Question

Even though the mills in Manchester, formally important for processing wool, have been inactive for over a hundred years, what bacteria might still be present in the spores in the soil? What disease would it cause?

Answer 1

Even though the mills in Manchester, formally important for processing wool, have been inactive for over a hundred years, what bacteria might still be present in the spores in the soil? What disease would it cause?

Ans. Spore forming bacteria are usually found in conditions where environmental stress is created due to lack of nutrients. These spores formed in bacteria are called endospores and are usually formed in gram positive soil bacterium. Endospore is a tough, dormant, non-reprductive structure formed in bacteria during starvation and this process is called sporulation. The bacteria in which sporulation occurs are mainly Bacillus, which is  aerobic and clostridium which is anerobic .

Bacillus subtilis is highly diverse gram positive bacteria that is often isolated from the soil in the form of heat resistant spores. Bacillus subtilis is not considered as a human pathogen but has been isolated from patients with infections. Infections caused by bacillus subtilis include sepetecimia, bacterimia, endocardtis. However these infections occur only in individuals with a compromised immune system.

Clostridium Tetani , a gram positive bacteria is also found in soil. This strain of bacterium is usually found in hot damp climates where soils are rich in organic matter. Clostridium tetani is knwom to cause a disease called Tetanus.