are produced.

The main groups of microorganisms used in the food industry are bacteria, yeasts and molds.

bacteria. Used as causative agents of lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric, acetone-butyl fermentation.

Cultural lactic acid bacteria are used in the production of lactic acid, in baking, and sometimes in alcohol production. They convert sugar into lactic acid according to the equation

C6H12O6 ® 2CH3 – CH – COOH + 75 kJ

True (homofermentative) and non-true (heterofermentative) lactic acid bacteria are involved in the production of rye bread. Homofermentative ones are involved only in acid formation, while heterofermentative ones, along with lactic acid, form volatile acids (mainly acetic), alcohol and carbon dioxide.

In the alcohol industry, lactic acid fermentation is used to acidify yeast wort. Wild lactic acid bacteria adversely affect the technological processes of fermentation plants, worsen the quality of finished products. The resulting lactic acid inhibits the vital activity of extraneous microorganisms.

Butyric fermentation, caused by butyric bacteria, is used to produce butyric acid, the esters of which are used as aromatics.

Butyric acid bacteria convert sugar into butyric acid according to the equation

C6H12O6 ® CH3CH2CH2COOH + 2CO2 + H2 + Q

Acetic acid bacteria are used to produce vinegar (acetic acid solution), because. they are able to oxidize ethyl alcohol to acetic acid according to the equation

C2H5OH + O2 ® CH3COOH + H2O +487 kJ

Acetic acid fermentation is harmful to alcohol production, because. leads to a decrease in the yield of alcohol, and in brewing it causes spoilage of beer.

Yeast. They are used as fermentation agents in the production of alcohol and beer, in winemaking, in the production of bread kvass, in baking.

For food production, yeast is important - saccharomycetes, which form spores, and imperfect yeast - non-saccharomycetes (yeast-like fungi), which do not form spores. The Saccharomyces family is divided into several genera. The most important is the genus Saccharomyces (saccharomycetes). The genus is subdivided into species, and individual varieties of a species are called races. In each industry, separate races of yeast are used. Distinguish yeast pulverized and flaky. In dust-like cells, they are isolated from each other, while in flaky cells, they stick together, forming flakes, and quickly settle.

Cultural yeast belongs to the S. cerevisiae family of Saccharomycetes. The temperature optimum for yeast propagation is 25-30 0С, and the minimum temperature is about 2-3 0С. At 40 0C, growth stops, yeast dies, and at low temperatures, reproduction stops.

There are top and bottom fermenting yeasts.

Of the cultural yeasts, bottom-fermenting yeasts include most wine and beer yeasts, and top-fermenting yeasts include alcohol, baker's and some races of brewer's yeast.

As is known, in the process of alcoholic fermentation from glucose, two main products are formed - ethanol and carbon dioxide, as well as intermediate secondary products: glycerin, succinic, acetic and pyruvic acids, acetaldehyde, 2,3-butylene glycol, acetoin, esters and fusel oils (isoamyl , isopropyl, butyl and other alcohols).

Fermentation of individual sugars occurs in a certain sequence, due to the rate of their diffusion into the yeast cell. Glucose and fructose are the fastest fermented by yeast. Sucrose, as such, disappears (inverts) in the medium at the beginning of fermentation under the action of the yeast enzyme b - fructofuranosidase, with the formation of glucose and fructose, which are easily used by the cell. When there is no glucose and fructose left in the medium, the yeast consumes maltose.

Yeast has the ability to ferment very high concentrations of sugar - up to 60%, they also tolerate high concentrations of alcohol - up to 14-16 vol. %.

In the presence of oxygen, alcoholic fermentation stops and the yeast obtains energy from oxygen respiration:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 ® 6CO2 + 6H2O + 2824 kJ

Since the process is more energetically rich than the fermentation process (118 kJ), the yeast spends sugar much more economically. The termination of fermentation under the influence of atmospheric oxygen is called the Pasteur effect.

In alcohol production, top yeast of the species S. cerevisiae is used, which have the highest fermentation energy, form a maximum of alcohol and ferment mono- and disaccharides, as well as part of dextrins.

In baker's yeast, fast-growing races with good lifting power and storage stability are valued.

In brewing, bottom-fermenting yeast is used, adapted to relatively low temperatures. They must be microbiologically clean, have the ability to flocculate, quickly settle to the bottom of the fermenter. Fermentation temperature 6-8 0C.

In winemaking, yeasts are valued, which multiply rapidly, have the ability to suppress other types of yeast and microorganisms and give the wine an appropriate bouquet. The yeasts used in winemaking are S. vini and ferment glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose vigorously. In winemaking, almost all production yeast cultures are isolated from young wines in various areas.

Zygomycetes- mold fungi, they play an important role as enzyme producers. Fungi of the genus Aspergillus produce amylolytic, pectolytic and other enzymes, which are used in the alcohol industry instead of malt for starch saccharification, in brewing when malt is partially replaced by unmalted raw materials, etc.

In the production of citric acid, A. niger is the causative agent of citrate fermentation, converting sugar into citric acid.

Microorganisms play a dual role in the food industry. On the one hand, these are cultural microorganisms, on the other hand, an infection gets into food production, i.e. foreign (wild) microorganisms. Wild microorganisms are common in nature (on berries, fruits, in the air, water, soil) and from the environment get into production.

Disinfection is an effective way to destroy and suppress the development of foreign microorganisms in order to comply with the correct sanitary and hygienic regime at food enterprises.

Importance of bacteria in our life. The discovery of penicillin and the development of medicine. The results of the use of antibiotics in the plant and animal world. What are probiotics, the principle of their action on the body of people and animals, plants, the benefits of using.

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

The use of microorganisms in medicine, agriculture; benefits of probiotics

Rodnikova Inna

INTRODUCTION

People acted as biotechnologists for thousands of years: they baked bread, brewed beer, made cheese, and other lactic acid products using various microorganisms and were not even aware of their existence.

Actually, the term “biotechnology” itself appeared in our language not so long ago, instead of it the words “industrial microbiology”, “technical biochemistry”, etc. were used. Probably, fermentation was the oldest biotechnological process. This is evidenced by the description of the process of making beer, discovered in 1981.

during the excavations of Babylon on a tablet, which dates back to about the 6th millennium BC. e. In the 3rd millennium BC. e. the Sumerians produced up to two dozen types of beer. No less ancient biotechnological processes are winemaking, baking and obtaining lactic acid products.

From the foregoing, we see that for quite a long time, human life has been inextricably linked with living microorganisms. And if for so many years people have successfully, albeit unconsciously, “collaborated” with bacteria, it would be logical to ask the question - why, in fact, do you need to expand your knowledge in this area?

After all, everything seems to be fine anyway, we know how to bake bread and brew beer, make wine and kefir, what else do you need? Why do we need Biotechnology? Some answers can be found in this abstract.

MEDICINE AND BACTERIA

Throughout the history of mankind (until the beginning of the twentieth century), families have had many children because.

very often children did not live to adulthood, they died from many diseases, even from pneumonia, which is easily curable in our time, to say nothing of such serious diseases as cholera, gangrene, and plague. All these diseases are caused by pathogens and were considered incurable, but finally, medical scientists realized that other bacteria, or an extract from their enzymes, could overcome the "evil" bacteria.

This was first noticed by Alexander Fleming on the example of elementary mold.

It turned out that some types of bacteria get along well with mold, but streptococci and staphylococci did not develop in the presence of mold.

Numerous previous experiments with the reproduction of harmful bacteria have shown that some of them are capable of destroying others and do not allow their development in the general environment. This phenomenon was called "antibiosis" from the Greek "anti" - against and "bios" - life. Working on finding an effective antimicrobial agent, Fleming was well aware of this. He had no doubt that on the cup with the mysterious mold he had encountered the phenomenon of antibiosis. He began to carefully examine the mold.

After some time, he even managed to isolate an antimicrobial substance from the mold. Since the mold he was dealing with had the specific Latin name Penicilium notatum, he named the resulting substance penicillin.

Thus, in 1929, in the laboratory of the London hospital of St. Mary was born the well-known penicillin.

Preliminary tests of the substance on experimental animals showed that even when injected into the blood, it does not cause harm, and at the same time, in weak solutions, it perfectly suppresses streptococci and staphylococci.

The role of microorganisms in food production technology

Fleming's assistant, Dr. Stuart Greddock, who fell ill with purulent inflammation of the so-called maxillary cavity, was the first person who decided to take an extract of penicillin.

He was injected into the cavity with a small amount of extract from the mold, and after three hours it was possible to see that his state of health had improved significantly.

Thus, the era of antibiotics began, which saved millions of lives, both in peacetime and in times of war, when the wounded died not from the severity of the wound, but from the infections associated with them. In the future, new antibiotics were developed, based on penicillin, methods for their production for widespread use.

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND AGRICULTURE

The result of a breakthrough in medicine was a rapid demographic rise.

The population increased dramatically, which means that more food was needed, and due to the deterioration of the environment due to nuclear tests, the development of industry, the depletion of the humus of cultivated land, many diseases of plants and livestock appeared.

At first, people treated animals and plants with antibiotics and this brought results.

Let's take a look at these results. Yes, if vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc. are treated with strong fungicides during the growing season, this will help suppress the development of some pathogens (not all and not completely), but, firstly, this leads to the accumulation of poisons and toxins in fruits, which means that the beneficial qualities of the fetus are reduced, and secondly, harmful microbes quickly develop immunity to substances that poison them and subsequent treatments should be carried out with more and more powerful antibiotics.

The same phenomenon is observed in the animal world, and, unfortunately, in humans.

