Bacteria in Nature Read the PPT and answer

Bacteria in Nature Read the PPT and answer the questions that follow.

Beneficial Bacteria When you hear the word bacteria, you might think of illness. Not all bacteria cause disease. Most bacteria are beneficial, or helpful. Many organisms, including humans depend on bacteria to survive. v Some bacteria that live in your intestines help you digest food. v Another type of bacteria found in the human body produces vitamin K, which helps your blood to clot. v Other bacteria living in your intestines prevent harmful bacteria from growing. 2 3/3/2021

Decomposition v Decomposition is an important process in nature which is the breaking down of dead organisms and organic waste. v When a tree dies, bacteria and other organisms called decomposers feed on the dead organic matter. v As decomposers break down the tree, they release molecules such as carbon and phosphorus into the soil. v Other organism take in these molecules and use them for life processes. 3 3/3/2021

Nitrogen Fixation v. Organisms use nitrogen to make proteins. v. About 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen but is in a form that plants and animals cannot use. v. Some plants get nitrogen from bacteria in a process called nitrogen fixation. v. Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen compounds that are usable by living things. v. Nitrogen fixation takes place in nodules, which are special structures on the roots of plants. v. Bacteria in this nodules change nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form that plants can use. 4 3/3/2021

Nitrogen Fixation 5 3/3/2021

• Bioremediation is the use of organisms, such as bacteria, to clean up the environmental pollution. • These types of organisms break down sewage and other harmful substances into less harmful materials. • These broken-down substances can be used in landfills or fertilizers. • These bacteria can break down substances that would otherwise take centuries to breakdown. 6 3/3/2021 Bioremediation https: //www. scientificamerican. com/articl e/how-microbes-helped-clean-bp-s-oilspill/

Bacteria and Food v Certain foods are made with the help of bacteria. v Pickles are made when bacteria change the sugar in cucumbers into an acid. v Bacteria are used to make foods such as yogurt, cheese, buttermilk, vinegar, and soy sauce. v Bacteria are also used to make chocolate. Bacteria help break down the covering of the cocoa bean and bacteria give chocolate some of its flavor. 7 3/3/2021

• Harmful Bacteria • • Streptococcus pneumoniae 8 3/3/2021 Of the 5, 000 species of bacteria, very few are considered to be pathogens. A pathogen are agents that cause disease. Some pathogens live in your body but make you sick only when your immune system becomes weak. The bacterium, Streptococcus pneumonia lives in your throat. It can cause pneumonia if your immune system becomes weakened. Other pathogens can enter your body a cut, in the air you breathe, or in the food you eat. Once inside your body, they can reproduce and cause disease.

Treating Bacterial Diseases v Most bacterial diseases can be treated with antibiotics. v Antibiotics are medicines that stop the growth and reproduction of bacteria. v Many antibiotics work by keeping bacteria from building cell walls. v Others affect ribosomes in bacteria from producing proteins. v Many types of bacteria have developed a resistance to antibiotics which means that the antibiotics no longer stop the growth and reproduction of these bacteria. v Some diseases , such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and meningitis are now harder to treat. 9 3/3/2021

Food Poisoning v All untreated or unprocessed food contains bacteria. v Over time, these bacteria reproduce and break down the food causing it to spoil. v Eating food that is contaminated by some bacteria can cause food poisoning. v Proper treatment or processing of food before the food is stored or eaten kills most bacteria. v Pasteurization is the process of heating food to a temperature that kills most harmful bacteria. v Foods such as milk, ice cream, yogurt, and fruit juice are pasteurized in factories and then sent to your local grocery store. 10 3/3/2021