Some of the major beneficial activities of bacteria are as follows: Role in Nature: 1. Nature's Scavengers: Bacteria decompose organic matter, by decay and putrefaction, to keep our earth clean. Decay is the aerobic decomposition of organic matter without the release of foul smell, while putrefaction is the anaerobic decomposition of organic compounds with the release of foul smell (NH3, [...]
Read this article to learn about 8 Significant Properties of Bacteria ! 1. Shape (forms) of Bacteria: On the basis of shape, bacteria are of following types- cocci (spherical), bacilli (rod-shaped), vibrios (comma-shaped), spirilla (rigid spiral form), spirochete (flexuous spiral form), mycelia (branched filamentous), pleomorphic (variable shape and size) and stalked (Fig. 11.1). 2. Size of bacteria: The size of [...]
Some of the major harmful activities of bacteria are as follows: 1. Food poisoning 2. Spoilage of food 3. Destruction of domestic articles 4. Reduction of Soil fertility 5. Denitrification 6. Biowar/Bioterrorism. 1. Food poisoning: Bacterial toxins present in food causes food poisoning. This leads into nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort diarrhea and even death. The food poisoning bacteria are Clostridium [...]