In addition, antibiotics cause a number of negative consequences in the body of warm-blooded animals, such as dysbacteriosis, fetal deformities in pregnant women, etc.

How to be? Nature itself answers this question! And that answer is PROBIOTICS!

The leading institutes of biotechnology and genetic engineering have long been engaged in the development of new and selection of known microorganisms that have amazing viability and the ability to “win” in the fight against other microbes.

These elite strains such as "bacillus subtilis" and "Licheniformis" are widely used to treat people, animals, plants incredibly effectively and completely safely.

How is this possible? And here's how: in the body of people and animals necessarily contains a lot of necessary bacteria. They are involved in the processes of digestion, the formation of enzymes and make up almost 70% of the human immune system. If for any reason (taking antibiotics, malnutrition) a person’s bacterial balance is disturbed, then he is unprotected from new harmful microbes and in 95% of cases he will get sick again.

The same applies to animals. And elite strains, getting into the body, begin to actively multiply and destroy the pathogenic flora, because. already mentioned above, they have greater viability. Thus, with the help of strains of elite microorganisms, it is possible to maintain a macro organism in health without antibiotics and in harmony with nature, since by themselves, being in the body, these strains bring only benefit and no harm.

They are better than antibiotics also because:

The answer of the microcosm to the introduction of superantibiotics into business practice is obvious and follows from the experimental material already at the disposal of scientists - the birth of a supermicrobe.

Microbes are surprisingly perfect self-developing and self-learning biological machines, capable of memorizing in their genetic memory the mechanisms of protection they have created against the harmful effects of antibiotics and transmitting information to their descendants.

Bacteria are a kind of "bioreactor" in which enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and bacteriocins are produced, which, like antibiotics, neutralize pathogens.

However, there is neither addiction to them, nor side effects typical of the use of chemical antibiotics. On the contrary, they are able to cleanse the intestinal walls, increase their permeability to essential nutrients, restore the biological balance of the intestinal microflora and stimulate the entire immune system.

Scientists took advantage of the natural way for nature to maintain the health of the macro organism, namely, from the natural environment, they isolated bacteria - saprophytes, which have the ability to suppress the growth and development of pathogenic microflora, including in the gastrointestinal tract of warm-blooded animals.

Millions of years of evolution of living things on the planet have created such wonderful and perfect mechanisms for suppressing pathogenic microflora with non-pathogenic ones that there is no reason to doubt the success of this approach.

Non-pathogenic microflora in the competitive struggle wins in the undisputed majority of cases, and if it were not so, we would not be on our planet today.

Based on the foregoing, scientists producing fertilizers and fungicides for agricultural use have also tried to move from a chemical to a biological view.

And the results were not slow to show themselves! It turned out that the same bacillus subtilis successfully fight as many as seventy varieties of pathogenic representatives that cause such diseases of horticultural crops as bacterial cancer, fusarium wilt, root and root rot, etc., previously considered incurable plant diseases with which he could not handle NOT A SINGLE FUNGICIDE!

In addition, these bacteria have a clearly positive effect on the vegetation of the plant: the period of filling and ripening of fruits is reduced, the useful qualities of fruits increase, the content of nitrates in them decreases, etc.

toxic substances, and most importantly - the need for mineral fertilizers is significantly reduced!

Preparations containing strains of elite bacteria are already taking first place at Russian and international exhibitions, they are winning medals for efficiency and environmental friendliness. Small and large agricultural producers have already begun their active use, and fungicides and antibiotics are gradually becoming a thing of the past.

The Bio-Ban company's products are Flora-S and Fitop-Flora-S, which offer dry peat-humic fertilizers containing concentrated humic acids (and saturated humus is the key to an excellent harvest) and a bacterial strain "bacillus subtilis" for disease control. Thanks to these preparations, it is possible to restore depleted land in a short time, increase land productivity, protect your crop from diseases, and most importantly, it is possible to get excellent yields in risky farming areas!

I think the above arguments are enough to appreciate the benefits of probiotics and understand why scientists say that the twentieth century is the century of antibiotics, and the twenty-first is the century of probiotics!

The main groups of microorganisms used in the food industry

It should be maximum when receiving medicines and chemicals. The requirements for sterility in the production of alcoholic beverages are less stringent.

Such fermentation processes are said to be "protected" because the conditions that are created in the environment are such that only certain microorganisms can grow in them. For example, in the production of beer, the growth medium is simply boiled rather than sterilized; the fermenter is also used clean, but not sterile.

Getting culture. Before starting the fermentation process, it is necessary to obtain a pure, highly productive culture. Pure cultures of microorganisms are stored in very small volumes and under conditions that ensure its viability and productivity; this is usually achieved by storage at a low temperature.

The fermenter can hold several hundred thousand liters of culture medium, and the process is started by introducing culture (inoculum) into it, constituting 1-10% of the volume in which fermentation will take place. Thus, the initial culture should be grown step by step (with subculturing) until reaching the level of microbial biomass sufficient for the microbiological process to proceed with the required productivity.

It is absolutely necessary to keep the culture clean all this time, preventing it from being contaminated by foreign microorganisms.

Preservation of aseptic conditions is possible only with careful microbiological and chemical-technological control.

Growth in an industrial fermenter (bioreactor). Industrial microorganisms must grow in the fermenter under optimal conditions to form the desired product.

These conditions are strictly controlled to ensure microbial growth and product synthesis. The design of the fermenter should allow you to control the growth conditions - a constant temperature, pH (acidity or alkalinity) and the concentration of oxygen dissolved in the medium.

A conventional fermenter is a closed cylindrical tank in which the medium and microorganisms are mechanically mixed.

Air, sometimes saturated with oxygen, is pumped through the medium. The temperature is controlled by water or steam passing through the tubes of the heat exchanger. Such a stirred fermenter is used in cases where the fermentation process requires a lot of oxygen. Some products, on the contrary, are formed under anoxic conditions, and in these cases fermenters of a different design are used. Thus, beer is brewed at very low concentrations of dissolved oxygen, and the contents of the bioreactor are not aerated or stirred.

Some brewers still traditionally use open containers, but in most cases, the process takes place in closed non-aerated cylindrical containers, tapering downwards, which contributes to the sedimentation of the yeast.

The production of vinegar is based on the oxidation of alcohol to acetic acid by bacteria.

Acetobacter. The fermentation process takes place in containers called acetaters, with intensive aeration. Air and medium are sucked in by a rotating agitator and enter the walls of the fermenter.

Isolation and purification of products. At the end of the fermentation, the broth contains microorganisms, unused nutrient components of the medium, various waste products of microorganisms, and the product that they wanted to obtain on an industrial scale. Therefore, this product is purified from other components of the broth.

When receiving alcoholic beverages (wine and beer), it is enough to simply separate the yeast by filtration and bring the filtrate to standard. However, individual chemicals obtained by fermentation are extracted from a complex broth.

Although industrial microorganisms are specifically selected for their genetic properties so that the yield of the desired product of their metabolism is maximized (in a biological sense), its concentration is still small compared to that achieved by production based on chemical synthesis.

Therefore, one has to resort to complex isolation methods - solvent extraction, chromatography and ultrafiltration. Processing and disposal of fermentation waste. In any industrial microbiological processes, waste is generated: broth (liquid left after the extraction of the product of production); cells of used microorganisms; dirty water, which washed the installation; water used for cooling; water containing trace amounts of organic solvents, acids and alkalis.

Liquid waste contains many organic compounds; if they are dumped into rivers, they will stimulate the intensive growth of natural microbial flora, which will lead to the depletion of oxygen in river waters and the creation of anaerobic conditions. Therefore, the waste is subjected to biological treatment before disposal in order to reduce the content of organic carbon. Industrial microbiological processes can be divided into 5 main groups: 1) cultivation of microbial biomass; 2) obtaining metabolic products of microorganisms; 3) obtaining enzymes of microbial origin; 4) obtaining recombinant products; 5) biotransformation of substances.

microbial biomass. Microbial cells themselves can serve as the final product of the manufacturing process. On an industrial scale, two main types of microorganisms are produced: yeast, which is necessary for baking, and single-celled microorganisms, used as a source of proteins that can be added to human and animal food.

Baker's yeast has been cultivated in large quantities since the early 20th century. and was used as a food product in Germany during the First World War.

However, the technology for the production of microbial biomass as a source of food proteins was developed only in the early 1960s. A number of European companies drew attention to the possibility of growing microbes on such a substrate as hydrocarbons to obtain the so-called.

protein of unicellular organisms (BOO). A technological triumph was the development of a product added to livestock feed, consisting of dried microbial biomass grown on methanol.

The process was carried out in a continuous mode in a fermenter with a working volume of 1.5 million liters

However, due to the rise in prices for oil and products of its processing, this project became economically unprofitable, giving way to the production of soybean and fishmeal. By the end of the 1980s, the BOO plants were dismantled, which put an end to the turbulent but short period of development of this branch of the microbiological industry. Another process turned out to be more promising - obtaining fungal biomass and fungal mycoprotein protein using carbohydrates as a substrate.

metabolic products. After introducing the culture into the nutrient medium, a lag phase is observed, when no visible growth of microorganisms occurs; this period can be considered as a time of adaptation. Then the growth rate gradually increases, reaching a constant, maximum value for the given conditions; such a period of maximum growth is called the exponential, or logarithmic, phase.

Gradually, growth slows down, and the so-called. stationary phase. Further, the number of viable cells decreases, and growth stops.

Following the kinetics described above, it is possible to follow the formation of metabolites at different stages.

