TEST BANK For Radiologic Science for Technologists, 12th Edition by Stewart C...
7. Economic importance of viruses and bacteria
1. Economic importance of viruses and
bacteria
Dhole N. A.
Department of Botany,
Digambarrao Bindu ACS College, Bhokar
2. Economic importance of viruses:
• Phages are used as scavengers to eradicate the bacteria present in the
polluted water.
• Viruses are utilised in the production of vaccines, used to develop
immunity against viral infection.
• By holding both the living and nonliving characters, viruses got the
importance in determining the origin of life.
• Virus is used in lab, as the simplest living model.
• In the research of genetics, virus used mostly. It is an important
subject in genetic engineering.
3. • Virus plays a vital role to acquire knowledge about the trend of evolution
and the process of formation of living organisms.
• T2 bacteriophage virus saves humans from dysentery by spoiling some
harmful bacteria, like, e-coli.
• viruses, including particularly bacteriophages (lambda), used for the
construction of cloning and expression vectors.
• Expression of heterologous proteins by viruses is used for the production
of various pharmaceutical proteins, vaccine antigens and antibodies.
4. Economic importance of bacteria:
• Role in Agriculture:
(i) Decay and decomposition:
(ii) Soil fertility:
(a) Ammonifying Bacteria:
(b) Nitrifying Bacteria:
(c) Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria:
(d) Phosphorus solubilizing Bacteria:
(iii) Bacteria as biofertilizers:
5. • Role of Bacteria in Industries:
• The butter and cheese industries entirely depend upon the activities of
the lactic acid bacteria.
• The curing of tea, tobacco and manufacture of indigo are other examples
of useful chemical activities of bacteria which have been controlled for
the benefit of mankind.
• The process of tanning hides in leather making and preparing sponges
also involve the use of bacteria.
6. • The production of linen is impossible without bacterial activity. The tough
fibres, which are left behind, are separated. These fibres are spun and
woven into linen cloth, ropes, etc.
• Lactic acid: It is useful in tanning industries.
• Citric acid: It is used to give aroma and flavour to beverages, sweets and
other foodstuffs.
• Vitamins: Vitamin B is the product of fermentation of sugars and starch
by Clostridium acetobutilicum. The vitamins are used in medicinal
preparations.
• Butyl alcohol: Butyl alcohol, acetone and ethyl alcohol are produced in
one fermentation operation when a certain bacterium is allowed to act on
cooked com starch. These products are important commercial solvents.
• Acetone: It is an important ingredient of explosives and is also used in the
manufacture of photographic films.
7. • Wine production
• Beer Production
• Cheese making
• Curd production
• Butter production
• Yogurt production
• Bread production
• Production of fermented foods
• Vinegar Production
• Use of bacteria in production of genetically modified plants
• Transgenic plants
• Bioremediation
• Production of biogas
• Production of biodegradable plastic
8. • Role of Bacteria in Medicine:
• The milder antibiotics of bacterial origin are tyrothricin, subtilin,
polymyxin B, and bacitracin.
• Bacillius subtilis is the source of subtilin.
• Bacitracin is obtained from a stain very much like Bacillius subtilis.
• The actionomycetes which are filamentous, bacteria-like organisms
produce more powerful antibiotics such as streptomycin, aureomycin and
terramycin.