What are the major impact of microorganisms on the cycle of matter?
Microorganisms
play an important role for the benefits of agriculture by the cycling of
nutrients. For example, a greater portion of major crop plants are legumes. Bacteria
and Legumes have the close relation and live together that form structures
called nodules on their roots. Bacteria that stay in the root nodules convert
atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3) that the plants consume as a
nitrogen source for growth and development.
On
the other hand, some other bacteria cycle sulfur compounds, oxidizing toxic
sulfur species such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) into sulfate (SO42-), which is considered
as a necessary plant nutrient for plant growth.
Microorganisms
that inhabit in the ruminant animals (cattle and sheep) have major agricultural
importance. Ruminant animals have a special digestive vessel called the rumen
in which large populations of microorganisms digest and ferment cellulose at
neutral pH. Cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls. In the
absence of these symbiotic microorganisms, cattle and sheep could not digest on
cellulose-rich food materials, such as grass and hay.
Beside
the positive impact, microorganisms can also, of course, have negative effects
on plants and animals. For example, every year we experience a huge economic
loss in the agricultural sector causing microbial disease. In some cases a severe
human illness can happen due to having contaminated food product. This particular
scenario can be seen when pathogenic Escherichia coli or Salmonella is
transmitted from infected meat, or when contaminated fresh fruits and
vegetables are mixed with microbial pathogens. So it can be said that,
microorganisms have both positive and negative impact in the agriculture
industry.
Written by:
Md. Rayhan
Mahmud
Research Student, Department of Ecology and Population Genetics
University
of Oulu, Finland
M.Sc. in
Microbiology, Jagannath University, Bangladesh
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