In the logarithmic phase, products vital for the growth of microorganisms are formed: amino acids, nucleotides, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, etc. They are called primary metabolites.

Many primary metabolites are of significant value. So, glutamic acid (more precisely, its sodium salt) is part of many foods; lysine is used as a food additive; phenylalanine is the precursor to the sugar substitute aspartame.

Primary metabolites are synthesized by natural microorganisms in quantities necessary only to meet their needs. Therefore, the task of industrial microbiologists is to create mutant forms of microorganisms - super-producers of the corresponding substances.

Significant progress has been made in this area: for example, it was possible to obtain microorganisms that synthesize amino acids up to a concentration of 100 g/l (for comparison, wild-type organisms accumulate amino acids in milligram amounts).

In the growth retardation phase and in the stationary phase, some microorganisms synthesize substances that are not formed in the logarithmic phase and do not play a clear role in metabolism. These substances are called secondary metabolites. They are synthesized not by all microorganisms, but mainly by filamentous bacteria, fungi and spore-forming bacteria. Thus, producers of primary and secondary metabolites belong to different taxonomic groups. If the question of the physiological role of secondary metabolites in producer cells was the subject of serious discussions, then their industrial production is of undoubted interest, since these metabolites are biologically active substances: some of them have antimicrobial activity, others are specific inhibitors of enzymes, and others are growth factors. , many have pharmacological activity.

Obtaining such substances served as the basis for the creation of a number of branches of the microbiological industry. The first in this series was the production of penicillin; The microbiological method for producing penicillin was developed in the 1940s and laid the foundation for modern industrial biotechnology.

The pharmaceutical industry has developed highly complex methods for screening (mass testing) of microorganisms for the ability to produce valuable secondary metabolites.

Initially, the purpose of screening was to obtain new antibiotics, but it was soon discovered that microorganisms also synthesize other pharmacologically active substances.

During the 1980s, the production of four very important secondary metabolites was established. These were: cyclosporine, an immunosuppressive drug used as an agent to prevent rejection of implanted organs; imipenem (one of the modifications of carbapenem) - a substance with the widest spectrum of antimicrobial activity of all known antibiotics; lovastatin - a drug that lowers blood cholesterol levels; Ivermectin is an anthelmintic used in medicine to treat onchocerciasis, or "river blindness", as well as in veterinary medicine.

Enzymes of microbial origin. On an industrial scale, enzymes are obtained from plants, animals and microorganisms. The use of the latter has the advantage of allowing the production of enzymes in large quantities using standard fermentation techniques.

In addition, it is incomparably easier to increase the productivity of microorganisms than that of plants or animals, and the use of recombinant DNA technology makes it possible to synthesize animal enzymes in microorganism cells.

Enzymes obtained in this way are mainly used in the food industry and related fields. The synthesis of enzymes in cells is genetically controlled, and therefore the available industrial microorganisms-producers were obtained as a result of a directed change in the genetics of wild-type microorganisms.

recombinant products. Recombinant DNA technology, better known as "genetic engineering", allows the genes of higher organisms to be incorporated into the bacterial genome. As a result, bacteria acquire the ability to synthesize "foreign" (recombinant) products - compounds that previously could only be synthesized by higher organisms.

On this basis, many new biotechnological processes have been created for the production of human or animal proteins that were not previously available or used with great health risks.

The term "biotechnology" itself became popular in the 1970s in connection with the development of methods for the production of recombinant products. However, this concept is much broader and includes any industrial method based on the use of living organisms and biological processes.

The first recombinant protein produced on an industrial scale was human growth hormone. For the treatment of hemophilia, one of the proteins of the blood coagulation system, namely the factor

VIII. Before methods were developed to obtain this protein using genetic engineering, it was isolated from human blood; the use of such a drug has been associated with a risk of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

For a long time, diabetes mellitus has been successfully treated with animal insulin. However, scientists believed that the recombinant product would create fewer immunological problems if it could be obtained in its pure form, without impurities from other peptides produced by the pancreas.

In addition, the number of diabetic patients was expected to increase over time due to factors such as changes in dietary habits, improved care for pregnant women with diabetes (and, as a result, an increase in the frequency of genetic predisposition to diabetes), and, finally, the expected increase the life expectancy of diabetic patients.

The first recombinant insulin went on the market in 1982, and by the end of the 1980s it had practically replaced animal insulin.

Many other proteins are synthesized in the human body in very small quantities, and the only way to obtain them on a scale sufficient for clinical use is through recombinant DNA technology. These proteins include interferon and erythropoietin.

Erythropoietin, together with myeloid colony-stimulating factor, regulates the formation of blood cells in humans. Erythropoietin is used to treat anemia associated with kidney failure and may find use as a platelet booster in cancer chemotherapy.

Biotransformation of substances. Microorganisms can be used to convert certain compounds into structurally similar, but more valuable substances. Since microorganisms can exert their catalytic action in relation to only certain specific substances, the processes occurring with their participation are more specific than purely chemical ones. The best known biotransformation process is the production of vinegar by converting ethanol to acetic acid.

But among the products formed during biotransformation, there are also such highly valuable compounds as steroid hormones, antibiotics, prostaglandins. see also GENETIC ENGINEERING. Industrial Microbiology and Advances in Genetic Engineering(special issue of Scientific American).

M., 1984
Biotechnology. Principles and application. M., 1988

Production Human use of microorganisms.

Microorganisms are widely used in the food industry, household, microbiological industry to produce amino acids, enzymes, organic acids, vitamins, etc.

Classical microbiological industries include winemaking, brewing, making bread, lactic acid products, and food vinegar. For example, winemaking, brewing and the production of yeast dough are impossible without the use of yeast, which is widely distributed in nature.

The history of industrial production of yeast began in Holland, where in 1870 ᴦ. The first yeast factory was founded. The main product was pressed yeast with a moisture content of about 70%, which could be stored for only a few weeks.

Long-term storage was impossible, since the pressed yeast cells remained alive and retained their activity, which led to their autolysis and death. Drying has become one of the methods of industrial preservation of yeast. In dry yeast at low humidity, the yeast cell is in an anabiotic state and can persist for a long time.

The first dry yeast appeared in 1945 ᴦ. In 1972 ᴦ. the second generation of dry yeast appeared, the so-called instant yeast.

The use of microorganisms in the food industry

Since the mid-1990s, a third generation of dry yeast has emerged: baker's yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which combine the virtues of instant yeast with a highly concentrated complex of specialized baking enzymes in one product.

This yeast allows not only to improve the quality of bread, but also to actively resist the process of staleness.

baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are also used in the production of ethyl alcohol.

Winemaking uses many different strains of yeast to produce a unique brand of wine with unique qualities.

Lactic acid bacteria are involved in the preparation of foods such as sauerkraut, pickled cucumbers, pickled olives, and many other pickled foods.

Lactic acid bacteria convert sugar into lactic acid, which protects food from putrefactive bacteria.

With the help of lactic acid bacteria, a large assortment of lactic acid products, cottage cheese, and cheese are prepared.

At the same time, many microorganisms play a negative role in human life, being pathogens of human, animal and plant diseases; they can cause spoilage of foodstuffs, destruction of various materials, etc.

To combat such microorganisms, antibiotics were discovered - penicillin, streptomycin, gramicidin, etc., which are metabolic products of fungi, bacteria and actinomycetes.

Microorganisms provide humans with the necessary enzymes.

Thus, amylase is used in the food, textile, and paper industries. The protease causes the degradation of proteins in various materials. In the East, mushroom protease has been used for centuries to make soy sauce.

Today it is used in the manufacture of detergents. When preserving fruit juices, an enzyme such as pectinase is used.

Microorganisms are used for wastewater treatment, food industry waste processing. The anaerobic decomposition of waste organic matter produces biogas.

In recent years, new productions have appeared.

Carotenoids and steroids are obtained from mushrooms.

Bacteria synthesize many amino acids, nucleotides, and other reagents for biochemical research.

Microbiology is a rapidly developing science, the achievements of which are largely associated with the development of physics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, etc.

To successfully study microbiology, knowledge of the listed sciences is required.

This course focuses on food microbiology.

Many microorganisms live on the surface of the body, in the intestines of humans and animals, on plants, on food and on all objects around us. Microorganisms consume a wide variety of food, extremely easily adapt to changing living conditions: heat, cold, lack of moisture, etc.

n. Οʜᴎ multiply very quickly. Without knowledge of microbiology, it is impossible to competently and effectively manage biotechnological processes, maintain the high quality of food products at all stages of its production and prevent the consumption of products containing pathogens of foodborne diseases and poisoning.

It should be emphasized that microbiological studies of food products, not only from the point of view of technological features, but also, no less important, from the point of view of their sanitary and microbiological safety, are the most difficult object of sanitary microbiology.

This is explained not only by the diversity and abundance of microflora in food products, but also by the use of microorganisms in the production of many of them.

In this regard, in the microbiological analysis of food quality and safety, two groups of microorganisms should be distinguished:

- specific microflora;

- nonspecific microflora.

specific- ϶ᴛᴏ cultural races of microorganisms that are used to prepare a particular product and are an indispensable link in the technology of its production.

Such microflora is used in the technology of obtaining wine, beer, bread, and all fermented milk products.

Nonspecific- ϶ᴛᴏ microorganisms that enter food from the environment, contaminating them.

Among this group of microorganisms, saprophytic, pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic, as well as microorganisms that cause spoilage of products are distinguished.

The degree of pollution depends on many factors, which include the correct procurement of raw materials, their storage and processing, compliance with technological and sanitary conditions for the production of products, their storage and transportation.

