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07 Microbial Ecology

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12 views45 pages

07 Microbial Ecology

Uploaded by

thuy36030
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Microbial Ecology

Microbial Ecology- Definition

Study of interactions among microorganisms and their


environments
Environment includes both abiotic (non-living) and
biotic (living) components.
Abiotic: temperature, pH, oxygen, nutrients, ect.
Biotic: organisms
 Microbes interact with each other
 Microbes interact with others (animals, plants,
Humans)
Environmental Effects on Microbial Growth

Growth of micro-organisms is strongly influenced by a


number of factors in their environment
Key factors
– Temperature
– pH
–osmotic pressure
– Oxygen
– Nutrients
Biological definition of Organismal
interactions
 Symbiosis: a relationship between two
different species
 Parasitism: in which one organism (the
parasite) benefits (get nutrients) and the other
(the host) is harmed.
 Mutualism: both partners benefit
 Commensalisms: one benefits more, the other
is not significantly harmed or helped.
Name these following
relationships:
Lichen= Alga+
fungus
French Oak (Quercus
ilex) And Périgord
truffle (Tuber
melanosporum)
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/
interviews/interview/1862/
Acetobacter oxydans produces fructose by
oxidising mannitol; in turn, a species such as
Saccharomyces carlsbergensis that can
metabolize fructose, but cannot metabolize
mannitol
Fungus:
Saprolegnia sp
Effects of Microorganims on
Environment
 Microbes are adapted to their environment
 But microbes can change the environment
 Fermenting bacteria maintain low pH for themselves
 Ecological succession
 Aerobic bacteria use up O2, anaerobes begin to grow
 Degradation in compost raises temperature; thermophiles
take over
 Fermentation lowers pH
Culture-
Depende
nt
Analyses
of
Microbial
Communi
ties
Staining
methods
Biogeochemical cycles
 Matter can neither be created or destroyed
 A constant amount of matter in the
environment must be recycled
 Microbes are essential in the conversion of
nutrients into organic and usable formats
 Microbes are essential in the conversion of
nutrients into the inorganic form
The Biogeochemical cycles
The carbon cycle
 Photoautotrophs
 Chemoautorophs
Both convert inorganic forms of carbon into organic
forms using external sources of energy
Chemoheterotrophs release
 Inorganic form of carbon (CO2) to complete
the cycle.
 Non living sinks include CaCO3 and fossil
fuels
The carbon cycle
CO2 fixation Org.cpd. Anaerobic
Organic respiration and
(phototrophic compound
fermentation
bacteria) (anaerobes)

Methanogenic
Anaerobic prokaryotes
CO2 CH4 CO2
Aerobic Methane-oxidizing
prokaryotes
CO2 fixation
Respiration (cyanobacteria,
algae, plants, and
(animals, plants,
chemoautotrophic
and m.o.)
Org.cpd. prokaryotes)
The nitrogen cycle
 Microbes decompose proteins form dead
cells and release amino acids
 Ammonia is liberated by microbial
ammonification of amino acids
 Ammonia is oxidized to produce nitrates for
energy by nitrifying bacteria
 Denitrifying bacteria reduce nitrogen in nitrates
to molecular nitrogen
 N2 is converted into ammonia by nitrogen fixing
bacteria
 Ammonium and nitrate are used by bacteria
and plants to synthesize amino acids
Sulfur cycle
 Plants and certain microbes can use SO4 2- to
make amino acids
 H2S is oxidized to form SO42-
Sulfur cycle
Sulfur Cycle

Microbial decomposition
Proteins and waste products Amino acids

Microbial dissimilation
Amino acids (–SH) H2S

Thiobacillus
H2S SO42– (for energy, by respiration)

Microbial & plant assimilation


SO4
2–
Amino acids
Sulfur cycle
Beggiatoa
sulfate Thiothrix
assimilation R-SH
So Thiobacillus
(some procaryotes)

sulfate
assimilation
desulfurylation Aerobic
R-SH H 2S SO42- R-SH
Anaerobic

Chromatium Dissimilatory
sulfate reduction
Chlorobium Chromatium
Desulfovibrio Chlorobium
S2O32-
So
The Phosphorous Cycle
Phosphorus
cycle
Higher phytoplankton
bacteria zooplankton
plant

Dissolved
org. -P
Precipitated
Dissolved
inorg.-P
org.-P

Sediment
The Phosphorus Cycle
 Inorganic phosphorus is solubilized by
microbial acids, made available to plants and
other microbes
 Combines with calcium in calcium phosphate
deposits of ancient seas.

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