CONSERVATION OF FLORA AND FAUNA

                CONSERVATION OF FLORA AND FAUNA

The need for conservation of wildlife in India is often questioned because of the apparently incorrect priority in the face of dire poverty of the people. However Article 48 of the Constitution of India specifies that "the state shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country" and Article 51-A states that "it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures."
Large and charismatic mammals are important for wildlife tourism in India and several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cater to these needs. Project Tiger started in 1972 is a major effort to conserve the tiger and its habitats. At the turn of the 20th century, one estimate of the tiger population in India placed the figure at 40,000, yet an Indian tiger census conducted in 1972 revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. Various pressures in the later part of the 20th century led to the progressive decline of wilderness resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats.
Conservation projects have been established to preserve them, but for some species, such as the Indian cheetah, protection has come too late - the Indian cheetah was last seen in 1948.

Also the people should be well educated about the importance of flora and fauna .Awareness should be created regarding the consequences of depletion of flora and fauna.
hence it is the duty of each and every citizen to conserve flora and fauna.

TYPES OF MICROORGANISMS

            TYPES OF MICROORGANISMS

Bacteria

All bacteria are unicellular prokaryotes, meaning they do not have a defined cellular nucleus. Their genetic information is in their nucleoid, - single, circular tightly- packed DNA molecule. According to their shape, all bacteria are divided into three groups:

• spirilla (with a spiral body shape);
• cocci (with a spherical body shape);
• bacillus ( with a rod (stick) shaped body).

Some types of bacteria live on their own and others form colonies. Some bacteria are quite mobile and others 'stay put' for their whole life. Bacteria move using their cytoplasmic tail - flagella, or by secreting slimy substances that allow them to slide along surfaces.

The cell walls of most bacteria contain a polysaccharide called peptidoglycan. Differences in their cell wall structure is a major feature used in classifying these organisms. The staining abilities of bacteria are also based on their cell wall structure. According to the way they stain, bacteria can be classified as either Gram - positive or Gram - negative.

CYANOBACTERIA

Cyanobacteria are aquatic, photosynthetic organisms. They can be unicellular or colonial. Cyanobacteria are sometimes called blue-green algae. Like other plants, they make their energy through photosynthesis, but besides that, they do not have anything in common with plants. Millions of years ago, the atmospheric oxygen that we depend on was generated by cyanobacteria. Most cyanobacteria live in water, damp soil and rocks

.

PROTOZOA

Protozoa is a sub kingdom of unicellular, mostly aerobic, eukaryotic organisms. Sometimes they are also called protists. They are neither plants nor animals. They make up the largest group of organisms in the world in terms of numbers and biomass. Some protozoans, like Euglena, have chloroplasts like plants and make their own food, which makes them autotrophs. Others, like amoeba, are heterotrophs. Protozoans can be free-living or parasitic, unicellular or colonial. Some parasitic protozoans can cause diseases in humans. Protozoans move around using their flagella or pseudopodia - cytoplasmic temporary 'feet'.

Because heterotrophic protozans consume bacteria, they play a very important role in controlling biomass

Viruses

Although viruses are not considered living organisms, they are sometimes classified as microorganisms. Viruses are much smaller than common microbes. They are made of a DNA molecule covered with a protein shell called a capsid. Retroviruses are made of an RNA molecule covered with a capsid. Capsids can take many shapes. Viruses cannot reproduce outside the host cell, but they cannot be called parasites either. Scientists still argue today about whether viruses are true living forms because they are not cells and they cannot metabolise on their own.

MICROORGANISMS - THEIR USE IN BEVERAGE & BAKING INDUSTRY

MICROORGANISMS AND THEIR 

 USE IN BAKING AND BEVERAGE 

INDUSTRY

THERE are thousands of different types of organisms present in air, soil and water and also in food and digestive system of human beings and  animal. Fortunately majority is beneficial for us like in food industry where it is used in making of dairy products,wines and different beverages and bakery products etc. on the other hand unwanted spoilage of food is generally caused by microorganism and contamination of food with pathogens causes food safety problem.
In food industry, enzyme has been used to produce and to increase the quality and the diversity of food. Some examples of products that use enzyme are cheese, yoghurt, bread syrup etc.

MICROORGANISMS- FRIENDS OR FOES

WHAT ARE MICROORGANISMS??

A microorganism  is a microscopic organism, which may be a SINGLE CELL^1] or MULTI CELLULAR ORGANISM The study of microorganisms is called microbiology, a subject that began with Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of microorganisms in 1675, using a microscope of his own design.

Microorganisms are very diverse and include all the bacteria ,viruses  and almost all the protozoans. They also include some members of the fungi and algae.

microorganisms -friends or foes??

Microorganisms play an important role in our lives. Some of them are beneficial in many ways whereas some 

others are harmful and cause diseases

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MICROORGANISMS AS FRIENDS

Commensals

Some microorganisms live inside our body. They help in certain functions of our bdoy systems. For example some bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract help in digestion. These type of organisms which reside in our body and are beneficial as well are called commensals.

