Roles of Microbes in the Ecosystem

ROLES OF MICROBES IN THE ECOSYSTEM
Name:
Institution:
Date:
Microbes also called microorganisms are microscopic in nature either a single cell or multiple cells in component. Sir. Van Leeuwenhoek was among the first group of people took time to study microbes in 1675 in a subject known as microbiology. The study revealed that microbes are one of the oldest living things in the world. They include bacteria, viruses and fungi, which without them human cannot survive. This module will discuss e-coli as an example and its role in the ecosystem (Casali, 2003).
E-COLI are a gram negative bacteria non transforming, rod shaped often motile in form of flagella. A study done in USA shown that a big number of Americans come into contact with the bacterium directly through food and other dietary factors. It’s a bacterium capable of causing disease in human and can prove fatal in some individuals after ingestion. Microbiologists define it as an enterobactericiea meaning its normal habitat is in the gastrointestinal system. It can also be found in contaminated water and food.
During the 20th century, e-coli have been used as an indicator of fecal pollution in both temperate and tropic countries.Uncotrolled sewage lines are likely to contain large number of the bacteria and a primary source of contamination .Majority of strains however stay in the human gut without causing symptoms of disease. Virulent strains of e-coli are responsible for causing gastro intestinal, urinary tract complications and neonatal meningitis. Also responsible for hemolytic uremic syndrome, mastitis and gram negative pneumonia. In May 2011, e-coli was the main cause of disease outbreak in Germay.Certain strains of e-coli are the source of food borne diseases (Lee, 2009).
Role as a normal micro biota: within 48 hours after birth, e-coli colonizes the human gastrointestinal tract usually from food and water arriving in the gut. It adhears in the mucus of the large intest...