Microbes galore

There are bacteria everywhere. There are more bacteria on your skin than there are humans on the planet. There are bacteria in our bodies, at the bottom of the ocean, and miles up into the atmosphere. There are kafrickinjillions of them, and that's not even including all the other single-celled, non-bacterial organisms that we call "microbes."

Though life as we know it would certainly not exist without these microbes, there are a select few that perform some very important commercial services for us. So, I would just like to take the time to highlight some of the really important things that these "domesticated" microbes do for us. As we'll see, there's a reason it's called "culture."

Yeast is probably the most widely used domesticated microbe. It is not a bacteria, but rather a single-celled fungus. As unappetizing as a "fungus" may sound, we rely on it to give beer, wine, spirits, and liqueurs their alcohol content, which, clearly, is very important. It is so important that without yeast, Europe probably would not have survived the dark ages. Due to very poor sanitation, water was unsafe to drink, and only alcoholic beverages were sterile enough to keep people relatively healthy. This is probably a large part of the legacy of heavy alcohol consumption in Europe even today. Yeast is also largely responsible for breads. Without it, we would just be eating matza, or relying on chemical rising agents like baking soda. While soda breads are delicious and matza is just ok, neither is capable of the amazing range of baked goods granted us by yeast.

The other biggie is the group of bacteria largely responsible for our cultured dairy. Most of these fall within the Lactococci, Lactobacilli, and Streptococci families. Though the specific cocktail of bacteria depends on the type of cheese or yogurt you're interested in making, it is certain that we wouldn't have the amazing range of cultured dairy that we have without them. Middle aged women struggling with weight loss and irregularity may rejoice!

There are also a variety of cured foods including sausage, prosciutto, fish sauce, olives, pickles, sauerkraut, and kimchi which rely on bacteria for some stage of the preservation process. Can you guess where you can find the bacteria Lactobacillus kimchii?

However, the most important fermented food, by far, is chocolate. Thats right, if not fermented, chocolate is inedibly bitter and outright disgusting. Think about that the next time you have a candy bar.

This is of course not to mention all of the microbes that have recently been domesticated for biotechnology, bioremediation, and alternative energy purposes. Its my opinion that microbial science will be crucial for the medicine, agriculture, environmental protection, and sustainable energy of the future. But really, what could be more important than beer, bread, cheese, and chocolate?