Bacterial infections are considered one of the most dangerous - humanity has been fighting pathogenic microorganisms for more than one century. However, not all bacteria are unambiguous enemies for humans. Many species are vital - they ensure proper digestion and even help the immune system defend itself against other microorganisms. MedAboutMe will tell you how to distinguish between bad and good bacteria, what to do if they are found in the analysis, and how to properly treat the diseases they cause.

Bacteria and man

It is believed that bacteria appeared on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago. It was they who became active participants in creating suitable conditions for life on the planet, and throughout their existence they have been actively involved in important processes. For example, it is thanks to bacteria that the decay of the organic remains of animals and plants occurs. They also created fertile soil on Earth.

And since bacteria live literally everywhere, the human body is no exception. On the skin, mucous membranes, in the gastrointestinal tract, nasopharynx, urogenital tract, there are many microorganisms that interact with humans in different ways.

In the womb, the placenta protects the fetus from the penetration of bacteria, the population of the body occurs in the first days of life:

The first bacteria the child receives, passing through the birth canal of the mother.
Microorganisms enter the gastrointestinal tract through breastfeeding. Here, among more than 700 species, lactobacilli and bifidobacteria predominate (the benefits are described in the table of bacteria at the end of the article).
The oral cavity is inhabited by staphylococci, streptococci and other microbes, which the child also receives with food and in contact with objects.
On the skin, the microflora is formed from bacteria that predominate in the people around the child.

The role of bacteria for a person is invaluable, if already in the first months the microflora does not form normally, the child will lag behind in development and often get sick. After all, without symbiosis with bacteria, the body cannot function.

Beneficial and harmful bacteria

Everyone is well aware of the concept of dysbacteriosis - a condition in which the natural microflora in the human body is disturbed. Dysbacteriosis is a serious factor in lowering the immune defense, the development of various inflammations, disruption of the digestive tract and other things. The absence of beneficial bacteria contributes to the reproduction of pathogenic organisms, and fungal infections often develop against the background of dysbacteriosis.

At the same time, many pathogenic microbes live in the environment, which can cause serious illness. The most dangerous are those types of bacteria that in the process of life are capable of producing toxins (exotoxins). It is these substances that are today considered one of the most powerful poisons. Such microorganisms cause dangerous infections:

Botulism.
Gas gangrene.
diphtheria.
Tetanus.

In addition, the disease can also be provoked by bacteria that live in the human body under normal conditions, and when the immune system is weakened, they begin to become more active. The most popular pathogens of this kind are staphylococci and streptococci.

Bacteria life

Bacteria are full-fledged living organisms with a size of 0.5-5 microns, which are able to actively multiply in a suitable environment. Some of them need oxygen, others do not. There are motile and non-motile types of bacteria.

Bacteria cell

Most bacteria living on Earth are single-celled organisms. Mandatory components of any microbe:

Nucleoid (nucleus-like region containing DNA).
Ribosomes (carry out the synthesis of proteins).
Cytoplasmic membrane (separates the cell from the external environment, maintains homeostasis).

Also, some bacterial cells have a thick cell wall, which additionally protects them from damage. Such organisms are more resistant to drugs and antigens that the human immune system produces.

There are bacteria with flagella (mototrichia, lophotrichia, peritrichia), due to which microorganisms are able to move. However, scientists have also recorded another type of movement characteristic of microbes - the sliding of bacteria. Moreover, recent studies show that it is inherent in those species that were previously considered immobile. For example, scientists from the University of Nottingham and Sheffield have shown that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (one of the main representatives of the class of superbugs) is able to move without the help of flagella and villi. And this, in turn, significantly affects the understanding of the mechanisms of the spread of a dangerous infection.

Bacterial cells can be of the following forms:

Round (cocci, from other Greek κόκκος - "grain").
Rod-shaped (bacilli, clostridia).
Sinuous (spirochetes, spirilla, vibrios).

Many microorganisms are able to stick together in colonies, so more often scientists and doctors isolate bacteria not by the structure of the element, but by the type of compounds:

Diplococci are cocci connected in pairs.
Streptococci are cocci that form chains.
Staphylococci are cocci that form clusters.
Streptobacteria are rod-shaped microorganisms connected in a chain.

Reproduction of bacteria

The vast majority of bacteria reproduce by division. The rate of spread of the colony depends on the external conditions and the type of microorganism itself. So, on average, one bacterium is able to divide every 20 minutes - it forms 72 generations of offspring per day. For 1-3 days, the number of descendants of one microorganism can reach several million. In this case, the reproduction of bacteria may not be so fast. For example, the process of division of Mycobacterium tuberculosis takes 14 hours.

If the bacteria enter a favorable environment and have no competitors, the population grows very quickly. Otherwise, its number is regulated by other microorganisms. That is why the human microflora is an essential factor in its protection against various infections.

bacterial spores

One of the features of rod-shaped bacteria is their ability to sporulate. These microorganisms are called bacilli, and they include such pathogenic bacteria:

The genus Clostridium (cause gas gangrene, botulism, often cause complications during childbirth and after abortion).
The genus Bacillus (cause anthrax, a number of food poisonings).

Bacterial spores are, in fact, a conserved cell of a microorganism that can survive for a long time without damage, and is practically not subject to various influences. In particular, spores are heat-resistant, not damaged by chemicals. Often the only possible effect is ultraviolet rays, under which the dried bacteria can die.

Bacterial spores form when the microorganism is exposed to unfavorable conditions. It takes approximately 18-20 hours to form inside the cell. At this time, the bacterium loses water, decreases in size, becomes lighter, and a dense shell forms under the outer membrane. In this form, the microorganism can freeze for hundreds of years.

When the spore of a bacterium is exposed to suitable conditions, it begins to germinate into a viable bacterium. The process takes about 4-6 hours.

Types of bacteria

According to the influence of bacteria on humans, they can be divided into three types:

Pathogenic.
Conditionally pathogenic.
Non-pathogenic.

Beneficial bacteria

Non-pathogenic bacteria - those that never lead to disease, even if their numbers are large enough. Among the most famous species, lactic acid bacteria can be distinguished, which are actively used by humans in the food industry - for making cheeses, sour-milk products, dough and much more.

Another important species is bifidobacteria, which are the basis of the intestinal flora. In breastfed infants, they make up to 90% of all species living in the gastrointestinal tract. These bacteria for humans perform the following functions:

Provide physiological protection of the intestine from the penetration of pathogenic organisms.
They produce organic acids that prevent the reproduction of pathogenic microbes.
They help to synthesize vitamins (K, group B), as well as proteins.
Enhance the absorption of vitamin D.

The role of bacteria of this species is difficult to overestimate, because without them normal digestion is impossible, and hence the absorption of nutrients.

Opportunistic bacteria

As part of a healthy microflora, there are bacteria that are classified as opportunistic pathogens. These microorganisms can exist for years on the skin, in the nasopharynx or intestines of a person and not cause infections. However, under any favorable conditions (weakened immunity, microflora disturbances), their colony grows and becomes a real threat.

A classic example of an opportunistic bacterium is Staphylococcus aureus, a microbe that can cause over 100 different diseases, from boils on the skin to deadly blood poisoning (sepsis). At the same time, this bacterium is found in most people in various analyzes, but it still does not cause illness.

Among other representatives of the species of opportunistic microbes:

Streptococci.
Escherichia coli.
Helicobacter pylori (capable of causing ulcers and gastritis, but lives in 90% of people as part of a healthy microflora).

Getting rid of these types of bacteria does not make sense, since they are widespread in the environment. The only adequate way to prevent infections is to strengthen the immune system and protect the body from dysbacteriosis.

Pathogenic bacteria behave differently - their presence in the body always means the development of an infection. Even a small colony can cause harm. Most of these microorganisms secrete two types of toxins:

Endotoxins are poisons that are formed when cells are destroyed.
Exotoxins are poisons that bacteria produce during their life. The most dangerous substances for humans that can lead to fatal intoxication.

The treatment of such infections is aimed not only at the destruction of pathogenic bacteria, but also at the removal of the poisoning caused by them. Moreover, in the case of infection with microbes such as tetanus bacillus, it is the introduction of toxoid that is the basis of therapy.

Other known pathogenic bacteria include:

Salmonella.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Gonococcus.
Pale treponema.
Shigella.
Tuberculosis bacillus (Koch's stick).

Classes of bacteria

Today there are many classifications of bacteria. Scientists divide them according to the type of structure, ability to move and other features. However, the Gram classification and the type of breathing remain the most important.

Anaerobic and aerobic bacteria

Among the diversity of bacteria, two large classes are distinguished:

Anaerobic - those that can do without oxygen.
Aerobic - those that need oxygen to live.

A feature of anaerobic bacteria is their ability to live in environments where other microorganisms do not survive. The most dangerous in this regard are deep contaminated wounds, in which microbes develop rapidly. The characteristic signs of the growth of the population and life of bacteria in the human body are as follows:

Progressive tissue necrosis.
Subcutaneous suppurations.
Abscesses.
Internal lesions.

Anaerobes include pathogenic bacteria that cause tetanus, gas gangrene, and toxic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. Also, the anaerobic class of bacteria includes many opportunistic microbes that live on the skin and in the intestinal tract. They become dangerous if they get into an open wound.

Disease-causing aerobic bacteria include:

Tuberculosis bacillus.
Vibrio cholerae.
Tularemia stick.

The life of bacteria can proceed even with a small amount of oxygen. Such microbes are called facultative aerobic, salmonella and cocci (streptococcus, staphylococcus) are a striking example of the group.

