With the help of a suitable example mention the role of microbes in:

a. Single cell protein

b. Organic farming

A. Single cell protein

The protein produced by culturing single celled organism is called Single cell protein.

Yeast , Spirulina and a bacterium Methylophilus methylotropus are used for the culturing to obtain SCP.

b. Orgamic farming

• Involves use of natural ways for the farming.

• Instead of using fertilizers, microbes are used to enrich soil with nutrients e.g. cyanobacteria like Nostoc and Anabena are known to fix nitrogen. Hence used to supplement soil with N element.

• Use of biocontrol agents: instead of using inorganic insecticides or fungicides naturally occurring organisms are used.

E.g. strain of Bacillus thuringensis is known to encode for insecticidal proteins. And protects the cotton farm from insects.