HCS – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

LECTURE- 5 BIOTECHNOLOGY PART – 2

GENERATION OF VACCINES
First Generation Vaccines
• Whole organism used as vaccines: These are either live and weakened or killed forms of vaccines.
Live and weakened vaccines, such as smallpox and polio vaccines, have the capacity to induce killer
T-Cell (Tc or CTL) and antibody immunity: There is small risk with this type of weakened vaccines i.e.
the attenuated forms of a pathogen can revert to dangerous form and cause disease in immune-
compromised people (Like those with AIDS)
• There is no such risk with the killed form of vaccines. They cannot generate specific killer T-cell
responses.
Second Generation Vaccines
• Second generation vaccines were developed to minimise the risks of the live attenuated vaccines.
These vaccines consist of defined protein antigens such as tetanus or diphtheria toxoid or
recombinant protein components such as the hepatitis B surface antigen.
Third Generation Vaccines -DNA Vaccine
• Third generation vaccines are made up of a small, circular piece of bacterial DNA (called a plasmid)
know as DNA vaccines. To produce one or more specific proteins (antigens) micro-organism gets
generally engineered.
• This vaccine is injected into the body cells. Host cells read the DNA and convert it into pathogenic
proteins. These proteins are processed by the host cells and demonstrated on their surface where
they are recognised as foreign particles, alerting the body’s immune system, which ultimately
triggers a range of immune responses.
Reverse vaccinology
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 IVF( In Vitro FERTILISATION)/ TEST TUBE BABY AND SURROGACY

In Vitro Fertilisation:
• In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is fertilisation of an egg by sperm outside the mother body. The process
involves stimulating a woman’s adulatory process, removal of egg or eggs from her ovaries and
letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a laboratory and hence requires efficient monitoring. The
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resulting zygote is cultured for 2-6 days in a growth medium and then is transferred to the same or
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other woman’s uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.

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 • This treatment is a good option for those who are facing either of the following mentioned problems
▪ Blocked fallopian tubes
▪ Low sperm numbers or motility
▪ Infrequent or absent ovulation
▪ Endometriosis
▪ Unexplained infertility
▪ Age-related infertility
▪ Failure of other fertility treatments such as IVI.
Advantages of In Vitro Fertilisation:
• It helps infertile couples so that they can have a baby of their own (with their own eggs and sperm)
• Without using done egg or donor sperm, DNA of the zygote will be intended for parents only.
• Egg donation and IVF enable women who are past their reproductive years to get pregnant.
Disadvantages:
• Undesired multiple births. i.e. delivery of more than one baby, due to transfer of more than one
blastocyst to increase the chance of success is a possibility as a result of IVF
• In IVF stimulation of ovaries of intended mother (or egg donor) is done so as to produce more than
one quality eggs. The simulation is performed with the help of hormones and drugs and can have
side effects leading to a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
• Ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy occurring out- side the uterus) can also be resulted due to IVF.
• The success rate of IVF is much lower than 100% depending on various factors including age of
female, quality of eggs, quality of sperms, quality of uterus. etc. With the age of females, the success
rate decreases.
• Painful drugs and hormones are used
• This treatment is costly. Since the success rate is low, couples go through multiple cycles or attempts
adding to treatment cost.
Test Tube Baby:
• Developed by Robert G. Edwards and Patrick C. Steptoe of Great Britain.
• Test tube baby refers to a child, conceived outside the women’s body. Eggs removed from the
mother’s ovary are incubated with sperm from the father. Now they are allowed to divide until the
Blastula stage (64-128 cell structure) which usually takes 3-4 days, which is then transferred to the
mother's or surrogate’s uterus to develop normally.
Complications:
• 1. Multiple Births: To increase the chances of success, doctors fertilise more than one zygote and
after they reach the blastula stage, all the fertilised ones are attached to the uterus. So, there is a
huge chance of twin births
• 2. Spread of Infectious Disease: Diseases can be transferred which are present in the genes. Sperm
washing decreases the risk of chronic diseases in male affecting the female or offspring
• 3. Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome: Stimulations done to produce more than one egg cell can
cause side effects such as swollen, painful ovaries.
• 4. Birth Defects: Test tube babies have relatively higher risks of birth defects than naturally
conceived babies.
• 5. Mix Ups: In some cases, due to laboratory mix ups, legal action against IVF provider and complex
paternity suits have been caused
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 • 6. Pre-implantation of genetic screening: There is a concern that people will look into the concept
of designer babies. It can be used to alter some physical and health attributes to create an ideal
human, which raises ethical questions.
• 7. Same sex couples, single parents and live-in partners can opt for such practise which raises ethical
concerns
• 8. Donors are anonymous in some cases, leading to troubles knowing the original person.
• In 1978, Steptoe and Edwards successfully carried out the birth of the world's first test tube baby,
Louis Joy Brown in the United Kingdom, whose mother had Fallopian tube blockages.
• Second successful test tube baby occurred in India, after 67 days of Louis’s birth, named Durga.
Surrogate Mother:
• When a woman carries a baby for a couple who are unable to conceive or carry a child themselves
due to medical or physical reasons. It is termed as surrogacy.
▪ Traditional Surrogacy this is a pregnancy where the surrogate is genetically related to the baby
and becomes pregnant through artificial insemination.No monetary compensation involved in
this surrogacy.
▪ Host surrogacy Host surrogacy is with application of IVF. Either using the eggs of the intended
mother or with donor eggs.

