Question

research one specific species of microorganism which is beneficial to us. The categories in that reading may help you determine which general topic you want to go with, but in your post this week, you will need to describe a microbe and its actions more specifically.

Make one post this week giving the name of the bacterium, what its helpful role is, and what the ramifications would be if that microbe did not exist.

Answer 1

Lactic Acid Bacteria(LAB) under scientific order lactobacillales are facultative anaerobic bacteria with a fermentative metabolism.

IMPORTANCE:

• Foods fermented by lactic acid bacteria form an important part of human diet.
• Lactic acid bacteria play an important role in preservation of foods and contribute to nutritional, sensoric and health properties of food products and animal feed.
• They are used in particular in fermentation of milk products, including yoghurt, cheese, butter, buttermilk.
• LAB can also produce a variety of functional oligosaccharides that have applications as prebiotics, neutraceuticals, sweetners, humectants, drug against colon cancer and as immune stimulator.
• They have the ability to ferment sugar to lactic acid.
• Besides prolonging the shelf life, lactic acid enhances the gustatory and nutritional value, imparts appetizing flavour and texture to the food.

RAMIFICATIONS IF IT DOESNOT EXIST:

As lactobacillus can help us break down food, absorb nutrients, and fight off "unfriendly" organisms that cause diseases, absence of the bacteria will may not digest the food. Fermentation of food doesnt take place. The bakery industry will not carry on fermentation processes. Foods such as pickles cant be long stored.