Commercial Use of Microorganisms:

Microorganisms are used for the large scale production of alcohol, wine and acetic acid (vinegar). Yeast is used  for commecial production of alcohol and wine. For this purpose yeast is grown on natural sugars present in grains like barley, wheat, rice and crushed fruit juices, etc.                                                                                 

Medicinal Use of Microorganisms

Whenever we fall ill the doctor may give us some antibiotic tablets, capsules or injections such as of penicillin. The source of these medicines is microorganisms. These medicines kill or stop the growth of the disease-causing microorganisms. Such medicines are called antibiotics. These days a number of antibiotics are being produced from bacteria and fungi. Streptomycin, tetracycline and erythromycin are some of the commonly known antibiotics which are made from fungi and bacteria. The antibiotics are manufactured by growing specific microorganisms and are used to cure a variety of diseases. Antibiotics are even mixed with the feed of livestock and poultry to check microbial infection in animals. They are also used to control many plant diseases.

Vaccine

When a disease-carrying microbe enters our body, the body produces antibodies to fight the invader. The body also remembers how to fight the microbe if it enters again. So, if dead or weakened microbes are introduced in a healthy body, the body fights and kills them by producing suitable antibodies. The antibodies remain in the body and we are protected from the disease causing microbes. This is how a vaccine works. Several diseases, including cholera, tuberculosis, smallpox and hepatitis can be prevented by vaccination.

Increasing Soil Fertility

Some bacteria and blue green algae are able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere to enrich soil with nitrogen and increase its fertility. These microbes are commonly called biological nitrogen fixers.

MICROORGANISMS AS FOES

Harmful Microorganisms

Microorganisms are harmful in many ways. Some of the microorganisms cause diseases in human beings, plants and animals. Such disease-causing microorganisms are called pathogens. Some microorganisms spoil food, clothing and leather.

Disease— causing Microorganisms in Humans

Pathogens enter our body through the air we breathe, the water we drink or the food we eat. They can also get transmitted by direct contact with an infected person or carried through an animal. Microbial diseases that can spread from an infected person to a healthy person through air, water, food or physical contact are called communicable diseases. Examples of such diseases include cholera, common cold, chicken pox and tuberculosis.

There are some insects and animals which act as carriers of disease causing microbes. Housefly is one such carrier. The flies sit on the garbage and animal excreta. Pathogens stick to their bodies. When these flies sit on uncovered food they may transfer the pathogens. Whoever eats the contaminated food is likely to get sick. Another example of a carrier is the female Anopheles mosquito, which carries the parasite of malaria. Female Aedes mosquito acts as carrier of dengue virus.

Some Common Human Diseases caused by Microorganisms

Disease— causing Microorganisms in Animals

Several microorganisms not only cause diseases in humans and plants, but also in other animals. For example, anthrax is a dangerous human and cattle disease caused by a bacterium. Foot and mouth disease of cattle is caused by a virus.

Disease— causing Microorganisms in Plants

Several microorganisms cause diseases in plants like wheat, rice, potato, sugarcane, orange, apple and others. The diseases reduce the yield of crops. They can be controlled by the use of certain chemicals which kill the microbes.

Food Poisoning

Food poisoning could be due to the consumption of food spoilt by some microorganisms. Microorganisms that grow on our food sometimes produce toxic substances. These make the food poisonous causing serious illness and even death. So, it is very important that we preserve food to prevent it from being spoilt.

Food Preservation

Microorganisms spoil our food. Spoiled food emits bad smell and has a bad taste and changed colour.

CONCLUSION 

 AT LAST IT CAN BE CONCLUDED THAT MICROORGANISMS ARE OUR FRIENDS AS WELL AS OUR FOES TOO.

NUCLEUS IS KNOWN AS THE BRAIN OF THE CELL

NUCLEUS

NUCLEUS IS KNOWN AS THE CONTROL CENTER OF THE THE BRAIN

NUCLEUS contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes.The function of the nucleus is to maintain the integrity of these genes and to control the activities of the cell by regulating the cell's activities — the nucleus is, therefore,  called the control center or the brain of the cell. 

The main structures making up the nucleus are the nuclear envelope, a double membrane that encloses the entire organelle and isolates its contents from the cellular cytoplasm, and the nucleo skeleton , a network within the nucleus that adds mechanical support, much like the cytoskeleton, which supports the cell as a whole.

CELL-THE BASIC STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF LIVING ORGANISMS

                 CELL- A BASIC STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL               CELL-THE BASIC STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF LIFE

CELL

THERE IS A LARGE VARIETY OF ORGANISMS ON THIS EARTH THEY ARE ALL DISTINCT IN THEIR FORM AND STRUCTURE,YET THEY ALL POSSESS SIMILARITY IN THEIR BASIC STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS.JUST AS A BUILDING IS MADE UP OF BRICKS SIMILARLY ,THE BODIES OF ALL PLANTS AND ANIMALS ARE MADE UP OF CELLS.

CELL IS KNOWN AS THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE AS ALL TE LIVING ORGANISMS ARE MADE UP OF CELLS. 

CELL IS CALLED THE FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF LIFE AS ALL TE FUNCTIONS LIKE RESPIRATION,EXCRETION ETC. ARE  PERFORMED BY ALL THE CELLS FOR THE  SURVIVAL OF ALL ORGANISMS.