• Egg extraction: The intended parent (female) undergoes a special procedure to extract a number of
eggs.
• Fertilisation : The eggs are fertilised with sperm in the laboratory, resulting in embryos.
• Embryo Transfer: Transfer of embryo into the womb of the surrogate mother.
• This embryo transfer can either be ‘fresh’ or after having been ‘defrosted’ from storage. In case of
‘Fresh embryo, the menstrual cycle of the Surrogate and the legal mother is synchronised. While the
‘defrosted’ embryo is transferred. The surrogate mother is provided with hormonal medicator
• Surrogacy was already legal in India and it is also legal in Ukraine and California. However, only
altruistic(also called traditional) surrogacy is recognised in the nations such as England, the United
States and Australia.
• Countries such as Germany, Sweden, Norway and Italy do not recognise any agreement of surrogacy.
• Surrogacy was initially discovered to help the infertile couples. But with time the humanity
associated with its discovery is lost. The greediness in humans made both the Child and the surrogate
mother a ‘commodity in demand.
• Once IVF gained popularity the exploitation of the womb increased. People rented womb by force,
development of agencies for surrogacy, etc. increased. With this, India became a hub as willingness
for surrogacy was too much and price charged for this was very low (compared to other nations) and
the success rate was also high.
Complications associated:
• Citizenship of the child (when the nation of the surrogate and the nation of the legal parents both
deny to accept the child as a citizen.
• Acceptance of the child (in cases of those couples who went for surrogacy got divorced before
delivery and denied to accept the child and even the surrogate refuse to accept
• No Payment made to the families with financially low background who forced their woman to take
up surrogacy and so on (especially in the cases where the child is born still or dead or born with
disorder either mental or physical.
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 Surrogacy Bill in India
• According to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, ‘altruistic surrogacy’ for childless couples who
have been married for a least five years is allowed.
• Other important mandates include the surrogate mother should be a ‘close relative’ of the couple,
should be married and have borne a child of her own.
• The surrogate mother can be a surrogate mother only once in her lifetime: thus, it prohibits multiple
surrogacy by a surrogate mother
• Childless or unmarried women cannot be surrogate mothers
• All Surrogacy clinics need to be registered as per the bill. The charges for the services rendered during
the course of surrogacy can only be taken by the clinic: However, the surrogate mother cannot be
paid
• There will be national and state surrogacy boards to function as the regulating authorities.
• The acts such as commercial surrogacy, abandoning the surrogate child, exploitation of surrogate
mother, selling/import of human embryo have all been deemed as violations and are punishable by
a jail term of at least 10 years and a fine of up to Rs. 20 Lakh
• Records of surrogacy for the last 25 years need to be maintained by the clinics. Surrogate child will
have the same rights as that of a biological child.
THREE PARENTS BABY/ MITOCHONDRIAL GENE THERAPY

