Bacteria are both useful and harmful to the environment, humans and animals. Some bacteria become pathogens, causing tetanus, typhoid fever, pneumonia, syphilis, cholera and tuberculosis, gonorrhea, anthrax, plague, trachoma, etc. In human history, infectious diseases caused by bacteria have claimed the lives of countless people. In plants, bacteria cause leaf spot, fire blight and wilting. Modes of infection include contact, airborne transmission, food, water, and microorganisms.
Bacteria are often used together with yeast and other types of fungi to ferment food. For example, in the traditional manufacturing process of vinegar, the acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) in the air are used to convert wine into vinegar. Other foods made with bacteria include cheese, kimchi, soy sauce, vinegar, wine, and yogurt. Bacteria can also secrete a variety of antibiotics. For example, streptomycin is secreted by Streptomyces (Steptomyces).
The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is also often used to remove pollution, known as bioremediation. Medicine | Education | Net collection for example, scientists use methanotroph to decompose trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene pollution in Georgia, USA.
Bacteria are also important experimental materials in biology. Scientists have used pneumococcus to discover and confirm that DNA is genetic material. With the rise of genetic engineering, scientists have obtained new strains of E. coli that can produce insulin, etc., and Pseudomonas, which has a strong ability to decompose hydrocarbons.
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