BIOL1007 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Gut Flora, Food Spoilage, Soil Health
19 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Appreciate how microbes impact every step of the food production
and consumption chain, from soil to plants/animals to post harvest
contamination and spoilage to fermentation and food processing
to nutrition and gut health.
Screen clipping taken: 11/10/2017 11:04 PM
Rumen microbes help digest grass (production)
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Fungi symbiotic with plants promote growth (production)
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Microbes recycle debris and promote soil health (production)
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Microbes help food to grow
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Food production processes use fermentation (processing)
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Some microbes e.g. mushrooms, seaweed, are important food sources
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Good gut microbiota promotes health
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Positive affects
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Pathogens infect animals and plants (production)
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Irrigation water can be contaminated with pathogens (production)
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Post-harvest contamination can ruin food crops (production)
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Factories can be contaminated with microbes (processing)
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Refrigeration may be needed to stop microbial growth (distribution)
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Poor hygiene in restaurants, shops and home can cause food spoilage and
poisoning
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Poor gut microbiota = poor health
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Negative affects
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Microbes affect every point in food production chain
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Transforming and releasing important elements incl N, P, Fe, S etc
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Break down soil matter into forms that can be used by plants
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Suppress pathogenic microbes that can cause plant and animal disease
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Break down toxic molecules like pesticides and pollutants
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Microbes in soil maintain soil health by
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Vertebrates can't digest cellulose and ruminants e.g. cows, sheep, completely depend
on microbes for this
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Rumen microbes = bacteria and protozoa and some yeasts and fungi, anaerobes
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Cellulose -> sugars -> fermented to acids, esters, CO2, methane
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Microbes digested in abomasum
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Negative - methane greenhouse gas which ruminants produce 15-20% of global
methane
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Microbes in animals
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Certain micro-organisms interact directly with plants to promote their growth
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Almost all plants have mycorrhizal fungi - increase water, mineral and nutrient uptake
and receive sugars from the plant
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Rhizobium bacteria interacts with legumes - fixing N and provides it to plant
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Microbes in plants
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Enhancing food production
Describe the fermentation process used to create beer and other
fermented foods.
L16 - Food nutrition
Wednesday, 11 October 2017
11:02 PM
Mod 3 Global Health Page 1
Document Summary
Appreciate how microbes impact every step of the food production and consumption chain, from soil to plants/animals to post harvest contamination and spoilage to fermentation and food processing to nutrition and gut health. Microbes affect every point in food production chain. Microbes recycle debris and promote soil health (production) Some microbes e. g. mushrooms, seaweed, are important food sources. Irrigation water can be contaminated with pathogens (production) Refrigeration may be needed to stop microbial growth (distribution) Poor hygiene in restaurants, shops and home can cause food spoilage and poisoning. Transforming and releasing important elements incl n, p, fe, s etc. Break down soil matter into forms that can be used by plants. Suppress pathogenic microbes that can cause plant and animal disease. Break down toxic molecules like pesticides and pollutants. Vertebrates can"t digest cellulose and ruminants e. g. cows, sheep, completely depend on microbes for this. Rumen microbes = bacteria and protozoa and some yeasts and fungi, anaerobes.
