Microbes
Firstly microbes are seen as harmful, disease and disease-causing, but in the real sense, only a few bacteria are dangerous (Dussud, Hudec, George, Fabre, Higgs, Bruzaud, & Cheng, 2018). The majority of the bacteria are good, and without then, life on earth would be impossible. Notably, bacteria help in degrading dead animals and plants hence bringing valuable nutrients back to the earth (Dussud et al., 2018). Moreover, some bacteria help in cleaning harmful pollutants out of the environment through bioremediation. Through remediation, heavy metals and petroleum become less harmful to the environment. Therefore, a microbe can be used in various ways that are helpful and can improve the environment. For instance, I would use microbes to produce fermented food in the beer and wine industry. For example, I would use yeast to produce beer and wine and for leavening bread (Todar, 2020). I would also use lactic acid in making yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, and other fermented milk products.
Marine algae can digest plastic with the help of bacterial enzymes (Dussud et al., 2018). The enzyme helps the marine algae to degrade plastic material in saline waters. Green algae in the sea waters are autotrophs. That is, they create their energy and nutrients through photosynthesis. Marine algae (microalgae) are either prokaryotic or eukaryotic microorganisms that grow through photosynthesis (Zullaikah, Utomo, Yasmin, Ong, & Ju, 2019). Algae have a simple cell structure, and they need light, carbon IV oxide, and water for their growth (Zullaikah et al., 2019). Hence, carbon IV oxide is the main carbon source of microalgae cell development. However, to reduce the cost of carbon IV oxide, the flue gas can be used as an alternative source of carbon (Zullaikah et al., 2019).
Notably, plastics are widely used material in the world. Excessive use of plastics can cause environmental pollutions. However, some bacterial enzymes (Such as enzyme ISF6_4831) are known to degrade the plastics naturally. ISF6_4831 (bacterial enzyme) coverts the polythene terephthalate into the immediate product. Moreover, ISF6_O224 converts PET to harmless terephthalic acid and glycol remains (SCIENCE, 2020). Therefore, the presence of microbes can help save the planet. One thing that I am doing to save the planet is collecting all plastics and taking them for recycling. This helps from littering the environment with inorganic materials. The recycling process converts inorganic plastics into bio-gradable materials (SCIENCE, 2020).
References
Zullaikah, S., Utomo, A. T., Yasmin, M., Ong, L. K., & Ju, Y. H. (2019). Ecofuel conversion technology of inedible lipid feedstocks to renewable fuel. In Advances in Eco-Fuels for a Sustainable Environment (pp. 237-276). Woodhead Publishing
Todar, K. (2020).The Impact of Microbes on the Environment and Human Activities. http://textbookofbacteriology.net/Impact_2.html
Dussud, C., Hudec, C., George, M., Fabre, P., Higgs, P., Bruzaud, S., … & Cheng, J. (2018). Colonization of non-biodegradable and biodegradable plastics by marine microorganisms. Frontiers in microbiology, 9, 1571.
SCIENCE. (2020). Can microorganisms solve our plastic waste problem?
https://www.dw.com/en/can-microorganisms-solve-our-plastic-waste-problem/a-53258985#:~:text=Japanese%20researchers%20from%20the%20Kyoto,bacterium%20Ideonella%20sakaisensis%20201%2DF6.