[Include any grant/funding information and a complete correspondence address.] The Nature and Importance of Pseudonomas Micro-organisms have come to be of great significance to us human beings. Their uses are plentiful and diverse but a few of the most common applications of these genera are in food production, medicinal research, health, ecology and biotechnology. In this essay I will be talking about the genus pseudomonas in particular. The basic few things to know about the pseudomonas bacteria is that it falls under the class of proteobacterias, belongs to the family of Pseudomonadaceae and is a Gram negative bacteria. It is rod shaped in structure and measures 0.5 to 0.8 µm by 1.5 to 3.0 µm. This bacteria is useful to microbiologists and …show more content…
A study by Karunanithi et al. (2000) showed that the bacteria produces antibiotic compounds, for example pyrollnitrin and phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, which create inhibition zones 12mm long, and in this way it inhibits the growth of pathogens. (Ganeshan & Manoj Kumar, 2005). In addition to this function, Pseudomonas inactivates the cell wall of fungi that degrade damaged plants. Its application in bioremediation comes from its ability to increase in number and change its macro structure in response to oil contamination. Most organisms react to metals by detoxifying them but they make sue of different methods to do the same. Psedumonas functions by utilizing carbon that it obtains from hydrocarbon compounds. Therefore crude oil, phenol, heavy metals or other hydrocarbon compounds are its source of …show more content…
In brief, bioremediation is the process of decontaminating and detoxifying soil and water. As mentioned earlier, one of the prime characteristics of pseudomonas is that it can break complex compounds like hydrocrarbons. This is applied in bioremediation processes whereby complex compounds in the soil are broken down into gasses like carbon dioxide or into less soluble compounds (Wasi, Tabrez & Ahmad, 2013). This area has been researched a lot because it has a lot of potential and addresses global environmental concerns. The Pseudomonas fluorescens strain are quite effective in the bioremediation of toxicants like phenols, pesticides and heavy metals. One the greatest concerns to farmers and agriculturists is the increasing amount of damage that is being caused to plants (crops) by the used of pesticides heavy metal fertilizers. Not only that, these fertilizers seep into water bodies and pollute them. This soil bacterium is useful in fighting pollution both in ground and in water. The fact that it feeds on carbons and can live with minimum nutrition added to the fact that it breaks down heavy metal compounds in soils to insoluble and less harmful compounds helps us to effectively battle water pollution. (Wasi, Tabrez & Ahmad,