Bacteria live everywhere: on land and on water, underground and under water, in the air, in the bodies of other creatures of nature. So, for example, in the body of a healthy adult representative of the human race, more than 10 thousand types of microorganisms live, and their total mass is from 1 to 3 percent of the total weight of a person. Some microscopic creatures use organics as food. Among them, a significant place is taken by rotting bacteria. They destroy the remains of the dead bodies of animals and plants, eating this material.
Natural process
The decomposition of organic matter is a natural process and also mandatory, as if clearly planned by nature itself. Without rotting, the circulation of substances on Earth would not have been possible. And in any case, signs of decay mean the emergence of a new life, which is beginning at the beginning. Rotting bacteria are important people here! Among all the richness of organic life forms, it is they who are responsible for this laborious and irreplaceable process.
What is rot
The bottom line is that the most complex in its composition matter breaks up into simpler elements. The current understanding of scientists about this process, which turns organic compounds into inorganic ones, can be described by the following actions:
- Rotting bacteria have a metabolism, which breaks the chemical bonds of organic molecules containing nitrogen. The nutrition process takes the form of capture of protein molecules and amino acids.
- Enzymes that are produced by microorganisms during the cleavage process release ammonia, amines, hydrogen sulfide from protein molecules.
- Products that enter the body of rotting bacteria are used to produce energy.
Releasing ammonia
The nitrogen cycle is an important component of life on Earth. And the microorganisms involved in it are one of the largest groups. In natural ecosystems, they play a major regenerative role in soil mineralization. Hence the name - reducer (which means "restoring"). Ammonifying bacteria that decompose and rot are widely represented, that is, they are capable of releasing nitrogen from dead organics. These are non-spore-forming enterobacteria, bacilli, spore-forming clostridia.
Hay stick
Bacillus subtilis is one of the most common and studied by bacteria researchers. Lives in the soil, mainly breathing with oxygen. The composition of the body is one nuclear-free cell. This is a fairly large microorganism, the image of which can be obtained using simple magnification. For nutrition, the hay bacillus produces proteases - catalysis enzymes that reside on the outer shell of its cells. With the help of enzymes, the bacterium destroys the structure of the protein molecule (peptide bond of amino acids), thereby releasing the amino group. As a rule, this process occurs in several stages and leads to the synthesis of energy in the cell (ATP). Decomposition caused by bacteria (decay) is accompanied by the formation of toxic compounds harmful to humans.
What are these substances
First of all, these are end products: ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Also, with incomplete mineralization:
- cadaveric poisons (cadaverin, for example);
- aromatic compounds (skatol, indole);
- during the decay of amino acids containing sulfur, thiols and dimethyl sulfoxide are formed.
In fact, in an immune-controlled framework, the decomposition process is part of the digestive process for many animals and for humans. It occurs, as a rule, in the large intestine, and the bacteria that cause decay play a primary role in it. But on a large scale, poisoning by rot products can lead to disastrous results. A person needs urgent medical attention, washing his intestines and restoring microflora therapy. In addition, the accumulation of ammonia in the body can be initiated by certain types of bacteria, including E. coli. As a result, ammonia accumulates in some tissues. But with the normal functioning of all systems, it binds to urea and then is excreted from the human body.
Saprotrophs
Rotting bacteria are classified as saprotrophs, along with fermentation bacteria. Both of them break down organic compounds - nitrogen-containing and carbon-containing, respectively. In both cases, the energy used to nourish and support the microorganisms is released. Without fermentation bacteria (for example, fermented milk), mankind would not have received such essential foods as kefir or cheese. They are also widely used in cooking and winemaking.
But saprotrophic rotting bacteria can also spoil food. This process, as a rule, is accompanied by an extensive release of carbon dioxide, ammonia, energy, toxic substances for humans, as well as heating of the substrate (sometimes before self-ignition). Therefore, people have learned to create the conditions under which rotting bacteria lose their ability to reproduce or simply die. Such preservative measures include sterilization and pasteurization, due to which conservation can be preserved for a relatively long time. Bacteria also lose their properties when the product is frozen. And in antiquity, when modern methods were not yet known, products were protected from pathogenic microflora spoilage by drying, salting, and sugaring, since in salt and sugar environments microorganisms cease their activity, and during drying most of the water needed for bacterial growth is removed .
Rotting bacteria: the importance of microorganisms in the biosphere
The role of bacteria of this kind for all life on Earth can hardly be overestimated. In the biosphere, due to their ammonifying activity, the process of decomposition of dead animals and plants is ongoing, followed by their mineralization. The simple substances and inorganic compounds formed as a result of this, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and others, participate in the circulation of substances, serve as food for plants, close the transition of energy from one representative of the flora and fauna of the Earth to another, providing the possibility of the birth of a new life .
Nitrogen release is not available for higher plants, and without the participation of rotting bacteria, they would not be able to fully feed and develop.
Rotting bacteria are directly involved in soil formation processes, decomposing dead organics into their constituent parts. This property of them plays an indispensable role in agriculture and other human activities.
Finally, without the aforementioned vital activity of microorganisms, the Earth’s surface, including water spaces, would be littered with not decomposed corpses of animals and plants, and a considerable number of them died during the existence of the planet!