In 1884, Danish physician Hans Gram discovered that different bacteria stained differently when exposed to methylene violet. Some retain color after washing, others lose it. Based on this, the following classes of bacteria were identified:

Gram-negative (Gram-) - discoloring.
Gram-positive (Gram +) - staining.

Staining with aniline dyes is a simple technique that makes it possible to quickly reveal the characteristics of the bacterial membrane wall. For those microbes that do not stain by Gram, it is more powerful and durable, which means that it is more difficult to deal with them. Gram-negative bacteria are primarily more resistant to antibodies produced by the human immune system. This class includes microbes that cause such diseases:

Syphilis.
Leptospirosis.
Chlamydia.
meningococcal infection.
Hemophilus infection
Brucellosis.
Legionellosis.

The Gram+ class of bacteria includes the following microorganisms:

Staphylococcus.
Streptococcus.
Clostridia (causative agents of botulism and tetanus).
Listeria.
Diphtheria stick.

Diagnosis of bacterial infections

Correct and timely diagnosis plays an important role in the treatment of bacterial infections. It is possible to accurately determine the disease only after the analysis, but it can already be suspected by the characteristic symptoms.

Bacteria and viruses: features of bacteria and differences in infections

Most often, a person is faced with acute respiratory diseases. As a rule, cough, rhinitis, fever and sore throat are caused by bacteria and viruses. And although at certain stages of the disease they can manifest themselves in the same way, their therapy will still be radically different.

Bacteria and viruses behave differently in the human body:

Bacteria are full-fledged living organisms, large enough (up to 5 microns), capable of reproduction in a suitable environment (on mucous membranes, skin, in wounds). Pathogenic microbes secrete poisons that lead to intoxication. The same bacteria can cause infections of different localization. For example, Staphylococcus aureus affects the skin, mucous membranes, and can lead to blood poisoning.
Viruses are non-cellular infectious agents that can reproduce only inside a living cell, and in the external environment do not manifest themselves as living organisms. At the same time, viruses are always highly specialized and can only infect a specific type of cell. For example, hepatitis viruses can only infect the liver. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria, their size does not exceed 300 nm.

Today, effective drugs have been developed against bacteria -. But these drugs do not act on viruses, moreover, according to the World Health Organization, antibacterial therapy for ARVI worsens the patient's condition.

Symptoms of bacterial infections

Most often, seasonal respiratory infections develop under the influence of bacteria and viruses according to the following scheme:

The first 4-5 days manifest a viral infection.
On the 4-5th day, if the rules for the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections were not followed, a bacterial lesion joins.

Symptoms of a bacterial infection in this case will be:

Deterioration of the patient's condition after improvement.
High temperature (38°C and above).
Severe pain in the chest (a sign of the development of pneumonia).
Discoloration of mucus - greenish, white or yellowish discharge from the nose and in expectorated sputum.
Rash on the skin.

If it is possible to treat without the involvement of a doctor, since a viral infection resolves itself without complications in 4-7 days, then diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria must be consulted by a therapist or pediatrician.

Other bacterial infections are characterized by the following symptoms:

General deterioration.
A pronounced inflammatory process - pain in the affected area, hyperemia, fever.
Suppuration.

Methods of transmission of bacterial infections

Harmful bacteria enter the human body in many ways. The most common ways of infection:

Airborne.

Bacteria are found in the exhaled air, sputum of the patient, spread by coughing, sneezing and even talking. This route of transmission is typical for respiratory infections, in particular, whooping cough, diphtheria, scarlet fever.

Contact household.

Microbes get to a person through dishes, door handles, furniture surfaces, towels, phones, toys and more. Also, live bacteria and bacterial spores can stay in the dust for a long time. This is how tuberculosis, diphtheria, dysentery, diseases caused by aureus and other types of staphylococcus aureus are transmitted.

Alimentary (fecal-oral).

Bacteria enter the body through contaminated food or water. The transmission route is characteristic of gastrointestinal infections, in particular, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery.

Sexual.

Infection occurs during sexual intercourse, this is how STIs are transmitted, including syphilis and gonorrhea.

Vertical.

The bacterium enters the fetus during pregnancy or childbirth. So the child can become infected with tuberculosis, syphilis, leptospirosis.

Deep wounds are dangerous for the development of infections - it is here that anaerobic bacteria, including tetanus bacillus, actively multiply. People with weakened immune systems are also more likely to contract a bacterial infection.

If you suspect the presence of pathogenic bacteria, the doctor may offer the following diagnostic options:

Smear on flora.

If a respiratory infection is suspected, it is taken from the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. The analysis is also popular for detecting sexually transmitted infections. In this case, the material is taken from the vagina, visceral canal, urethra.

Bacteriological culture.

It differs from a smear in that the taken biomaterial is not examined immediately, but is placed in an environment favorable for the reproduction of bacteria. After a few days or weeks, depending on the alleged pathogen, the result is evaluated - if there were harmful bacteria in the biomaterial, they grow into a colony. Bakposev is also good because during the analysis, not only the pathogen is determined, but also its quantity, as well as the sensitivity of the microbe to antibiotics.

Blood analysis.

A bacterial infection can be detected by the presence of antibodies, antigens in the blood and by the leukocyte formula.

Today, biomaterial is often examined by PCR (polymerase chain reaction), in which infection can be detected even with a small number of microbes.

Positive test and bacterial infections

Since many bacteria are opportunistic and at the same time live in the body, on the mucous membranes and skin of the majority of the population, the results of the analysis must be able to correctly interpret. It must be remembered that the mere presence of bacteria in a person is not a sign of a bacterial infection and is not a reason to start treatment. For example, the norm for Staphylococcus aureus is 103–104. With these indicators, no therapy is required. Moreover, since the microflora of each person is individual, even if the values \u200b\u200bare higher, but there will be no symptoms of the disease, the indicators can also be considered normal.

An analysis for different types of bacteria is prescribed if there are signs of infection:

Bad feeling.
Purulent discharge.
Inflammatory process.
Greenish, white or yellow mucus from the nose and in the expectorated sputum.

A positive analysis for bacteria in the absence of symptoms is taken for control if microbes are detected in people from risk groups: pregnant women, children, people in the postoperative period, patients with reduced immunity and concomitant diseases. In this case, it is recommended to take several tests to see the growth dynamics of the colony. If the values do not change, then the immune system is able to control the reproduction of bacteria.

Bacteria in the nasopharynx

Bacteria in the nasopharynx can cause respiratory tract infections. In particular, they are the cause of tonsillitis, bacterial tonsillitis and pharyngitis, as well as sinusitis. Running infections can cause a lot of inconvenience, chronic inflammation, persistent rhinitis, headaches and more. Such diseases are especially dangerous because harmful bacteria can descend through the respiratory tract and affect the lungs - causing pneumonia.

bacteria in urine

Ideally, it is urine that should be free from various microorganisms. The presence of bacteria in the urine may indicate an incorrectly passed analysis (in which microbes got into the material from the surface of the skin and mucous membranes), in which case the doctor asks to be examined again. If the result is confirmed, and the indicator exceeds 104 CFU / ml, bacteriuria (bacteria in the urine) indicates such diseases:

Kidney damage, in particular, pyelonephritis.
Cystitis.
Urethritis.
Inflammatory process in the urinary canal, for example, as a result of blocking it with a calculus. Observed in urolithiasis.
Prostatitis or prostate adenoma.

In some cases, bacteria in the urine are found in diseases that are not associated with a local infection. A positive analysis can be with diabetes mellitus, as well as a generalized lesion - sepsis.

Normally, the gastrointestinal tract is inhabited by colonies of various bacteria. In particular, there are:

Bifidobacteria.
Lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli).
Enterococci.
Clostridia.
Streptococci.
Staphylococci.
Escherichia coli.

The role of the bacteria that make up the normal microflora is to protect the intestines from infections and ensure normal digestion. Therefore, often the biomaterial from the intestine is examined precisely because of the suspicion of dysbacteriosis, and not for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms.

However, some pathogenic bacteria can cause severe diseases, namely when they enter the gastrointestinal tract. Among these diseases:

Salmonellosis.
Cholera.
Botulism.
Dysentery.

bacteria on the skin

On the skin, as well as on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, in the intestines and genital organs, the balance of microflora is normally established. Bacteria live here - more than 100 species, among which epidermal and Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci are often found. With reduced immunity, and especially in children, they can provoke skin lesions, cause suppuration, boils and carbuncles, streptoderma, panaritium and other diseases.

In adolescence, the active reproduction of bacteria leads to acne and acne.

The main danger of microbes on the skin is the possibility of their entry into the bloodstream, wounds and other damage to the epidermis. In this case, harmless microorganisms on the skin can cause serious illness, even cause sepsis.

Diseases caused by bacteria

Bacteria are the cause of infections throughout the body. They affect the respiratory tract, cause inflammatory processes on the skin, cause diseases of the intestines and the genitourinary system.

Diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs

Angina

Angina is an acute lesion of the tonsils. The disease is typical for childhood.

Pathogen:

Streptococci, rarely staphylococci and other forms of bacteria.

Typical symptoms:

inflammation of the tonsils with a whitish coating on them, pain when swallowing, hoarseness, high fever, no rhinitis.

Disease risk:

if a sore throat is not treated well enough, rheumatoid heart disease can become a complication - harmful bacteria spread through the blood and lead to heart valve defects. As a result, heart failure may develop.

Whooping cough is a dangerous infectious disease that mainly affects children. Highly contagious, the bacterium is transmitted by airborne droplets, therefore, without a sufficient level of immunization of the population, epidemics are easily caused.

