Positive Roles of Bacteria in the Environment by Jahfar O'Meally
This post is directed to the general audience and its purpose is to highlight and bring awareness to a few of the good deeds bacteria contribute to our environment. At the thought of hearing bacteria, most would think of or recall their negative impacts and disease-causing mayhem without giving these little critters their flowers when it comes to their countless positive contributions. By this end of this post I guarantee you will have a greater appreciation for these microorganisms and to erase the misconception that they are all villains. Coliforms These are bacteria which reside in the intestinal tract of humans, animals and other organisms. They are not harmful and share a mutualistic relationship with their host. Coliforms are used as a indicator to detect water that is contaminated by fecal matter and disease-causing agents. The larger the colony of coliforms correlates to the greater the level of contamination. Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) is an example of a coliform. To gain a ...