• The mitochondrial replacement technique is called spindle transfer and the children born using this
technique have been dubbed as ‘three parent babies’
• A baby conceived using genetic material from three people in which mitochondrial DNA (a small part
in a cell that helps your baby to turn food into energy) from a female donor is used to replace faulty
material mitochondria and thus prevent inherited diseases.
Where We Can Produce Three Parent Baby
• Clinics in Britain can now apply to create three parents babies after the final approval for the fertility
procedure
• The British scientists developed a fertility technique enabling doctors to replace an egg’s defective
mitochondrial DNA with female donor’s healthy DNA. This will prevent children from suffering
debilitating conditions such as muscular dystrophy
• Legalisation: The UK is the first country to legalise the procedure although. Earlier this year the first
baby was born using mitochondrial replacement in Mexico.
▪ Where there are no laws preventing
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▪ However, critics said the technique was ‘dangerous’ needless and ‘ethically reckless’
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 ▪ Dr. David King, director of the secular pro-choice watchdog group, ‘Human Genetics Alert’, said
‘ this decision to approve experiments on babies using this dangerous and medically necessary
technology risks all our children’s futures.
▪ It opens the door to designer babies.

▪
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 MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS
• A microbial fuel cell (MFC) functions by converting chemical energy directly into electricity to convert
substrates into electrons Bacteria are used as a catalyst.
• Bacteria have the ability to convert variety of organic compounds into CO2, Water and energy, The
energy produced by the micro-organisms is utilised to grow and maintain their metabolism. By using
MFC, we can harvest this energy in the form of electricity
• Compound of MFC The MFC comprises of an anode, a cathode, a proton or a cation-exchange
membrane and an electrical circuit

• The Bacteria are put in an anode compartment where they convert not only organic substrates such
as glucose, acetate into CO2 protons and electrons but also waste water. Bacteria utilise oxygen or
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nitrate as a final electron acceptor in order to produce water under aerobic conditions, In the anode,
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bacteria have to be switched from their natural electron acceptor to an insoluble electron acceptor
such as MFC anode because no oxygen is present there. The bacteria can transfer electron to an

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 insoluble electron acceptor and hence an MFC can be used to collect electrons originating from the
microbial metabolism/
• The electrons from anode chamber flow to the cathode chamber through an electrical circuit. With
a load or a resistor. The flow of electrons (Ampere) between the anode and the cathode due to
potential difference between anode and cathode (Volt) results in the generation of electrical power
(Watt).
Advantages of Fuel Cells versus Internal Combustion Engines
• Limitless supply of fuel
• No dependence on foreign oil
• No or little pollutions
• Higher energy conversion percentage
• No noise.
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GENE EDITING:
What is gene- editing?
• Genes contain the bio-information that defines any individual. Physical attributes like height, skin or
hair colour, more subtle features and even behavioural traits can be attributed to information
encoded in the genetic material.
• An ability to alter this information gives scientists the power to control some of these features. Gene
“editing” is sometimes expressed in relation to, but not always equivalent to terms like genetic
modification, genetic manipulation or genetic engineering..
CRISPR-Cas9 TECHNOLOGY:
• The clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR/CRISPR-associated protein
9 (Cas9) (CRISPR-Cas9) system has revolutionised genetic manipulations and made gene editing
simpler, faster and easily accessible to most laboratories.
• CRISPR technology is basically a gene-editing technology that can be used for the purpose of altering
genetic expression or changing the genome of an organism.
• The technology can be used for targeting specific stretches of an entire genetic code or editing the
DNA at particular locations.
• CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily
alter DNA sequences and modify gene function.
• Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread
of diseases and improving crops. However, its promise also raises ethical concerns.
What is CRISPR-Cas9?
• CRISPR is a dynamic, versatile tool that allows us to target nearly any genomic location and
potentially repair broken genes. It can remove, add or alter specific DNA sequences in the genome
of higher organisms.
• CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) are sections of DNA and are
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sections of genetic code containing short repetitions of base sequences followed by spacer DNA
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segments.

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 • CAS-9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) is an enzyme. It uses a synthetic guide RNA to introduce a double
strand break at a specific location within a strand of DNA. It is a system used by bacterial cells to
recognize and destroy viral DNA as a form of adaptive immunity.
How does CRISPR – Cas9 work?

