Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Chapter 10 Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Primary Objectives of This Chapter
Chapter 10 describes many of the ways that microbes interact with the world around them, with emphasis on beneficial uses of microorganisms. Topics discussed in this chapter include symbiotic relationships involving microorganisms, indigenous microflora of humans, biotherapeutic agents, microbial communities (biofilms), agricultural microbiology, biotechnology, and bioremediation. The information in Chapter 10 is considered essential in an introductory microbiology course.

Terms Introduced in This Chapter

After reading Chapter 10, you should be familiar with the following terms. These terms are defined in Chapter 10 and in the Glossary. Ammonification Bacteriocins Biofilms Biotherapeutic agents Candidiasis Carrier Colicin Commensalism Denitrifying bacteria Endosymbiont Enteric bacilli Host Microbial antagonism Microcolonies Mutualism Neutralism Nitrifying bacteria Nitrogen-fixing bacteria Parasitism Symbionts Symbiosis Synergistic infection Synergistic relationship Vaginitis Vaginosis

Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Review of Key Points

Microbial ecology is the study of the numerous interrelationships between microbes and the living and nonliving world around them. Most relationships between humans and microbes are beneficial rather than harmful. Microbes play important roles in agriculture, industrial processes, sewage treatment, and water purification, as well as in the fields of genetic engineering, gene therapy, and bioremediation. Symbiosis is defined as the living together or close association of two dissimilar organisms usually two different species. A mutualistic relationship is of benefit to both parties (both symbionts), whereas a commensalistic relationship is of benefit to one symbiont and of no consequence (i.e., neither beneficial nor harmful) to the other A parasitic relationship is beneficial to one symbiont (the parasite) and detrimental to the other symbiont (the host). Although many parasites cause disease, others do not. A persons indigenous microflora (sometimes referred to as indigenous microbiota or normal flora) includes all of the microbes (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi) that reside on and within that person. Opportunistic pathogens (opportunists) can be thought of as organisms that are hanging around, awaiting the opportunity to cause infections. A usually harmless opportunist may cause complications when an abnormal situation occurs, such as entry of the organism into a wound, the bloodstream, or an organ (e.g., the urinary bladder), or after destruction of much of the indigenous microflora by antibiotic therapy. Destruction of the resident microflora disturbs the delicate balance established between a host and its microorganisms. An overgrowth or population explosion of an organism that is usually present in low numbers is referred to as a superinfection. As many as 300 different species of bacteria and fungi can live on the skin. The number of different types varies greatly from body part to body part and from person to person. The most common bacteria on the skin are Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Propionibacterium spp. Frequent washing with soap and water removes most of the potentially harmful transient microbes harbored in sweat, oil, and other secretions from moist body parts, as well as the dead epithelial cells on which they feed. The most common organisms in the indigenous microflora of the mouth are various species of -hemolytic streptococci. The colon contains as many as 500 to 600 different species primarily bacteria. Certain of our intestinal bacteria are beneficial to us in that they produce useful vitamins and other nutrients.

Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Many members of our indigenous microflora serve a beneficial role by preventing other microbes from becoming established in or colonizing a particular anatomic location. Microbial antagonism is the killing, injury, or inhibition of one microbe by substances produced by another. In nature, microbes are often organized into complex and persistent communities of assorted organisms called biofilms. Biofilms have been implicated in diseases such as endocarditis, cystic fibrosis, middle ear infections, kidney stones, periodontal disease, and prostate infections. Biofilms are very resistant to antibiotics, disinfectants, and certain types of host defense mechanisms. When two or more microbes team up to produce a disease that neither could cause by itself, the phenomenon is referred to as synergism or a synergistic relationship. The diseases they cause are referred to as synergistic infections, polymicrobial infections, or mixed infections. Inorganic nutrients, returned to the soil by saprophytes, are used by chemotrophic bacteria and plants for synthesis of biologic molecules necessary for growth. The plants are eaten by animals, which eventually die and are recycled again with the aid of saprophytes. In nature, bacteria play very important roles in the cycling of nutrients, as in the nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfur, and phosporous cycles. The nitrogen cycle involves the participation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, and denitrifying bacteria. The spores of many human pathogens can be found in soil, including those of Clostridium spp., Bacillus anthracis, and Cryptococcus neoformans. Microbes cause many diseases of farm animals, wild animals, zoo animals, and domestic pets. Microbes cause thousands of different types of plant diseases, with names such as blights, cankers, galls, leaf spots, mildews, mosaics, rots, rusts, scabs, smuts, and wilts. Biotechnology is defined as any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. Microbes are used in many aspects of biotechnology, such as production of therapeutic proteins, DNA vaccines, and vitamins; the use of microbial metabolites as antimicrobial agents and other types of therapeutic agents; agricultural appications; food technology; production of chemicals; biomining; and bioremediation. Bioremediation refers to the use of microbes to clean up various types of wastes, including industrial and toxic wastes, and environmental pollutants (such as pesticides and herbicides). Many of the microbes used in bioremediation are found in nature, but others are genetically engineered to digest specific wastes.

Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Insight
How Bacteria Communicate With Each Other Scientists have long known that various types of cells within the human body, especially those that participate in immune responses, communicate with each other via chemical mediators known as cytokines. Cytokines act as chemical messages. Cytokines produced by one cell type can bind to molecules (receptors) on the surface of other types of cells. This binding triggers a response in the recipient cells. Thus, it should not come as too much of a surprise to learn that bacterial cells are also capable of communicating with each other. The phenomenon is known as quorum sensing or QS. The best studied bacteria capable of QS are Vibrio fischeri, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacteria that use QS produce and secrete signaling molecules called autoinducers or pheromones. When an autoinducer produced by one cell binds to a receptor on the surface of another cell, it activates transcription of certain genes in the recipient cell. Bacteria use QS to coordinate certain behaviors within a bacterial population. Some scientists use the term QS to describe the phenomenon whereby the accumulation of signaling molecules enables a single cell to sense the number of bacteria (cell density) in its environment. Different bacterial species use different molecules to communicate. There is some evidence that different bacterial species can communicate with each other referred to as QS cross talk. QS cross talk occurs in mixed species populations such as biofilms. Some of the consequences of QS are (1) enabling the bacterial population to adapt to the availability of nutrients, (2) enabling avoidance of potentially dangerous toxic compounds, and (3) coordination of virulence factors and avoidance of immune responses in a host.

Increase Your Knowledge

1. Learn more about symbiotic relationships at: www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/S/symbiosis.html Watch the video on symbiotic relationships at: www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=42a05642a667959c1223 Learn more about the nature of host-parasite relationships at: www.textbookofbacteriology.net/NHPR.html

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Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

4. Visit the J. Craig Venter Institute web site (www.jcvi.org) to learn about The Human Microbiome Project. The human microbiome consists of the trillions of microorganisms that reside in or on the human body (referred to in the book as our indigenous microflora), as well as all their DNA, or genomes. The Human Microbiome Project is exploring how our bodies and the human microbiome interact to influence health and disease. Samples are currently being collected by the Human Microbiome Project from five areas of the bodies of healthy human volunteers: the digestive tract, the mouth, the skin, the nose and the vagina.

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Watch the video on biofilms at: www.learner.org/courses/biology/archive/animations/hires/a_microb2_h.html

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To learn more about quorum sensing, see: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707093619.htm

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View nitrogen cycle animations at: www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/tlw3/eBridge/Chp29/animations/ch29/1_nitrogen_cycle.s wf Read the PDF file on microbes and biotechnology at: www.agwest.sk.ca/publications/infosource/inf_jun98.pdf Learn more about biotechnology at: www.biotechinstitute.org/what_is/

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10. Check out this great resource on biotechnology that includes information for students, teachers, technicians, and industry: www.bio-link.org/

Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Critical Thinking
1. A friend of yours has been taking an antibacterial agent to cure an ear infection. Suddenly, she develops yeast vaginitis. Explain to her why this has occurred. Use the library or Internet to research additional factors that can alter vaginal pH or the microbial composition of vaginal flora, leading to conditions such as bacterial vaginosis (BV) and yeast vaginitis. Be prepared to discuss your findings. Youve probably heard that farmers rotate their crops. One year they will plant a cash crop (e.g., corn), and the next year they will plant alfalfa or clover in that field. Why do they do that? Include the role of microorganisms in your answer.

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Answers to the Chapter 10 Self-Assessment Exercises in the Text

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. D A D A A B C A D C

Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Additional Chapter 10 Self-Assessment Exercises

(Note: Dont peek at the answers before you attempt to solve these self-assessment exercises.) Matching Questions A. B. C. D. E. commensalism mutualism neutralism parasitism synergism _____ 1. When two microorganisms occupying the same environmental niche have absolutely no effect on each other, it is known as _______________. Bacterial vaginosis is an example of _______________. _______________ is a symbiotic relationship of benefit to one of the symbionts, but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other. _______________ is a symbiotic relationship of benefit to one of the symbionts, and detrimental to the other. A lichen is a classic example of _______________. In the nitrogen cycle, bacteria called _______________ convert atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonia in the soil. _______________ live in the root nodules of legumes such as alfalfa and clover. _______________ are capable of converting the nitrogen within a dead plant or animal into ammonia in the soil. In the nitrogen cycle, soil organisms called _______________ convert ammonia into nitrites, and nitrites into nitrates. In the nitrogen cycle, soil organisms called _______________ convert the nitrogen in nitrates to nitrogen gas in the atmosphere.

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cyanobacteria denitrifying bacteria nitrifying bacteria nitrogen-fixing bacteria saprophytes

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Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

True/False Questions _____ 1. No microorganisms are able to live in the stomach, owing to the extremely low pH of the stomach contents. Microbial communities known as biofilms are interesting, but they have no medical significance. Microorganisms are unable to live in the colon because of the lack of oxygen there. Some of the bacteria used in bioremediation are naturally occurring, but others have been genetically engineered. Many of the members of our indigenous microflora have the potential to cause disease. There could be as many as 100 trillion microorganisms that live on us and in us. The most common organisms in the indigenous microflora of the mouth are various species of -hemolytic streptococci. Microbes cause thousands of different types of plant diseases. Most relationships between humans and microbes are beneficial rather than harmful. Beneficial microorganisms far outnumber harmful ones.

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Chapter 10: Microbial Ecology and Microbial Biotechnology

Answers to the Additional Chapter 10 Self-Assessment Exercises

Matching Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. C E A D B D D E C B

True/False Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. False (the bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, is able to live in the stomach) False (certain types of biofilms do have medical significance) False (many different types of microorganisms live in the colon) True True True False (-hemolytic streptococci, not -hemolytic streptococci) True True True