Microbes

The sulfur cycle is the collection of processes by which sulfur moves between rocks, waterways and living systems. Such biogeochemical cycles are important in geology because they affect many minerals. Biochemical cycles are also important for life because sulfur is an essential element, being a constituent of many proteins and cofactors, and sulfur compounds can be used as oxidants or reductants in …

Rickettsias are mainly known for their disease-causing capability. These micro-organisms can cause a great variety of diseases in different flora and fauna; especially in human. Rickettsiosis is a disease caused by intracellular bacteria. It’s a type of infectious disease. Rickettsiosis can be divided mainly in two groups: Spotted fever group …

The Winogradsky column is a simple device for culturing a large diversity of microorganisms. Invented in the 1880s by Sergei Winogradsky, the device is a column of pond mud and water mixed with a carbon source such as newspaper (containing cellulose), blackened marshmallows or egg-shells (containing calcium carbonate), and a …

Nitrogen fixation is a process by which molecular nitrogen in the air is converted into ammonia (NH3) or related nitrogenous compounds in soil. Atmospheric nitrogen is a relatively nonreactive molecule that is metabolically useless to all but a few microorganisms. Biological nitrogen fixation converts N2 into ammonia, which is metabolized by …

The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and …

Positive and negative interactions take place not only between microbes but also between microbes and plants. The rhizosphere is a zone of predominantly commensal and mutualistic interactions þetween microbes and plants. Plant roots provide such suitable habitats for the growth of microorganisms that high numbers of different microbial populations are …

Organisms living together in a community influence each other directly or indirectly under natural condition. All vital process of living such as growth, nutrition, reproduction required interactions between individuals of same species, or between species which are inter- and intra-related. Such relationships of individuals in a population of an ecosystem …

Distribution of Microbes in Air No microbes are indigenous to the atmosphere rather they represent allochthonous populations transported from aquatic and terrestrial habitats into the atmosphere. Microbes of air within 300-1,000 or more feet of the earth’s surface are the organisms of soil that have become attached to fragments of …

Aeromicrobiology is the study of living microbes which are suspended in the air. These microbes are referred to as bioaerosols. Though there are significantly less atmospheric microorganisms than there are in oceans and in soil, there is still a large enough number that they can affect the atmosphere (like they …

When we heard about bacteria the first thing that came to our mind is that it must be harmful for us. And it’s  very common because the word”bacteria” generally indicates some sort of disease and is likely to repulse and scare we off. Scientists estimate that only 1-10% of total …