• CRISPR scans the genome looking for the right location and then uses the Cas9 protein as molecular
scissors to snip through the DNA.
• Cas9 endonuclease – guide RNAs to direct it to a particular sequence to be edited. The genetic
sequence of the RNA matches the target sequence of the DNA that has to be edited.
• When Cas9 cuts the target sequence, the cell repairs the damage by replacing the original sequence
with an altered version.
• Unlike other gene-editing methods, it is cheap, quick, easy, safer and more accurate to use because
it relies on RNA–DNA base pairing, rather than the engineering of proteins that bind particular DNA
sequences.
What are the pros of Gene editing?
• CRISPR could be used to modify disease-causing genes in embryos brought to term, removing the
faulty script from the genetic code of that person’s future descendants as well. Genome editing
(Gene editing) could potentially
• decrease, or even eliminate, the incidence of many serious genetic diseases, reducing human
suffering worldwide.
• It might also be possible to install genes that offer lifelong protection against infection.
What are the cons of Gene editing?
• Making irreversible changes to every cell in the bodies of future children and all their descendants
would constitute extraordinarily risky human experimentation.
• There are issues including off-target mutations (unintentional edits to the genome), persistent
editing effects, genetic mechanisms in embryonic and fetal development, and longer-term health
and safety consequences.
• Some argue that we do not understand the operations of the genome enough to make long-lasting
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changes to it. Altering one gene could have unforeseen and widespread effects on other parts of the
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genome, which would then bepassed down to future generations.

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 • Many consider genome alterations to be unethical, advocating that we should let nature run its
course.
• Few argue that after permitting human germline gene editing for any reason would likely lead to its
ignorance of the regulatory limits, to the emergence of a market-based eugenics that would
exacerbate already existing discrimination, inequality, and conflict.
• It will become a tool for selecting desired characteristics such as intelligence and attractiveness.
What are the risks associated with Gene Editing?
• In the 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community statement United States
Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, named genome editing as a potential weapon of
mass destruction, stating that genome editing conducted by countries with regulatory or ethical
standards “different from Western countries” probably increases the risk of the creation of harmful
biological agents or products.
• Low cost and accelerated pace of development of this technology and its deliberate or unintentional
misuse might lead to far-reaching economic and national security implications.
• It could lead to the manufacture of biological weapons by potential bioterrorists who might use the
knowledge to create vaccine resistant strains of other pox viruses, such as smallpox, that could affect
humans.
RECENT NEWS:
• Recently, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2020 was
given to two women scientists namely Emmanuelle
Charpentier (France) & Jennifer A. Doudna (Germany).
The nobel prize was given to them for the development
of a method for genome editing.
• The two scientists have pioneered the use of CRISPR
(Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic
Repeats) – Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) system as
a gene-editing tool.
BIOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY
Biosensor
● It is an analytical device that comprises a biological component and a physicochemical detector
component which is used for the detection of an analyte.
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 Features of a Biosensor:
• It has a small size that should be appropriate for use.
• It is cheap and producible in large quantity.
• Rapid result
• Economical
• Blood glucose biosensor is an example of commercial biosensor. It breaks the blood glucose down
by using the enzyme glucose oxidase.
A biosensor is used in the following fields:
• Industry – process monitoring and control, particularly food and drink
• Medicine – diagnostics, metabolites, hormones
• Military – battlefield monitoring of poison gases, nerve agents and people
• Domestic – home monitoring of non-acute conditions.
Some examples are given below:
• Monitoring of glucose in diabetes patients
• Use to solve Environmental problem like detection of pesticides
• Remote sensing of airborne bacteria, e.g., in countering bio terrorist activities
• Pathogens detection
• Determination of toxic substance intensity before and after bioremediation
• Organophosphate detection and determining.
• Toxic metabolites detection such as mycotoxins
Biogenerics
• Biogenerics are the biological drugs, made from living organisms and are usually used to treat serious
diseases such as cancer, HIV and AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease.
• These drugs are normally very expensive to produce and purchase because they are derived from
the living organisms. Domestic companies are manufacturing recombinant insulin, GCSF, interferon
alpha, erythropoietin, monoclonal antibody (Mab) products and recombinant vaccines. All the
western made biopharma products are very highly priced which make them unreachable to most of
the world. Some of the western-made biopharma products will nearly lose their patent protections.
India wants to grab this opportunity, thus, the Indian government has rationalized some of its drug
application and review procedures, and it also offers strong tax incentives to the Indian Biotech
Industry.

