To reduce the percentage of population suffering from hunger and malnutrition, microbes are grown on a large scale to act as food supplements. Mention any two microbes used as food supplement and suggest their role.

OR

The success rate of artificial insemination in cattle is fairly low. Identify any other technique to improve the successful production of hybrids. State two advantages of this technique.

To reduce the percentage of population suffering from hunger and malnutrition, microbes are grown on a large scale to act as food supplements. These microbes are called SCP(Single Cell Protein). They are today consumed by many for greater health benefits. They are better than artificial food supplements. Various organisms like cyanobacteria or blue-green algae, bacteria and mushrooms are being cultivated for this purpose. One among them is Spirulina, blue-green algae which can be easily grown on sewage or waste water from industries especially potato processing plants as the waste water from it contains starch. Other than waste water, straw, molasses, animal manure, are used to cultivate large quantities of Spirulina. It is rich in proteins as well as vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates. Another example is a bacterium named Methylophilus methylotrophus. This bacteria has a high rate of biomass production and growth. It can produce upto 30 tonnes of protein which is way more high than normal protein production.

OR

It is true that the success rate of artificial insemination in cattle is very low. To overcome this problem, a better technique has been adopted known as MOET (Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer Technology). This programme has proved to be useful for herd improvement. In this method, a cow is injected with hormones with FSH like activity. Due to the presence of FSH (Follicle stimulating hormone), follicles maturation takes place rapidly leading to super ovulation in which more than one egg is produced. A cow which normally gives one egg per cycle will now give about 6-8 eggs per cycle. Now mating is done between the cow and an elite bull otherwise the cow is artificially inseminated. After the eggs get fertilised, they are recovered from the cow at 6-32 cell stage. It is then transferred to the surrogate mother for further development of the embryo. This method is now used not only for cattle but also for sheep, rabbits, mares etc.