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Questions and Answers
What are the common microbes found in curd?
What role do LAB (Lactic acid bacteria) play in the conversion of milk to curd?
LAB produce lactic acid that coagulates milk proteins and partially digests them.
The production of CO2 gas contributes to the puffed-up appearance of dough used for dosa and idli?
True
Which microorganism is commonly used for fermenting beverages like wine, beer, and whisky?
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What is the traditional drink of Southern India made from fermented sap of palm trees?
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The sponginess of bread is due to the expulsion of $CO2$ and __________.
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What causes the large holes in Swiss cheese?
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Study Notes
Microbes in Human Welfare
- Microbes are present everywhere, including in soil, water, air, inside human bodies, and other animals and plants, even in extreme environments such as geysers, deep soil, under snow, and highly acidic environments.
- Microbes are diverse, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, viruses, viroids, and prions.
- Viruses are infectious nucleic acid entities, while prions are infectious proteinaceous structures.
- Viruses contain both nucleic acid and protein, but only the nucleic acid is infectious.
- Microbes like bacteria and fungi can be grown on nutritive media to form visible colonies, which are useful for studying microorganisms.
Microbes in Household Products
Curd
- Microbes like Lactobacillus acidophilus (Lactic acid bacteria/LAB) convert milk to curd by producing lactic acid, which coagulates and digests milk proteins.
- The LAB in curd also improve its nutritional quality by increasing vitamin B12.
- A small amount of curd can be used as a starter culture, containing millions of LAB, which multiply at suitable temperatures to convert milk to curd.
- LAB also play a beneficial role in the human stomach, checking disease-causing microbes.
Dosa & Idli
- The dough used for making dosa and idli is fermented by bacteria, producing CO2 gas, which causes the puffed-up appearance.
Fermented Beverages
- Microbes, especially yeasts, are used to produce various beverages, including wine, beer, whisky, brandy, rum, and vodka.
- The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Brewer's Yeast) is used to ferment matured cereals and fruit juices to produce ethanol.
Microbes in Industrial Products
- Microbes synthesize valuable products, such as beverages, antibiotics, chemicals, enzymes, and bioactive molecules, on an industrial scale.
- Industrial production involves growing microbes in large vessels called fermentors.
Bread
- Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisial) is used to ferment dough for making bread.
- The sponginess of bread is caused by the expulsion of CO2 and alcohol during fermentation.
Toddy
- Toddy is a traditional drink in Southern India, made from the fermented sap of palm trees.
Cheese
- Cheese is one of the oldest food items that involve microbial fermentation.
- Different cheese varieties are characterized by their texture, flavor, specificity, and taste, depending on the microbes used.
- For example, the large holes in Swiss cheese are formed by the production of CO2 by the bacterium Propionibacterium Sharmanti.
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Description
This quiz covers the importance and diversity of microbes, including their presence in various environments and their different types such as protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