•
• Various Indian companies such as Biocon, Dr Reddy’s Laboratory, Intas Pharmaceuticals, MJ
Biopharma, etc. have the capability to develop and manufacture recombinant biotech products such
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as hepatitis B vaccine streptokinase, human insulin,

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 Bioremediation
• In bioremediation, microorganisms or their enzymes are used for altering the contaminants of a
particular environment to its original condition. It enables to attack specific contaminants such as
chlorinated pesticides that are degraded by bactria or to break down the oil spills by using multiple
techniques such as the addition of fertiliser to make easy the decomposition of crude oil by bacteria.
Advantages
• Bioremediation is beneficial in those areas which cannot be reached easily without excavation. For
Example, Groundwater well below the surface of ground gets contaminated by hydrocarbon spills
(especially gasoline).
• This process is much more cost efficient than the excavation followed by burial elsewhere or
incineration.
Classification
• Bioremediation technologies can be classified as follows:
▪ In situ bioremediation: It involves the treating of contaminated material at the site in which it
is found.
▪ Ex situ bioremediation: Bioventing, land farming, bioreactor, composting, bioaugmentation and
biostimulation are some examples of Ex situ bioremediation.

▪
• Compost is a decomposed organic material (i.e. of plant and animal origins) which is used as a
fertiliser in gardening and agriculture. It is very beneficial for the overall growth of the plant because
it provides the nutrient to the plant and also increases the amount of organic matter.
• Bioaugmentation is a process in which naturally occurring or genetically engineered microbes are
administered to achieve bioremediation
• If we use plants for reclamation it is known as phytoremediation.
• Phytoremediation is used for the treatment of environmental problems by use of plants.
Some Examples are as follows:
• Alpine Pennycress is a plant that can naturally
accumulate high concentration of heavy metals
such as cadmium and zinc from the soil. It is also
known as hyper accumulator.
• Bracken Fern: This fern can remove arsenic from
the soil at a much greater rate than other plants.
• Sunflowers: This plant can also extract heavy
metals such as zinc, lead uranium, etc. This plant was used to clean up uranium near Chernobyl.
• Mustard can remove lead and cadmium from the soil at much higher rate than other plants.
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 Process associated with phytoremediation have several specific process:
• Phytoextraction: The toxic substances extracted by the plant are stored within the plant. It is also
known as phytoaccumulation.
• Phytostabilisation: It increases the microbial activity near the root for the degradation of
contaminants.
• Phytotransformation: The toxic substances uptake by the plants from the environment is degraded
by the metabolic processes within the plant. It is also known as phytodegradation.
• Rhizofiltration: The toxic substances removed from the soil or water are released in the atmosphere
through transpiration, possibly after degradation.
• Rhizofiltration: In this form of phytoremediation, plant root remove the toxic contaminants from the
ground water.

●
Bioplastic or Biopolymer
• The use of biodegradable materials has increased in recent years. Plastic materials are formed of
polymers, and are continually used in different areas. Various researches have been performed to
modify traditional materials to make them more user-friendly. Scientists are also working on natural
occurring materials to design novel polymer composites. Different biological materials (Such as
starch and fibre) may be integrated into biodegradable polymer materials. The use of biodegradable
polymer materials will be environment-friendly and economically efficient. It will reduce the need
for synthetic polymer production which ultimately leads to the reduction in pollution.
• Bioplastics are composed of chemical compounds which are synthesised from microbes (like
bacteria) or by genetically modified plants.
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• In 1926 with a bacterium Bacillus megaterium, the first known bioplastic, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)
was discovered.
▪ Applications of bioplastics:
▪ it is a highly desirable material for production of biodegradable bottles and packaging film.
Because the degradation of monomers in such plastics is brought about by microorganisms or
by water.
▪ It also has medical applications such as controlled release drug packaging and absorbable
surgical sutures.
Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism
• Biological weapons are artificially manufactured toxic substances which are produced from
pathogenic organisms.
• They are intentionally used to disrupt a host's biological process. The main aim of these biological
weapons is to kill or injure the host. The major targets of these weapons are living organisms such as
humans, animals or vegetation. They also have the capacity to contaminate non-living substances
such as air, water and soil.
Potential Biological Weapons

