Bacteria are microscopic, single-celled organisms that exist all around you and inside you.

Although they can cause

sickness and disease, they are very important to life on Earth. We depend on bacteria to help in the digestion of food, for
plant growth, and to help us make foods and medicines. Bacteria are an important part of the soil. They are able to
capture some nutrients that plants cannot. When living things die, bacteria play a very important role as decomposers,
bacteria and fungi feeding on and breaking down plant and animal matter. Without these decomposers, the bodies of all
organisms that have ever lived would still remain. This would be messy. When bacteria break down the dead organisms,
they release substances that can be used by other organisms in the ecosystem.
Great for the Environment Life as we -know it could not exist without bacteria. Bacteria are very important to the health of
Earth. They help recycle dead animals and plants. Bacteria also play an important role in the nitrogen cycle.
1] Microbes play important role in defense: The oodles of microbes that live on and inside us protect us from
pathogens simply by taking up space. By occupying spots where nastiest could get access to and thrive, good microbes
keep us healthy.
2] Food: Production of many foods is possible with the help of microorganism. For example foods like bread, beer and
cheese are produced with the help of yeast. Similarly bacteria are involved in the production of butter, yogurt, many kinds
of chocolates, coffee and other foods of daily life. Microorganisms like years are also used to prepare beverages like
alcohol e.g. Beer, wine
3] Medicine: It is very difficult to decode the human genome if any disorders occur in it as humans are the eukaryotic
organisms. It means their body consists of various types pf cells and they are all differentiated into different tissues and
organs. Microorganisms have made it possible to make such medicines which when enter the body, target the defected
genes and make healthy changes in them and they become functional again. There is a common example of human
insulin. Insulin is an antibiotic which is prescribed for the diabetic patients. Now it is possible to synthesize the insulin in
microorganisms like bacteria and yeast. These microorganisms are inserted in the body in the form of vectors and cure the
defected genes. Due to the availability of microorganisms in the environment, scientists have made use of them for
making many medicines and drugs and also used them for drug delivery.
4] Health: People will be surprised if they get to know that their body contains ten times more microorganisms than the
body cells. These microorganisms are useful for the body and perform various useful functions, for example E.coli (specie
of bacteria) resides in the intestine and releases such components which help in the digestion of the food. If
microorganisms help in performing different body functions then they also take something from the body that is they take
nutrients from the body. One purpose of bacteria in the body is to fight against those harmful bacteria which can cause
diseases. For example there is also a bacterium in the gut which helps in synthesizing the vitamins like biotin, vitamin K
and folic acid.
5] Biotechnology: Biotechnology is one field which has made use of microorganisms most. By using the techniques of
biotechnology, scientists have succeeded in developing human insulin, growth hormones and other useful components of
the body. Biotechnological processes use microorganisms for the drug delivery in the form of vectors and plasmids.
Microorganisms have provided many beneficial things to agriculture as they are responsible for increasing the fertility of
the soil. Due to this, the production of the plants increases and economy becomes strong. Also microorganism are used to
prepare biofuels.
6] Ecology: Bacteria present in the environment are responsible for recycling wastes and for producing energy sources
like carbon and nitrogen. Plants use carbon dioxide during the process of photosynthesis. More the consumption of
carbon dioxide will lead to more production of food. Some bacteria also help in cleaning the environment by digesting the
pollutants and as a result they release nutrients which are environment friendly.
7] Killing insect pests: The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (also known as Bt) produces a toxin that is specific to
certain types of insects, many of which are pests encountered by gardeners and farmers. The toxin is so effective at killing
the target insect that for years it has been used as an insecticide. Another group of insect pathogens uses small worms
called nematodes to get inside of their insect host. Members of the bacterial genera Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus hitch
a ride inside soil-dwelling nematodes without harming them. It’s only when the nematode crawls inside of insect grubs
that the bacteria emerge and produce toxins that kill the grub, giving the nematode a lot of nutrients to use for
reproduction.
8] Treating sewage: Microorganisms are an important part of wastewater treatment during a few different steps of the
process. After the sewage has been physically filtered to remove solid waste, called primary treatment, microbes break
down the insoluble organic matter during secondary treatment. Microorganisms in sewage treatment plants also convert
nitrate in the wastewater to nitrogen gas that is lost to the air. This process, called denitrification, is important because
water with a high nitrate content can stimulate huge blooms of algae that foul lakes, rivers, and streams.
9] Making and breaking down biodegradable plastics: Most of the plastic used today is synthetically made from
petroleum and is extremely resistant to degradation. The best kind of biodegradable plastics are the ones made by bacteria
because they can also be broken down by bacteria. These contain either polylactide (PLA), made as a product of
fermentation, or polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), made by bacteria as storage compounds.Unfortunately, biodegradable
bacterial produced plastics haven’t yet been able to compete with the synthetically made ones because oil is still cheaper
than the sugar needed to feed the bacteria.
10] Agriculture improvers: Agriculture and microorganisms have a natural bond. The fertilisation of the land, the
production of fodder for cattle, compost heaps. These are all traditional applications of microbes on the farm. Without
microbes, plants grow badly or not at all, and agriculture would be impossible. We use microbes more and more
frequently to increase crop yields.
Harmful Bacteria Humans couldn't live without bacteria, but bacteria can also cause harm. Scientists learned in the
1800s that some bacterial are pathogenic . Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that cause disease. Pathogenic bacteria get
inside a host organism and take nutrients from the host's cells. In the process,: harm the host. Today, we are protected
from many bacterial diseases by vaccination. Many bacterial diseases can also be treated with antibiotics.

