Bacteria of decay and decomposition

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, there are over 10,000 species of microorganisms, and their total mass is from 1 to 3 percent of the total weight of a person. Some of the microscopic creatures use organic substances as food. Among them, rotting bacteria play a significant role. They destroy the remains of dead bodies of animals and plants, feeding on this matter.

The natural process

Decomposition of organic is a natural process and also mandatory, as if clearly planned by nature itself. Without rotting, the cycle of substances on the Earth would not be possible. And in any case, the signs of decomposition mean the emergence of a new life, which is born at the beginning. Bacteria of decay are important people here! Among all the richness of organic forms of life, they are responsible for this time-consuming and indispensable process.

What is rotting?

The bottom line is that the most complex composition of matter breaks up into simpler elements. The modern view of scientists about this process, which turns organic compounds into inorganic ones, can be described by the following actions:

• Rotten bacteria have a metabolism that ruptures by chemical means the bonds of organic molecules containing nitrogen. The process of feeding takes place in the form of capture of protein and amino acid molecules.
• Enzymes that are produced by microorganisms, in the process of cleavage, release ammonia, amines, hydrogen sulphide from protein molecules.
• Products coming into the organism of rotting bacteria are used to generate energy.

Releasing ammonia

The nitrogen cycle is an important component of life on Earth. And the microorganisms involved in it are one of the most numerous groups. In natural ecosystems, they play a major restorative role in soil mineralization. Hence the name - reductant (which means "restoring"). Here, bacteria of decomposition and decay are ammonifying, that is, they are capable of releasing nitrogen from dead organics. These are non-spore-forming enterobacteria, bacilli, spore-forming clostridia.

The bacillus

Bacillus subtilis - one of the most common and studied by the researchers of bacteria. Lives in the soil, mainly carries out breathing with oxygen. Body composition is a single denuclearized cell. This is a fairly large microorganism, the image of which can be obtained with a simple magnification. To feed the hay bacillus produces proteases - enzymes catalyzed, which 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). The decomposition caused by bacteria (putrefaction) is accompanied by the formation of toxic compounds harmful to humans.

What are these substances?

First of all, these are the final products: ammonia and hydrogen sulphide. Also with incomplete mineralization, the following are formed:

• Cadaveric poisons (cadaverine, for example);
• Compounds of an aromatic nature (scatol, indole);
• When decay of sulfur-containing amino acids, thiols and dimethylsulfoxide are formed.

In fact, within the framework controlled by immunity, the process of decomposition 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 paramount role in it. But on a large scale, poisoning by rotting products can lead to disastrous results. A person needs urgent medical help, washing the intestines and restoring microflora therapy. In addition, the accumulation in the body of ammonia can be initiated by certain types of bacteria, including the 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

Rotten bacteria are referred to as saprotrophs, along with fermentation bacteria. Both of them split organic compounds - nitrogen-containing and carbon-containing, respectively. In both cases, the energy used to feed and sustain microorganisms is released. Without fermentation bacteria (for example, fermented milk), mankind would not receive such important food products as kefir or cheese. They are also widely used in cooking and winemaking.

But saprotrophic rotting bacteria can cause food spoilage. This process, as a rule, is accompanied by an extensive release of carbon dioxide, ammonia, energy, poisonous to humans substances, as well as heating the substrate (sometimes before autoignition). Therefore, people have learned to create conditions in which rotting bacteria lose their ability to reproduce or simply perish. Such sterilization and pasteurization can be attributed to such measures protecting products, due to which preservation can be maintained for a relatively long time. They also lose their properties when the product is frozen. And in ancient times, when modern methods were not known yet, from the damage by pathogenic microflora, the products were protected by drying, salting, sugaring, as microorganisms cease their vital activity in salt and sugar environment, and during drying, most of the water needed for bacterial growth is removed .

Bacteria of decay: the importance of microorganisms in the biosphere

The role of bacteria of this kind for all life on Earth can not be overestimated. In the biosphere, thanks to their ammonifying activity, the process of decomposition of dead animals and plants with subsequent mineralization is constantly going on. The resulting simple substances and compounds of an inorganic nature, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and others, participate in the circulation of substances, serve as a food for plants, close the transfer of energy from one representative of the flora and fauna of the Earth to another, giving the possibility of the birth of a new life .

The release of nitrogen is not available for higher plants, and without the participation of rotting bacteria they could not fully nourish and develop.

Rotten bacteria directly participate in soil-forming processes, decomposing the dead organic matter into its constituent parts. This is their property plays an indispensable role in agriculture and other types of human activities.

Finally, without the aforementioned vital activity of microorganisms, the surface of the Earth, including water spaces, would be littered with non-decomposed corpses of animals and plants, and during the time of the planet's existence a considerable amount of them died!