Microbes in human welfare Microbes are a very important component of life on earth. we use microbes and microbially derived products almost every day, like LAB to make curd, yeast to make bread, adding flavor and texture to cheese, producing antibiotics etc. The addition of LAB, improves the milk quality by increasing vit. B12. Cheese is one of the oldest food items in which microbes are used. For example, large holes in Swiss cheese are due to CO2 produced by the bacterium Propionibacterium sharmanii. The BOD test measures the rate of uptake of oxygen by microorganisms in a sample of water and thus, indirectly, BOD is a measure of the organic matter present in the water. The greater the BOD of waste water, the more is its polluting potential. In anaerobic sludge digesters, bacteria produce a mixture of gases like methane, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide. These gases form biogas and can be used as a source of energy. Biofertilisers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of the soil. The main sources of biofertilisers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria. You have studied about the nodules on the roots of leguminous plants formed by the symbiotic association of Rhizobium. These bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen into organic forms, which is used by the plant as a nutrient. Other bacteria can fix atmospheric nitrogen while free-living in the soil (examples Azospirillum and Azotobacter).
BOD refers to the -

1. A Amount of the oxygen that would be released if all the organic matter in one liter of water were reduced by bacteria.
2. B Amount of the oxygen that would be consumed if all the organic matter in one liter of water were reduced by bacteria.
3. C Amount of the oxygen that would be released if all the organic matter in one liter of water were oxidised by bacteria.
4. D Amount of the oxygen that would be consumed if all the organic matter in one liter of water were oxidised by bacteria.