Food Microbiology is the study of a variety of living things, such as bacteria, fungus, and other tiny creatures, that are not visible to the naked eye. However, these little creatures are the foundation of all life on earth.. all types of living things that are invisible to the unaided eye.
Important categories have been divided based on certain traits in the study of bacteria in food. These classifications have no taxonomic relevance.
Food technology, food safety and hygiene, food poisoning, food genomics, and, more generally, food omics, functional foods, and probiotics, along with newly developed methodologies that have been used to analyze food, have all been the subject of recent food microbiology papers that have been published. These papers have been characterised by multidisciplinary interests that have confirmed the growing body of evidence that has implicated microorganisms in these various areas. Research and innovation in the manufacture of functional foods including probiotics demand special consideration. Numerous studies have examined the potential probiotic bacteria’s ability to survive in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), the gut’s microbial adhesiveness and colonization, the safety of probiotic strains, and the maintenance of the gut microbiome’s homeostasis by inhibiting pathogen growth or producing antimicrobial compounds.
Metagenomics can be used to characterize unknown microbiota and provide information on the presence of disease and spoilage bacteria, notably in fermented foods (Trenholm, 2018). Numerous investigations on various conventionally fermented foods and drinks have been published in the “Food Microbiology” section of journals. The significance of microbial consortia in converting raw animal and plant resources into palatable fermented meals with high nutritional content and that are abundant in helpful bioactive chemicals for consumers was thoroughly examined. Since their invention more than 3,500 years ago, ethnic fermented foods and drinks have evolved to preserve crops and dairy products as fermented foods, frequently employing back-slopping to inoculate the current batch by transferring an aliquot from the previous batch.
Bacteria called lactic acid producers consume carbohydrates to create lactic acid. The major genera include Streptococcus thermophilus, Leuconostoc, Pedi coccus, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus.
Acetic acid is produced by acetic acid bacteria like Acetobacter acetic.
Dairy products are fermented using bacteria that produce propionic acid, such as Propionibacterium freudenreichii.
Butyric acid is produced by several Clostridium species, including Clostridium butyric.
Extracellular proteinases, which are produced by proteolytic bacteria, hydrolyze proteins. There are bacteria species in this group from the genera Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Clostridium, Pseudomonas, Alter monas, Flavobacterium, and Alcaligin’s, as well as a smaller number from Enterobacteriaceae and Brevibacterium.
Triglycerides are hydrolyzed by extracellular lipases produced by lipolytic bacteria.
Microbiological tests, such as those for infections and spoilage organisms, are necessary to assure the safety of food items. IIn this way, food poisoning outbreaks can be contained by determining the risk of contamination under normal use conditions. Along the whole supply chain, testing of food items and components is crucial since product faults might arise at any point during the production process.[10] Microbiological tests can not only identify spoiling but also determine germ content, recognize yeasts, molds, and Salmonella. Scientists are working on quick, portable technologies that can recognize distinct Salmonella variations in order to treat Salmonella.[11]
According to “PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction),” (2008), the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a rapid and low-cost way to produce several copies of a DNA fragment at a particular band.
- Gas concentration in the environment • This pertains to the existence and level of gas concentration around food. • Different bacteria need oxygen to flourish, either in large concentrations (aerobic), low concentrations (microaerobic), or none at all (anaerobic). • Some microbes may thrive in environments with high oxygen tension or even without it (facultative anaerobes).
According to their need for oxygen, microorganisms may be divided into the following categories: 1) In the presence of air containing molecular oxygen, aerobes grow. Aerobic respiration is used by obligatory aerobes to grow and reproduce. 2) Microaerophiles • Only grow at 5% molecular oxygen concentrations or below.
Anaerobes that can develop with or without air are referred to as facultative anaerobes. Anaerobic respiration will occur if oxygen is not present.
Types of Microbiology
There are many types of food microbiology:
1) Bacteria
Microorganisms that are unicellular, capable of autonomous reproduction, and generally free-living are known as bacteria. In nature, bacteria are found everywhere.
The term “bacteria” refers to a large class of unicellular microorganisms without nuclei or organelles, some of which can cause disease.
There are two types of Bacteria:
1) Useful Bacteria
The majority of these beneficial bacteria are found on or in your skin, stomach, or digestive tract. Groups of bacteria residing in and on your body are referred to as resident flora or your microbiome.
2) Harmful Bacteria
The most common bacteria and viruses in the US that cause diseases, hospitalizations, or fatalities are listed below..
Campylobacter.
it is Clostridium perfringens.
E. coli.
Listeria.
Norovirus.
Salmonella.
2) Fungi
The kingdom of fungi (plural: fungus) includes heterotrophic (unable to produce their own food) multicellular eukaryotic creatures that play significant roles in the nutrient cycle in ecosystems. Furthermore, fungi have symbiotic relationships with both plants and bacteria and may reproduce both sexually and asexually. However, they are also to blame for a few ailments that affect both plants and animals. The term “mycology” refers to the study of fungus.
Fungi Characteristics
While some fungus are multicellular, others are single-celled. Yeast is the name for single-celled fungus. Depending on what stage of their life cycle they are in, certain fungi switch between single-celled yeast and multicellular forms. Like plant and animal cells, fungi cells have a nucleus and organelles. Chitin, a hard material also present in the exoskeletons of insects and other arthropods like crustaceans, is a component of the cell walls of fungus. They lack cellulose, which is usually present in the cell walls of plants.