Pathogen:

Bordetella pertussis.

Typical symptoms:

the disease at first proceeds like a common cold, later a characteristic paroxysmal barking cough appears, which may not go away for 2 months, after an attack the child may vomit.

Disease risk:

Whooping cough is most dangerous for children of the first year of life, as it can cause respiratory arrest and death. Typical complications are pneumonia, bronchitis, false croup. From severe coughing attacks, it is extremely rare for a cerebral hemorrhage or pneumothorax to occur.

Pneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs can be caused by bacteria and viruses, as well as some fungi. Bacterial pneumonia, the most common complication of viral respiratory infections, can develop after the flu. Also, the multiplication of bacteria in the lungs is typical for bedridden patients, the elderly, patients with chronic lung diseases and respiratory disorders, with dehydration.

Pathogen:

Staphylococci, pneumococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others.

Typical symptoms:

severe fever (up to 39 ° C and above), cough with copious moist greenish or yellowish sputum, chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling short of breath.

Disease risk:

depends on the pathogen. With insufficient treatment, respiratory arrest and death are possible.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the most dangerous lung diseases that is difficult to treat. In Russia, tuberculosis has been a socially significant disease since 2004, since the number of infected people is much higher than in developed countries. Back in 2013, up to 54 cases of infection per 100,000 people were recorded.

Pathogen:

mycobacterium, Koch's bacillus.

Typical symptoms:

the disease may not manifest itself for a long time, then a cough occurs, a general malaise, a person loses weight, a subfebrile temperature (37-38 ° C) is observed for a month or more, a painful blush. Later, hemoptysis and severe pain appear.

Disease risk:

features of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis is the development of resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, the infection is difficult to treat and can lead to death or disability. Common complications are heart disease.

Diphtheria is an infectious disease that in 90% of cases affects the upper respiratory tract. Diphtheria is especially dangerous for young children.

Pathogen:

Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Leffler's bacillus).

Typical symptoms:

pain when swallowing, hyperemia of the tonsils and specific white films on them, swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, high fever, general intoxication of the body.

Disease risk:

Without timely treatment, diphtheria is fatal. The bacterial cell is capable of producing exotoxin, so the sick person can die from poisoning, in which the heart and nervous system are affected.

Intestinal infections

salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is one of the most common intestinal infections that can occur in different forms. Sometimes bacteria cause severe lesions, but there are times when the disease is mild or no symptoms at all.

Pathogen:

Salmonella.

Typical symptoms:

high temperature (up to 38-39 ° C), chills, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, severe intoxication of the body, in which a person sharply weakens.

Disease risk:

Depending on the form of the course, in severe infections, bacterial toxins can lead to kidney failure or peritonitis. Children are at risk of dehydration.

Dysentery

Dysentery is an intestinal infection that affects people of all ages. Most often recorded in the summer hot period.

Pathogen:

4 types of Shigella bacteria.

Typical symptoms:

Loose stools of dark green color with impurities of blood and pus, nausea, headaches, loss of appetite.

Disease risk:

dehydration, which leads to the attachment of various inflammations, as well as intoxication of the body. With proper treatment, good immunity and sufficient fluid intake, the life of Shigella bacteria stops in 7-10 days. Otherwise, a serious complication is possible - intestinal perforation.

Gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is transmitted exclusively through sexual contact, but in rare cases, the infection can be passed from mother to child during childbirth (the baby develops conjunctivitis). The bacteria that causes gonorrhea can grow in the anus or throat, but it most often affects the genitals.

Pathogen:

Gonococcus.

Typical symptoms:

possible asymptomatic course of the disease: in men in 20%, in women - more than 50%. In the acute form, there are pains during urination, white-yellow discharge from the penis and vagina, burning and itching.

Disease risk:

If left untreated, the infection can cause infertility and can also damage the skin, joints, cardiovascular system, liver, and brain.

Syphilis

Syphilis is characterized by slow progression, symptoms appear gradually and do not develop quickly. The characteristic course of the disease is an alternation of exacerbations and remissions. Household infection, many doctors question, in the vast majority of cases, bacteria are transmitted to humans sexually.

Pathogen:

Pale treponema.

Typical symptoms:

at the first stage, an ulcer appears on the genitals, which heals on its own in 1-1.5 months, an increase in lymph nodes is observed. After, after 1-3 months, a pale rash appears all over the body, the patient feels weak, the temperature may rise, the symptoms resemble the flu.

Disease risk:

pathogenic bacteria eventually lead to the development of tertiary syphilis (30% of all infected), which affects the aorta, brain and back, brain, bones and muscles. Perhaps the development of damage to the nervous system - neurosyphilis.

Chlamydia

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection that is often asymptomatic. In addition, pathogenic bacteria are difficult to detect; PCR analysis is prescribed for diagnosis.

Pathogen:

Chlamydia.

Typical symptoms:

in the acute form, discharge from the genital organs (usually transparent), pain during urination, blood discharge are observed.

Disease risk:

in men - inflammation of the epididymis, in women - inflammation of the uterus and appendages, infertility, Reiter's syndrome (inflammation of the urethra).

Meningococcal infection

Meningococcal infection is a group of diseases caused by one pathogen, but occurring in different forms. A person may be an asymptomatic carrier of the bacterium, and in other cases, the microbe causes a generalized infection leading to death.

Pathogen:

Meningococcus.

Typical symptoms:

vary with the severity of the disease. The infection can manifest itself as a mild cold, in severe cases, meningococcemia develops, characterized by an acute onset of the disease, the appearance of a red rash (does not disappear with pressure), the temperature rises, confusion is observed.

Disease risk:

in severe form, tissue necrosis develops, gangrene of the fingers and extremities, and brain damage are possible. With the development of infectious-toxic shock, death quickly occurs.

Tetanus

Tetanus is a dangerous infection that develops in wounds on the skin. The causative agent forms spores of bacteria, in the form of which it is found in the external environment. When it enters the wound, it quickly germinates. Therefore, any serious injury requires the prevention of infection - the introduction of tetanus toxoid.

Pathogen:

Tetanus stick.

Typical symptoms:

tetanus affects the central nervous system, initially manifested by tonic tension of the jaw muscles (it is difficult for a person to speak, open his mouth), later it spreads to the whole body, the patient arches due to muscle hypertonicity, and at the end respiratory failure develops.

Disease risk:

the main danger is the toxin that the bacterium secretes, it is he who leads to severe symptoms. As a result of poisoning, tonic tension of all muscles occurs, including the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, as a result of which a person cannot breathe and dies from hypoxia.

Treatment of bacterial diseases

Any bacterial infection needs planned treatment, because bacteria can cause serious damage to the body. Only the doctor chooses the appropriate treatment regimen, which depends not only on the type of disease, but also on the severity of the course.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are considered the mainstay of treatment for all infections caused by harmful bacteria. Since the discovery of penicillin in the 1920s, many diseases have been moved from fatal to curable. The number of complications after operations has decreased, and, from which every fourth person died, remained a dangerous disease only for people from risk groups.

Modern antibiotics can be divided into two groups:

Bactericidal - kill pathogenic bacteria.
Bacteriostatic - slow down the growth, stop the reproduction of bacteria.

The former have a more pronounced effect, however, it is the drugs from the second group that are prescribed more often, since, as a rule, they cause fewer complications.

It is also customary to divide drugs according to the spectrum of action:

Broad-spectrum antibiotics (penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides) are used to kill different types of bacteria. They are effective in the case when treatment needs to be started urgently, even before the tests. Penicillins are most commonly prescribed for respiratory bacterial infections.
Antibiotics that are active against a limited number of bacterial species (often prescribed for tuberculosis and other specific infections).

Any antibiotics must be taken in a course, because if treatment is interrupted, the remaining living bacteria quickly restore the colony.

Problems in the use of antibiotics

Despite the widespread use of antibiotics, doctors today are looking for alternative drugs to treat bacterial infections. This is due to several significant disadvantages of these drugs:

Development of resistance in bacteria.

Many microorganisms have developed defense mechanisms against drugs, and the use of classical antibiotics is no longer effective. For example, first-generation penicillins, which actively fought against staphylococci and streptococci, are not used today. Staphylococcus aureus has learned to synthesize the enzyme penicillinase, which destroys the antibiotic. Of particular danger are new strains of bacteria that have developed resistance to the latest generation of drugs - the so-called superbugs. The most famous of these is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Also, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and enterococci quickly develop resistance.

The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics leads to dysbacteriosis.

After such treatment, the balance of microflora is significantly disturbed, complications often develop, the body is weakened not only by the disease, but also by the action of drugs. The use of medicines is limited among certain population groups: pregnant women, children, patients with liver and kidney damage, and other categories.

bacteriophages

An alternative to antibiotics could be bacteriophages, viruses that kill a specific class of bacteria. Among the advantages of such drugs:

Low likelihood of developing resistance, since bacteriophages are organisms that have lived on Earth for several billion years and continue to infect bacterial cells.
They do not violate the microflora, since they are specialized medicines - effective only in relation to a specific type of microorganisms.
Can be used by people at risk.

Preparations containing bacteriophages are already available in pharmacies today. But still, such therapy is losing to antibiotics. Many diseases require immediate treatment, which means that broad-spectrum drugs are needed, while bacteriophages are highly specialized - they can be prescribed only after the pathogen has been identified. In addition, currently known viruses are not able to destroy such a large list of pathogenic bacteria as antibiotics.