Microbe Natural Target Host Made of Diseases/

Environment Contact Symptoms

Bacillus Soil Humans, Open Wounds, Pulmonary

anthracis Domestic Inhalation Anthrax
(Anthrax) Animals Speticaemia,
Flu-like
symptoms
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 Protein Toxin Extracted from Humans Contaminated Severe
(RICIN) Caster Bean Food or Water, Abdominal Pain,
Plants Inhalation, Watery and
Injection Bloody
Diarrhoea,
Vomiting,
Weakness,
Fever, Cough,
and Pulmonary
Edema

Clostridium Soil Humans Contaminated Food Poisoning

botulinum Food or Water,
(Botulism)

Smallpox Eradicated from Humans Direct Contact Persistent Fever,

(Varicella) Nature, Now with Bodily Vomiting, Rash
Obtained from Fluids or on tongue and in
Laboratory Contaminated Mouth, Rash
Stocpiles Objects, and Bumps on
Inhalation Skin

Clostridium Intestines of Humans, Open Wounds Gas gangrene,

perfringens humans and domestic Severe
other animals, Animals Abdominal
Soil Cramps,
Diarrhoea

Bioleaching
• In the process of bioleaching, bacterial microorganisms are administered to extract precious metals,
such as gold, from ore in which it is embedded. The bacteria feed on nutrients in minerals, and
separating the metal after which the metal can be collected in a solution. It is a very eco-friendly
method to extract the metals.
• Microorganisms act as catalysts to speed up natural processes inside ore. Through oxidation (a
chemical process) bacteria turn metal sulphide crystals into sulphates and pure metals.
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 Advantages of Bioleaching:
• Economical: bioleaching is simple, cheaper and easy to operate and need few specialists to operate
complex chemical plants. This technique is more profitable dur to the fact that necessary limiting of
sulphur dioxide emissions during smelting is expensive.
• Environmental: As compared to the conventional extraction methods, it is more eco-friendly.
• Ore concentration: Bioleaching is useful in extracting meals from ores that have poor concentration
of metal. It also replaces the extensive crushing and grinding process that make the process cost-
efficient and also reduce energy consumption.
Disadvantages of Bioleaching:
• Time consuming: The bacterial leaching is a very slow process compared to smelting which make it
less profitable as well as delay in cash flow.
• Environmental: Sometimes the process produces toxic chemicals. Sulphuric acid and H+ icons, so
formed, can leak into the ground and make the surface water acidic, causing environmental damage.
Biomarker
• A biomarker is general a naturally occurring substance, molecules, genes, etc., which is used as an
indicator of a biological state such as biological processes, pathogenic processes or pharmacologic
responses to a therapeutic intervention.
Applications
• In medicine: A biomarker can be a substance that is transferred into an organism to observe the
function of the organ or other aspects of health, e.g., to evaluate perfusion of heart muscle, a
radioactive isotope Rubidium chloride is used.
• Another application of biomarker is to indicate the presence of various environmental substances in
epidemiology and toxicology.
• In cell biology, a molecule acts as a biomarker for the detection and isolation of a particular cell type,
e.g., to identify embryonic stem cells the protein Oct-4 is used as a biomarker.
• In genetics, a DNA sequence is identified as a genetic marker that causes diseases or is associated
with susceptibility to disease.
Biosparging
• Biosparging is a technology for fighting ground water pollution by using naturally occurring
microorganisms to biodegrade pollutants in soil layers above ground water aquifers, Biosparging is a
groundwater remediation technique.
• In biosparging, air and nutrients are injected into the soil layers to increase the biological activity of
the naturally occurring microorganism. These microorganisms digest the pollutants as food and
hence decrease their concentrations.
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