Question

In the United States at least, we hear of outbreaks of disease almost daily and we eagerly await news of som new antibacterial medication that will elimate disease. As a result people are somewhat "germ-phobic" already. Taking this course often makes people a little more concerned .   We hear of new ways to " fight germs" constantly, but suppose tomorrow there were no microbes to contend with. All microorganisms mysteriously disappeared. Based on your readings of these first few chapters, what do you suppose life would be like on earth in five, ten, twenty years? One mistake most people make is to talk about the inability to make any more antibiotics. This would in fact be irrelevant if there were no micro-organisms to make us sick. Please discuss other important aspects such as food production, air and water quality, animal and plant survival, human survival etc...

Answer 1

Microbes are integral part of our eco-system. They are important for functioning of different biological systems in our environment. In fact our eco-system might cease to exixt if there are no micro-organisms in the world. Below are few examples which show how important are microbes for the existence of different life forms and biological activities on earth.

1.Conversion of sunlight to biological energy: Different types of micro-organisms such as microalgae and photo-tropic bacteria perform photosysnthesis by utilizing sunlight. These micro-organisms not only prepare important bio-molecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids etc for themselves but a huge number of other life forms on earth are also dependent on the products produced by them.

2. Fixation of atmospheric nitrogen: Microbial species like Azotobactter, Azotococcus etc fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert them into ammonia (which is a usable form of nitrogen for plants and trees). Without these bactria it is hard to imagine how such a large requirement of nitrogen by plants, trees and other living beings can be met.

3. Role of bacteria in human gut: There are various different species of microbes found in human gut which are important for proper digestion of different kinds of food consumed by human beings. Without these microbes the human body cannot digest a number of varieties of food and their byproducts in the body and it will be posed with a life threating crises.

4. Microbes in Waste treament: Microbial digestion of waste by different anaerobic and aerobic bacteria are a big part of nature's way of degrading waste products and converting them into simpler products that can be recycled back to the system. If such a process (microbial degradation/digestion) is absent in our environment, there will be unimaginable loss of useful nutrients and other bio-products along with piles and piles of unwanted waste on our land, which will ultimately result in the complete shut down of our environment.

5. Microbes in food production: Various food industries are based on microbial processes. These industries include cheese, winery, brewery, dairy , and bakery etc. All these industries owe there existence to the biological processes performed by different microbes and without microbes these industries will cease to exist.

Above are some of the examples which show how microbes are indispensable to our eco-system and are extremely important to the survival of all life-forms on earth.