Other treatments

WHO does not recommend the use of antibiotics for all types of bacterial infections. In the event that the microbe does not have a high pathogenicity, and the disease proceeds without complications, symptomatic treatment is sufficient - the use of antipyretics, painkillers, vitamin complexes, heavy drinking and other things. Often the immune system itself can suppress the reproduction of a colony of pathogenic microorganisms. However, in this case, the patient must be under the supervision of a doctor who will decide on the appropriateness of a particular method of therapy.

Effective vaccines have been developed for many deadly bacterial infections. Vaccinations are recommended for the following diseases:

Tuberculosis.
Haemophilus infection.
Pneumococcal infection.
Diphtheria (toxoid is used - a vaccine that helps produce antibodies to the toxin of the bacterium).
Tetanus (toxoid is used).

Bacteria, nutrition and digestion

The live bacteria in foods alone can restore the gut microflora, help the digestive tract, and get rid of toxins. Others, on the contrary, getting into the digestive tract with food, cause dangerous infections and serious poisoning.

Pathogenic bacteria often multiply in products with violations of storage rules. And breeding anaerobic bacteria are especially dangerous here, which easily increase their numbers even in goods in sealed packaging and canned food.
Another way of food contamination is through unwashed hands or equipment (knives, cutting boards, etc.). Therefore, food poisoning is easy to get after street food, which was prepared without observing sanitary standards.
Insufficient heat treatment or its absence also increases the likelihood of the reproduction of various pathogenic forms of bacteria.

Medicines with live bacteria

Preparations with beneficial live bacteria are often recommended by nutritionists for various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. They help with bloating, flatulence, heaviness, poor digestion of food, frequent poisoning.

In the event that dysbacteriosis is severe, the doctor may recommend a course of drugs to restore microflora.

Probiotics are products that contain live beneficial bacteria.

The drug is available in capsules with a shell that protects the colonies of microorganisms and helps to deliver them to the intestines in a living form.

Prebiotics are carbohydrate preparations that contain nutrients for beneficial bacteria.

Such drugs are prescribed if the intestines are inhabited by bifidus and lactobacilli, but their colonies are not large enough.

Lactic acid bacteria are an extensive group of microorganisms that are able to process glucose with the release of lactic acid. In fact, this means that it is precisely these microbes that are involved in the process of fermenting milk - with their help, all fermented milk products are created. Food does not spoil longer precisely thanks to lactic acid bacteria - the acidic environment that they create prevents the growth of pathogens. They exhibit the same protective functions in the human intestine.

The main products in which lactic acid bacteria are present:

Yogurt without additives.
Starter cultures, kefir and other fermented milk drinks.
acidophilus milk.
Hard cheeses.
Sauerkraut.

Tables of the main bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria

Bacteria in the table are presented by the main types of microbes that can cause disease. However, many of them also include non-pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria.

Name	bacteria	Type of breath	Diseases caused by bacteria
Staphylococci		Facultative anaerobes	Staphylococcus aureus provokes most purulent diseases. Including: skin lesions, pneumonia, sepsis. Staphylococcus epidermidis causes purulent complications in the postoperative period, and saprophytic - cystitis and urethritis (bacteria are found in the urine).
streptococci		Facultative anaerobes	Scarlet fever, rheumatism (acute rheumatic fever), tonsillitis, pharyngitis, pneumonia, endocarditis, meningitis, abscess.
Clostridia		anaerobic bacteria	Bacteria can be part of a healthy microflora. At the same time, some species are able to secrete the strongest known poison - exotoxin botulinum toxin. Clostridia are the causative agents of tetanus, gas gangrene, and botulism.
		Aerobes, facultative anaerobes	Certain types of bacteria cause anthrax and intestinal infections. The genus also includes Escherichia coli - a representative of healthy microflora.
Enterococci		Facultative anaerobes	Urinary tract infections, endocarditis, meningitis, sepsis.

Beneficial bacteria

The table of bacteria represents the types of microbes that are vital to humans.

Name	bacteria shape	Type of breath	Benefits for the body
bifidobacteria		Anaerobes	Human bacteria, which are part of the intestinal and vaginal microflora, help normalize digestion (drugs with bifidobacteria are prescribed for diarrhea), assimilate vitamins. The peculiarity of bacteria is that they prevent the reproduction of staphylococci, shigella, candida fungus.
	Cocci, sticks	Aerobes requiring reduced oxygen concentration (microaerophilic bacteria)	A group of bacteria that is united by one characteristic - the ability to cause lactic acid fermentation. Used in the food industry, are part of probiotics.
Streptomycetes	Bacteria can form filaments similar to mushroom mycelium		Microorganisms live in soil and sea water. Bacteria play an important role in pharmacology. Used by humans for the production of antibiotics: streptomycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, vancomycin. In particular, streptomycin has long been the main anti-tuberculosis drug. Also used for the production of antifungal (nystatin) and anticancer (daunorubicin) drugs.

Modern biotechnology is based on many sciences: genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, natural science. The main object of their study are bacteria and microorganisms. It is the use of bacteria that solves many problems in biotechnology. Today, the scope of their use in human life is so wide and varied that it makes an invaluable contribution to the development of such industries as:

medicine and health care;
animal husbandry;
crop production;
fish industry;
food industry;
mining and energy;
heavy and light industry;
septic tank;
ecology.

The field of application of bacteria in pharmacology and medicine is so wide and significant that their role in the treatment of many diseases in humans is simply invaluable. In our life, they are necessary when creating blood substitutes, antibiotics, amino acids, enzymes, antiviral and anticancer drugs, DNA samples for diagnostics, hormonal drugs.

Scientists have made an invaluable contribution to medicine by identifying the gene responsible for the hormone insulin. By implanting it into the coli bacteria, they got the production of insulin, saving the lives of many patients. Japanese scientists have discovered bacteria that secrete a substance that destroys plaque, thereby preventing the appearance of caries in humans.

From thermophilic bacteria, a gene is derived that encodes enzymes that are of value in scientific research, since they are insensitive to high temperatures. In the production of vitamins in medicine, the microorganism Clostridium is used, while obtaining riboflavin, which plays an important role in human health.

The ability of bacteria to produce antibacterial substances was used in the creation of antibiotics, solving the problem of treating many infectious diseases, thereby saving the life of more than one person.

In pharmacology, the creation of drugs and synthetic vaccines, which include immunoregulators, alkaloids, nucleotides and enzymes, is also impossible without microorganisms.

animal husbandry

To increase weight gain and increase the growth rate of young individuals, protein-vitamin supplements, enzymes are used, their producers are photosynthetic bacteria. Thus reducing feed consumption and increasing productivity. In the production of silage, E.coli commune, Lactis aerogenes, which are lactic acid microorganisms, are used. The essential amino acid lysine, used as a food additive in animal husbandry, is produced from bacteria such as Corynebacterium glutamicum, Brevibacterium sp, and Escherichia coli.

The use of bacteria is common in the creation of highly productive breeds, growth hormones and transplantation of a fertilized cell. Preparations created on the basis of Bac. subtilis and Bac. Licheniformis are used in veterinary medicine in the treatment of many diseases.

Agricultural industry

The use of pesticides and fertilizers in the agricultural sector leads to a negative impact on soil microflora. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are used to destroy harmful substances.

The use of bacterial fertilizers helps to increase yields. Nitrogen-retaining bacterial preparations are obtained from Klebsiella and Chromatium cells. This enables the plants to absorb the nitrogen contained in the air. Phosphobacterin is obtained from Bacillus megathrtium, which increases the content of phosphorus in the soil and nitrogen in the green mass. As a bioprotection of plants from various pests, microbiological preparations based on bacteria have been developed that do not harm humans.

Fish industry

Biotechnologies used in fish farms make it possible to create fish breeds that are resistant to many diseases and breeds with high growth rates. Also, feed additives, enzymes and medicines are made from the bacteria produced in the fishing industry.

food industry

Widespread use of biotechnology in the fermentation and food industries. The use of lactic acid bacteria in the manufacture of kefir, koumiss and fermented milk products improves their taste and digestibility. This is achieved by the fact that the secreted enzymes decompose milk sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. To improve the quality of confectionery products and preserve the freshness of bakery products in the food industry, enzymes produced from Bac.subtilis are used.

Extraction and processing of minerals

The use of biotechnologies in the extractive industry can significantly reduce costs and energy costs. Thus, the use of lithotrophic bacteria (Thiobacillus ferrooxidous), with their ability to oxidize iron, is used in hydrometallurgy. Due to bacterial leaching, precious metals are mined from low-bearing rocks. Methane-containing bacteria are used to increase oil production. When oil is extracted in the usual way, no more than half of the natural reserves are extracted from the bowels, and with the help of microorganisms, more efficient release of reserves occurs.

Light and heavy industry

Microbiological leaching is used in old mines to produce zinc, nickel, copper, cobalt. In the mining industry, bacterial sulfates are used for reduction reactions in old mines, since sulfuric acid residues have a destructive effect on supports, materials and the environment. Anaerobic microorganisms contribute to the thorough decomposition of organic matter. This property is used for water purification in the metallurgical industry.

A person uses bacteria in the production of wool, artificial leather, textile raw materials, for perfumery and cosmetic purposes.

Waste and water treatment

The bacteria involved in decomposition are used to clean septic tanks. The basis of this method is that microorganisms feed on sewage. This method ensures the removal of odor and disinfection of wastewater. Microorganisms used in septic tanks are grown in laboratories. The result of their action is determined by the breakdown of organic matter into simple substances that are harmless to the environment. Depending on the type of septic tank, anaerobic or aerobic microorganisms are selected. Aerobic microorganisms, in addition to septic tanks, are used in biofilters.

