Usefulness of Bacteria (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Biology): Revision Note

Microorganisms can be used by humans to produce foods and other useful substances

The most common type of microorganisms used in biotechnology are bacteria

Bacteria are useful because they are capable of producing complex molecules

• E.g. certain bacteria added to milk produce enzymes that turn the milk into yoghurt

Bacteria are also useful because they reproduce rapidly, meaning the amount of chemicals they can produce can also rapidly increase

In addition to the benefits of rapid reproduction and the ability to make complex molecules, bacteria have other benefits in biotechnology:

• there are few ethical considerations to growing them in large numbers in the laboratory

• they possess plasmids which are an ideal way of transferring DNA from one cell to another during genetic manipulation