Viroid A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Most viruses are too small to be seen directly with a light microscope. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea. Since the initial discovery of tobacco mosaic virus by Martinus […]

Utility Biosensors for applications in Agriculture in Food/Fruit Quality Control Quality control is the essential part of a food industry and efficient quality assurance is becoming increasingly important. Consumers expect good quality and healthy food at a given price; with good shelf life and high safety while food inspections require good manufacturing practices, safety, labelling […]

Soil Microbiology: Microbial Groups in Soil The field of soil microbiology was explored during the very last part of 19th century. The establishment of the principal roles that microorganisms play in the biologically important cycles of matter on earth: the cycles of nitrogen, sulphur and carbon was largely the work of two men, S. Winogradsky […]

Types of infection Viruses in animal cells show a variety of infection patterns: • Lytic infection: destroys host cells. • Persistent infection: host cell continues to shed virus over long time. Cell gradually becomes recognizably poorer (recognized as cytopathic effect, or CPE), eventually “crumps out”. • Transformation: infection by certain viruses causes cells to change, […]

Protection Against Infections The control of microbial growth is necessary in many practical situations, and significant advances in agriculture, medicine, and food science have been made through study of this area of microbiology. The microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature. In order to study the nature and characteristics of a particular microbe, it is essential to […]

Protection Against Infections – II I. PHYSICAL AGENTS There are different types of physical agents. (i) Heat: The heat employed for removal of micro-organisms varied with the nature of object and also depend on the purpose. Based on these different processes are employed. (a) Moist heat It is the widely used effective means of sterilization […]

Principles of Food Preservation A good method of food preservation is one that slows down or prevents altogether the action of the agents of spoilage. Also, during the process of food preservation, the food should not be damaged. In order to achieve this, certain basic methods were applied on different types of foods. For example […]

Preservation by Using Chemicals A preservative is defined as only substance which is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the growth of microorganisms. Microbial spoilage of food products is also controlled by using chemical preservatives. The inhibitory action of preservatives is due to their interfering with the mechanism of cell division, permeability of cell membrane […]

Plant – Microbe Interactions Plant -Microbe symbioses Many microbes (bacteria, fungi) have important symbioses with plants Rhizosphere= thin layer of soil immediately attached to root hairs of plants. Typically contains 109 microbes/g of soil. Many rhizosphere organisms are ectosymbionts, living outside the roots. Others are endosymbionts, living inside or penetrating into plant roots. Many of […]

Microbiology of Food: Microbial Spoilage Microbial Spoilage of Fresh Food Food is said to be spoilt if there is rotting i.e., bad smell, fermentation i.e., bubbles/gas in the food or mold ie, spongy growth on the food stuff. Formation of soft spots or soft brown spots on fruits and vegetables is also food spoilage. Foods […]