Microorganisms are also needed to maintain the quality of water in reservoirs and drains, to clean the polluted surface of the seas and oceans from oil products.

With the development of biotechnology in our lives, humanity has stepped forward in almost all areas of its activity.

Bacteria are single-celled non-nuclear microorganisms belonging to the class of prokaryotes. To date, there are more than 10 thousand studied species (it is assumed that there are about a million of them), many of them are pathogenic and can cause various diseases in humans, animals and plants.

For their reproduction, a sufficient amount of oxygen and optimal humidity are necessary. Bacteria vary in size from tenths of a micron to several microns; according to their shape, they are divided into spherical (cocci), rod-shaped, filamentous (spirilla), in the form of curved rods (vibrios).

The first organisms that appeared billions of years ago

(Bacteria and microbes under the microscope)

Bacteria play a very important role on our planet, being an important participant in any biological cycle of substances, the basis for the existence of all life on Earth. Most of both organic and inorganic compounds change significantly under the influence of bacteria. Bacteria, which appeared on our planet more than 3.5 billion years ago, stood at the primary sources of the base of the living shell of the planet and still actively process inanimate and living organic matter and involve the results of the metabolic process in the biological cycle.

(The structure of a bacterium)

Saprophytic soil bacteria play a huge role in the soil-forming process, it is they who process the remains of plant and animal organisms and help in the formation of humus and humus, which increase its fertility. The most important role in the process of improving soil fertility is played by nitrogen-fixing nodule symbiont bacteria that “live” on the roots of leguminous plants; thanks to them, the soil is enriched with valuable nitrogen compounds necessary for plant growth. They capture nitrogen from the air, bind it and create compounds in a form available to plants.

The importance of bacteria in the cycle of substances in nature

Bacteria have excellent sanitary qualities, they remove dirt in wastewater, break down organic matter, turning them into harmless inorganics. The unique cyanobacteria that originated in the pristine seas and oceans 2 billion years ago were capable of photosynthesis, they supplied molecular oxygen to the environment, and thus formed the Earth's atmosphere and created an ozone layer that protects our planet from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. Many minerals have been created over many thousands of years by the action of air, temperature, water and bacteria on biomass.

Bacteria are the most common organisms on Earth, they define the upper and lower boundaries of the biosphere, penetrate everywhere and are distinguished by great endurance. If there were no bacteria, dead animals and plants would not be processed further, but simply accumulated in huge quantities, without them the biological cycle would become impossible, and substances would not be able to return to nature again.

Bacteria are an important link in the trophic food chains, they act as decomposers, laying out the remains of dead animals and plants, thereby cleansing the Earth. Many bacteria play the role of symbionts in the body of mammals and help them decompose fiber, which they are not able to digest. The life process of bacteria is a source of vitamin K and B vitamins, which play an important role in the normal functioning of their organisms.

Beneficial and harmful bacteria

A large number of pathogenic bacteria can bring great harm to human health, domestic animals and cultivated plants, namely, cause such infectious diseases as dysentery, tuberculosis, cholera, bronchitis, brucellosis and anthrax (animals), bacteriosis (plants).

There are bacteria that bring benefits to a person and his economic activity. People have learned to use bacteria in industrial production, making acetone, ethyl and butyl alcohol, acetic acid, enzymes, hormones, vitamins, antibiotics, and protein and vitamin preparations. The cleansing power of bacteria is used in water treatment plants, to treat wastewater and to convert organics into harmless inorganic substances. Modern achievements of genetic engineers have made it possible to obtain such drugs as insulin, interferon from the bacterium of Escherichia coli, feed and food protein from some bacteria. In agriculture, special bacterial fertilizers are used, and with the help of bacteria, farmers fight various weeds and harmful insects.

(Bacteria favorite dish ciliates slippers)

Bacteria are involved in the process of tanning leather, drying tobacco leaves, they are used to make silk, rubber, cocoa, coffee, soak hemp, linen, and leach metals. They are involved in the manufacturing process of drugs, such powerful antibiotics as tetracycline and streptomycin. Without lactic acid bacteria that cause the fermentation process, the process of preparing such dairy products as yogurt, fermented baked milk, acidophilus, sour cream, butter, kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese is impossible. Also, lactic acid bacteria are involved in the process of pickling cucumbers, sauerkraut, ensiling feed.

Microorganisms and their metabolic products are currently widely used in industry, agriculture, and medicine.

History of the use of microorganisms

As far back as 1000 BC, the Romans, Phoenicians and people of other early civilizations were extracting copper from mine waters or water seeping through ore bodies. In the 17th century Welsh in England (county of Wales) and in the XVIII century. the Spaniards at the Rio Tinto deposit used this "leaching" process to extract copper from minerals containing it. These ancient miners did not even suspect that bacteria played an active role in such metal extraction processes. Currently, this process, known as bacterial leaching, is used on a large scale throughout the world to extract copper from poor ores containing this and other valuable metals in small quantities. Biological leaching is also used (albeit less widely) to release uranium. Numerous studies have been carried out on the nature of organisms involved in the processes of metal leaching, their biochemical properties and possibilities of application in this field. The results of these studies show, in particular, that bacterial leaching can be widely used in the mining industry and, apparently, will be able to fully satisfy the need for energy-saving, environmentally friendly technologies.

Somewhat less well known, but just as important, is the use of microorganisms in the mining industry to extract metals from solutions. Some progressive technologies already include biological processes to obtain metals in a dissolved state or in the form of solid particles "from the washing waters left over from the processing of ores. The ability of microorganisms to accumulate metals has long been known, and enthusiasts have long dreamed of using microbes to extract valuable metals from sea water. The research carried out dispelled some hopes and largely determined the areas of application of microorganisms. Metal recovery with their participation remains a promising way to treat metal-contaminated industrial effluents cheaply, as well as economically obtain valuable metals.

It has long been known about the ability of microorganisms to synthesize polymeric compounds; in fact, most of the components of a cell are polymers. However, today less than 1% of the total amount of polymeric materials is produced by the microbiological industry; the remaining 99% is obtained from oil. So far, biotechnology has not had a decisive impact on polymer technology. Perhaps in the future, with the help of microorganisms, it will be possible to create new materials for special purposes.

Another important aspect of the use of microorganisms in chemical analysis should be noted - the concentration and isolation of trace elements from dilute solutions. By consuming and assimilating microelements in the course of their vital activity, microorganisms can selectively accumulate some of them in their cells, while purifying nutrient solutions from impurities. For example, fungi are used to selectively precipitate gold from chloride solutions.

Modern Applications

Microbial biomass is used as livestock feed. The microbial biomass of some crops is used in the form of various starter cultures that are used in the food industry. So the preparation of bread, beer, wine, spirits, vinegar, fermented milk products, cheeses and many products. Another important direction is the use of waste products of microorganisms. By the nature of these substances and by their importance for the producer, waste products can be divided into three groups.

1 group are large molecules with a molecular weight. These include various enzymes (lipases, etc.) and polysaccharides. Their use is extremely wide - from the food and textile industries to the oil industry.

2 group- these are primary methanobolites, which include substances necessary for the growth and development of the cell itself: amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, and others.

3 group- secondary methanobolites. These include: antibiotics, toxins, alkaloids, growth factors, etc. An important area of biotechnology is the use of microorganisms as biotechnical agents for the conversion or transformation of certain substances, purification of water, soil or air from pollutants. Microorganisms also play an important role in oil production. In the traditional way, no more than 50% of oil is extracted from the oil reservoir. The waste products of bacteria, accumulating in the reservoir, contribute to the displacement of oil and its more complete release to the surface.

The huge role of microorganisms in creating the maintenance and preservation of soil fertility. They take part in the formation of soil humus - humus. They are used to increase crop yields.

In recent years, another fundamentally new direction in biotechnology has begun to develop - cell-free biotechnology.

The selection of microorganisms is based on the fact that microorganisms are of great benefit in industry, in agriculture, in the animal and plant world.

Other applications

In medicine

Traditional methods of vaccine production are based on the use of weakened or killed pathogens. Currently, many new vaccines (for example, for the prevention of influenza, hepatitis B) are obtained by genetic engineering. Antiviral vaccines are obtained by introducing into the microbial cell the genes of viral proteins that exhibit the greatest immunogenicity. When cultivated, such cells synthesize a large amount of viral proteins, which are subsequently included in the composition of vaccine preparations. More efficient production of viral proteins in animal cell cultures based on recombinant DNA technology.

In oil production:

In recent years, methods of enhanced oil recovery using microorganisms have been developed. Their perspective is connected, first of all, with ease of implementation, minimal capital intensity and environmental safety. In the 1940s, research began in many oil-producing countries on the use of microorganisms to stimulate production wells and restore injectivity of injection wells.

In food and chemical industry:

The most well-known industrial products of microbial synthesis include: acetone, alcohols (ethanol, butanol, isopropanol, glycerin), organic acids (citric, acetic, lactic, gluconic, itaconic, propionic), flavorings and substances that enhance odors (monosodium glutamate). The demand for the latter is constantly increasing due to the trend towards low-calorie and plant-based foods to add variety to the taste and smell of food. Aromatic substances of plant origin can be produced by the expression of plant genes in microorganism cells.

Portal for the student. Self-training

Importance of bacteria in our life. The discovery of penicillin and the development of medicine. The results of the use of antibiotics in the plant and animal world. What are probiotics, the principle of their action on the body of people and animals, plants, the benefits of using.

The role of microorganisms in food production technology

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