The Bad Of course, some species of bacteria in your body can result in diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular
disease, and obesity. 3 Usually, these diseases happen only when the normal microbiome is disrupted, but that
can occur even from antibiotics. Antibiotics kill bacteria, and some of those will be good bacteria that we need to
protect our health. When that happens, the bad bacteria that normally are kept in check have room to grow,
creating an environment ripe for disease.
Bad bacteria can exist at low levels in your body without causing harm or can grow too much and wreak
havoc. Staphylococcus aureus can cause something as simple as a pimple or as serious as pneumonia or toxic shock
syndrome. P. gingivalis can cause gum disease, and was recently linked to pancreatic cancer (read our article find out
more). Similarly, when not suppressed by good bacteria, Klebsiella pneumonia can cause colitis, and subsequently lead to
colorectal cancer. 4
In addition to allowing disease-causing bacteria to flourish, the elimination of good bacteria throws the immune system
out of whack. The result can be simple allergies or very debilitating autoimmune diseases. Without the right balance of
bacteria, your body might suffer from constant inflammation.
Making Medicines What's the best way to fight disease-causing bacteria? Would you believe that the answer is to use
other bacteria? Antibiotics are medicines used to kill bacteria and other micro organisms. Many antibiotics are made by
bacteria.
Insulin The human body needs insulin to break down and use sugar! and carbohydrates. People who have diabetes do
not make enough insulin. In the 1970s, scientists discovered how to put) genes into bacteria so that the bacteria would
make human insulin. The insulin can then be separated from the bacteria and given to people who have diabetes.
Antibacterial Soap There are now many doctors calling for the decrease in the use of antibacterial soaps. Many of us
grew up playing in the dirt, and then just using soap to clean up. It has been shown that playing in the dirt as a child can
help build up the immune system. Antibacterial soaps and surface cleansers can actually hurt the immune system.

Useful bacteria - Bacteria have long been used by humans to create food products such as cheese, yoghurt, pickles, soy
sauce and vinegar. We are also able to use bacteria to break down our sewage and to clean up oil spills. Many
bacteria are very fast growing – under ideal conditions, Escherichia coli (E. Coli) are able to double their number in
20 minutes. This makes them very useful tools in molecular biology and biochemistry, as they can be manipulated
much faster than more complex and slower growing organisms. We can manipulate bacteria to grow a protein of
interest, for example, insulin, and then grow them in large vats to produce a large quantity of the desired protein.

Harmful bacteria - Only a small handful of known bacteria are capable of causing disease. These bacteria are termed
pathogenic. To cause disease, the bacteria must invade the cells of a living organism. Most bacteria will not invade
another living organism, and many more bacteria are rendered harmless by our immune systems, while others,
such as gut bacteria, are beneficial. Bacteria can affect our bodies in several ways. Harmful bacteria can make us
sick, but fortunately, our bodies will fight back.
In many developing countries, poor hygiene, limited access to clean water and poor (or no) sewage treatment leads to
huge numbers of deaths from bacterial infections such as those that cause dysentery. The advent of antibiotics like
penicillin has greatly reduced the number of deaths due to bacterial infections. However, increased use of antibiotics in
many western countries has led to the adaptation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can lead to outbreaks of so-called
‘super bugs’, such as Multi-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Scientists now believe that humans require contact
with bacteria at an early age in order to ‘educate’ our immune systems between good and bad bacteria. The scientists
believe that western societies’ obsession with antibacterial products has increased our chances of developing immune-
related conditions such as asthma, allergies and eczema.
Cleaning Up Environment Bacteria and other microorganisms are also used to fight pollution. Bioremediation means
using microorganisms to change harmful chemicals into harmless ones. Bioremediation is used to clean up hazardous
waste from industries, farms, and cities. It is -also used to clean up [oil spills. The Scientists also are use bacteria to
remove pollutants from the soil.
Recycling leaves: have you ever seen dead leaves and twigs on a forest floor? These leaves and twigs are recycled over
time with the help of bacteria. Decomposer bacteria break down dead plant and animal matter, peaking down dead matter
makes nutrients available to other living things.