Fungi Reproduction
The majority of fungi have sexual and asexual reproductive methods. Mycelial fragmentation, in which the mycelium breaks into several sections that each grow independently, or spore discharge are two methods of asexual reproduction.. Separate individuals fuse their hyphae together during sexual reproduction. The precise life cycle depends on the species, but multicellular fungi often go through three stages: haploid (where they have one set of chromosomes), diploid (where they have two dikaryotic (having two sets of chromosomes but maintaining them apart): two sets of chromosomes..
All fungus use spores to reproduce. Small cells or groups of cells called spores separate from their parent fungus and mostly move through the air or water. Until circumstances are favorable for development, spores can remain latent for a very long period. Here is
3) Protozoa
Protozoa are heterotrophic, eukaryotic, unicellular creatures. Either they are parasites or they live freely. There are over 65000 different categories that protozoan species can be categorised into. Their cell wall is absent. There are several distinct cell organelles, which in higher animals carry out the diverse functions carried out by various organs, such as the mouth, anus, digestive system, etc.
General Characteristics of Protozoa
1)Habitat Protozoa are organisms that live in water. They are marine or freshwater creatures. Some are parasitic on plants and animals, while others live freely. Although they are mostly aerobic, some of them can also be found in the human gut or rumen.Hot springs, for example, are home to several of the species. Some of them develop resting cysts in order to live in dry environments..
2)Size and Shape-
Protozoa range in size and form from microbial (1m) to big enough to be seen with the naked eye. Unicellular foraminifera have 20 cm-diameter shells.
Because they lack a hard cell wall, they are flexible and come in a variety of forms. A thin plasma membrane surrounds cells. Some of the species have a hard shell on the outside of their bodies. Pellicle, which can be flexible or stiff and gives organisms a distinct form and aids in motility, supports the cell in some protozoans, particularly ciliates.
3)Life Cycle-
Most protozoa have a life cycle that alternates between a latent cyst stage and a proliferating vegetative stage, such as trophozoites. The cyst stage may live in arid environments without water or nutrients. It can persist outside the host for an extended period of time before being transferred. The trophozoite stage is contagious, and it is at this stage that they feed and multiply.
4)Reproduction-
They mostly reproduce asexually. They procreate by binary, longitudinal, transverse, and budding fission.. Sexual reproduction is possible in several animals. Conjugation, syngamy, or the formation of gametocytes are all methods of sexual reproduction.
4) Algae
In addition to ponds, brackish waterways, and even snow, algae may be found in rivers, lakes, seas, and ponds. Algae are often green, although they can also be found in other hues. For instance, the presence of algae in snow that produce carotenoid pigments in addition to chlorophyll gives the snow around them a characteristic red color..
Algae have several general traits with both plants and animals.
Eukaryotic cells are seen in algae. Algae, for instance, may photosynthesize similarly to plants and possess specific cell organelles and features that are only found in animals, such as centrioles and flagella.Mannans, cellulose, and Galatians make up the cell walls of algae. Some of the general properties of algae are listed below.
Photosynthetic creatures are algae.
Algae are unicellular or multicellular creatures.
Because algae lack a well-defined body, structures such as roots, stems, and leaves are lacking.
Algae grow where there is enough moisture.
Algal reproduction takes both asexual and sexual forms. Spore creation is used in asexual reproduction.
Algae are self-contained creatures, yet some may create symbiotic relationships with other species.
Algae Classification
Examples of Algae
Algae that are well-known include:
Ulothrix Fucus
Porphyria Spirogyra
5) Virues
The smallest type of parasite is a virus, which can range in size from 0.02 to 0.3 micrometers (m) in most cases but up to 1 m in certain cases.
The contents of a virus
Short nucleic acid sequences, either in the form of ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), make up viruses. In contrast to most other animals, whose DNA typically has a double-stranded structure, viruses are unusual in that their DNA or RNA material can either be single-stranded or double-stranded..
A virion, which is the word used to describe a single virus, has a characteristic structure that comprises an exterior shell known as the protein capsid or membrane. The main purpose of this outer shell is to protect the genetic material of the virion from damage caused by physical agents, chemicals, or enzymatic agents..
Classifying human viruses
A virus’s physicochemical qualities, genomic structure, size, morphology, and molecular processes are frequently used to classify it. Viruses are classed based on whether they are RNA or DNA viruses, as well as the strangeness of their genetic material, which can be double-stranded (ds), single-stranded (ss), or partly ds. The classification of so viruses will also include positive, negative, and negative with ambience viruses.
Adenoviridae, herpesviridae, papillomaviridae, parvoviridae, and poxivirdae are the five dsDNA human virus families that are currently recognised. Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, and Reoviridae are the three human dsRNA viruses that have been discovered.
How do viruses infect?
The virus’s outer surface is critical for its ability to recognise and adhere to host cells. Biological receptors can be recognised and bound by proteins found on viral surfaces, enabling the virus to attach to the host cell.
Once the virus has attached to the host cell, it is absorbed by the cellular membrane and enters the cytoplasm. Within the cell, the virus will disassemble its viral coat into smaller cellular vesicles, releasing its genetic material into the cytoplasm for reproduction.
