- With the accumulation of knowledge about various aspects of microbes since the last century and has spread into various branches. Thus the various aspects of microbiology study can be divided basically into the following branches.
Industrial Microbiology
- It deals with the exploitation of microbes for industrial production. Here the microbes can be considered mini chemical factories, as they are capable of converting some raw materials into end products that have value for human use.
- Microbes have been used to produce alcohols, antibiotics, and organic acids, on an industrial scale. The study of fermentation by microorganisms has provided a booster to the beverage industry.
- Recently great advances in recombinant DNA technologies have provided a better route to genetically manipulate microbes to produce new products.
Diary Microbiology
- It deals with the study of harmful and beneficial bacteria present in milk and milk products.
- In diary microbiology the aspects like the production of (yogurt) fermented milk products.
- Pasteurization of milk and milk products can be studied. Many such fermented milk products are used in the treatment of dysentery and gastroenteritis.
Environmental Microbiology
- It is one of the important branches of microbiology where microbes’ role in maintaining environmental quality is studied. Since microbes are found in every environment the air, water, soil, and food, they influence the degradation and decay of natural wastes (bioremediation) they also influence the energy flow in the ecosystem.
- The study also helps to understand freshwater and marine water and their microbes.
- Recently it has been shown that some genetically modified microbes can help in cleaning oil spills and this gives an added advantage to the study of environmental microbiology.
Food Microbiology
- It is concerned with the study of the role of microbes in food processing, food preservation, and canning. The extensive study of microbes in food products leads to the characterization of microbes.
- As a result new methods have developed and old methods have been improved. This branch also provides a platform for the study of food-borne microbial diseases and their control.
Agricultural Microbiology
- In this branch, the role of microbial activity in plants and their surroundings is studied.
- Microbes like fungi, bacteria, and viruses cause many plant diseases.
- This branch is concerned with the study of nitrogen fixation activity. Use of microbes as biofertilizers, use of microbes as biopesticides, and many more aspects.
Medical Microbiology
- The study of pathogenic microbes, their etiology, their life cycle, and physiology. Genetics, pathogenicity, and control are known as medical microbiology.
- The integral part of medical microbiology is to understand how the immune system of vertebrates protects themselves from pathogens and shows the response to the pathogen.
- This branch primarily allows the study of morphological and cultural characteristic resistance nature of microbes, their diagnosis, treatment, and control of infectious diseases.
Air Microbiology
- The branch covers the study of the dispersal of pathogenic microbes through the air, microbial population in the air, and control of airborne microbes by chemical agents, radiations, filtration, and laminar air flow methods.
Aquatic Microbiology
- It encompasses the study of microbes present in freshwater, ocean water, and estuarine.
- This branch is of great significance that; Many aquatic microbes are pathogenic to human beings: Most of them are important in the food chain in the ecosystem.
- They take part in recycling processes.
- They help in the exploration of oils and minerals.
Immunology
- It is one of the fastest growing areas that covers the practical health problems their nature and treatments.
- It is the study of immunity against invading microbes by a host.
Biotechnology
- It is the most significant branch that deals with the application of biological techniques for the benefit of mankind.
- It encompasses the use of microbes for the production of drugs, fermented foods, and the treatment of waste.
- It also includes developing techniques for the more efficient production of specific compounds.
- It focuses on aspects such as the nature of genetic material, regulation, development, and function of a cell, and the method of production of new microbial cells by recombinant DNA technology which are useful in industrial microbiology.
Exo-Microbiology
- It is a branch still in its infancy, it includes exploring and the study of microbes in outer space and on other planets such as the moon and Mars.
Geochemical Microbiology
- Study of the role of microbes in coal, gas, and mineral formation. Exploration of oil, gas, and minerals is known as geochemical microbiology.
In addition to the above-mentioned branches, basic microbiology encompasses the following branches that are concerned with the study of morphology, ecology, taxonomy, genetics, and physiology of specific groups of microbes.
- Bacteriology: Study of bacteria
- Phycology: Study of algae
- Mycology: Study of fungi, [molds and yeasts].
- Virology: Study of viruses
- Protozoology: Study of protozoa
