Importance of Useful Microorganisms

Useful organisms are beneficial for human beings, industries and ecosystem and some of the importance are listed below:

Organisms in Agriculture

• Pollination: Bees, butterflies and other insects are useful in cross pollination for reproduction.
• Biocontrol: Fungi and bacteria synthesized secondary metabolites which are useful in biocontrol of phytopathogens.
• Plant growth promotion: Metabolites and hormones produced by plant growth promoting bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi aid in plant growth.

Environmental Application

• Nutrient recycling: Microorganism like bacteria helps in nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, metal chelation thus helping in nutrient recycling.
• Bioremediation: Fungi and bacteria are capable to remediate heavy metal contaminated soil, waste water and pesticides etc. by secreting several enzymes.

Human Health

• Antibiotic production: Genus Streptomyces and Penicillium are greatly used for the production of antibiotics which can inhibit or kill pathogens.
• Probiotics: Probiotic organisms are known as generally regarded as safe (GRAS) because these bacteria are helpful for gut immunity.

Biotechnology

• Genetic engineering: Bacterial species are employed for genetic engineering to produce the enzymes on large scale.
• Industrial use: Microorganism which can produce bioethanol, biodiesel are used in industries for their production.

Production of Food

Fermentation: Bacteria and fungi are greatly used in fermentation industries for the production of cheese, curd, wine, kimchi, breads and other fermented foods.

Useful microorganisms are those which are beneficial for human beings and the environment. These types of organisms aid in the fields of agriculture, medicine, environmental settings, etc. Useful organisms are classified into various types such as plants, pests, animals, fungi, viruses, bacteria, algae, protozoa, insects, nematodes, and mycorrhizal fungi. These useful organisms help plants to grow in adverse environments.

Bacteria and fungi secrete some metabolites to inhibit pathogens, they also control pests, and some fungi are used to synthesize antibiotics, etc. In this article, we will discuss useful organisms, their types, examples, functions, and importance.

Define Microorganisms

Microscopic living organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye, such organism are know as microorganism or microbes.