The Importance Of Microorganisms In Biology

The importance of microorganisms in biology can be exemplified by the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen fixing bacteria either found attached to leguminous plants or free living, take nitrogen from the air and convert it to ammonia through ammonification. Nitrifying bacteria, another type of microorganism, then oxidise the ammonia to nitrites and then into nitrates. These compounds can then be absorbed by plants and be carried up the food chain. Without these microorganisms, the soil would lack in nitrogen which is a vital element needed by organisms to make molecules such as amino acids and chlorophyll. Without chlorophyll for example, photoionisation in plants would be limited, preventing electrons from transporting down the electron carrier chain and ATP synthase from making ATP for further metabolic reactions. This hence emphasises the need for microorganisms as they allow vital ions to be transferred along the food chain and maintain primary and secondary productivity in an ecosystem. ;

Microorganisms such as bacteria have proved extremely useful in recombinant DNA technology. Their plasmids have become an efficient way to insert DNA and for bacteria to act as vectors. An example is insulin coding genes. This DNA can be isolated by restriction endonucleases and inserted into plasmids, which are then transformed into the bacteria. The rapid growth of the microorganisms is useful as large amounts of insulin can quickly be made through transcri ption of the mRNA, forming of its polypeptides that together make insulin. ; This shows how important microorganisms are as without bacteria, substances like insulin wouldn’t be made for those that require it to treat type 1 diabetes. The insulin made by microorganisms helps to lower blood glucose levels by increasing the number of protein channels in the phospholipid bilayer, showing how valuable they are in medicine.