Microbes in Human Welfare (PYQs)

Q1. Which is correctly matched with its product?
Correct Answer: (c)
Yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ferments sugars to ethanol.
Q2. Which microbe forms symbiotic association with plants and helps their nutrition?
Correct Answer: (c)
Glomus forms mycorrhizae that improve mineral absorption.
Q3. Nitrogen-fixing microbe associated with Azolla in rice fields is
Correct Answer: (b)
Anabaena lives symbiotically in Azolla and fixes nitrogen.
Q4. Which is biological control of plant pests/diseases using microbes?
Correct Answer: (a)
Trichoderma species control several soil-borne plant pathogens.
Q5. Which is a commercial blood-cholesterol lowering agent?
Correct Answer: (b)
Statins, produced by Monascus purpureus, inhibit cholesterol synthesis and lower blood cholesterol.
Q6. A common biocontrol agent for control of plant diseases is
Correct Answer: (d)
Trichoderma is commonly used against plant pathogens.
Q7. Which is wrongly matched in the table?
MicrobeProductApplication
Trichoderma polysporumCyclosporin AImmunosuppressive drug
Monascus purpureusStatinsLowering blood cholesterol
StreptococcusStreptokinaseRemoval of clot from blood vessel
Clostridium butylicumLipaseRemoval of oil stains
Correct Answer: (d)
Clostridium butylicum produces butyric acid; lipases used in detergents come from other microbes.
Q8. Which pair is wrongly matched?
Correct Answer: (a)
Nitrogenase fixes nitrogen; it is not used for alcohol production.
Q9. The organism used for alcoholic fermentation is
Correct Answer: (d)
Alcoholic fermentation is carried out by Saccharomyces.
Q10. Which can be used as a biocontrol agent in treatment of plant disease?
Correct Answer: (a)
Trichoderma suppresses several plant pathogens.
Q11. Non-symbiotic nitrogen fixers are
Correct Answer: (a)
Azotobacter fixes nitrogen freely in soil without a host association.
Q12. Azotobacter and Bacillus polymyxa are examples of
Correct Answer: (b)
Both are free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Q13. Modern detergents contain enzyme preparations from
Correct Answer: (b)
Alkaliphilic microbes provide enzymes that remain active in alkaline detergent solutions.
Q14. Which pair is wrongly matched?
Correct Answer: (c)
Vinegar is made by Acetobacter aceti, not coliform bacteria.
Q15. Yeast is used in production of
Correct Answer: (c)
Yeast ferments sugars, making bread porous and producing alcohol in beer.
Q16. Which helps absorption of phosphorus from soil by plants?
Correct Answer: (a)
Mycorrhizal Glomus increases phosphorus uptake by plant roots.
Q17. During sewage treatment, biogas includes
Correct Answer: (d)
Biogas is chiefly methane and CO2, with traces of hydrogen sulphide.
Q18. A patient with myocardial infarction is normally immediately given
Correct Answer: (b)
Streptokinase is a clot-buster that dissolves the thrombus in myocardial infarction.
Q19. Which is not a biofertiliser?
Correct Answer: (a)
Agrobacterium is primarily a plant pathogen/vector, not a biofertiliser.
Q20. A good producer of citric acid is
Correct Answer: (d)
Aspergillus niger is used commercially for citric-acid production.
Q21. Gobar gas contains mainly
Correct Answer: (a)
Biogas is chiefly methane with carbon dioxide; oxygen and sulphur dioxide are not principal components.
Q22. The aquatic fern that is an excellent biofertiliser is
Correct Answer: (a)
Azolla contains nitrogen-fixing Anabaena and is used in rice fields.
Q23. Microbe used for biocontrol of pest butterfly caterpillars is
Correct Answer: (c)
Bt produces Cry proteins toxic to insect larvae, including butterfly caterpillars.
Q24. Domestic sewage in large cities
Correct Answer: (b)
Sewage receives aerobic secondary treatment; activated sludge is then anaerobically digested.
Q25. The guts of cow and buffalo possess
Correct Answer: (b)
Methanogens inhabit the rumen of ruminants and produce methane.
Q26. Which pair can both be used as biofertilisers?
Correct Answer: (d)
Cyanobacteria and Rhizobium fix nitrogen and are used as biofertilisers.
Q27. Bread becomes porous because CO2 is released by
Correct Answer: (a)
Yeast fermentation produces CO2 gas, which forms pores in bread.
Q28. What gases are produced in anaerobic sludge digesters?
Correct Answer: (b)
Anaerobic digestion releases methane with CO2 and traces of H2S; oxygen is absent.
Q29. Dough kept overnight becomes soft and spongy because of
Correct Answer: (b)
Yeast fermentation releases CO2, making dough soft and porous.
Q30. Bordeaux mixture was discovered as a popular fungicide against
Correct Answer: (b)
Bordeaux mixture was developed to control downy mildew of grapes.
Q31. A biocontrol agent in integrated pest management should be
Correct Answer: (a)
Good biocontrol agents target only the pest and do not harm non-target organisms.
Q32. Biofertiliser for raising soybean crops is
Correct Answer: (c)
Soybean is a legume and forms nitrogen-fixing root nodules with Rhizobium.
Q33. Ethanol is commercially produced through
Correct Answer: (a)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae ferments carbohydrates to ethanol.
Q34. In gobar gas, the maximum amount is that of
Correct Answer: (b)
Methane is the major combustible component of biogas.
Q35. What is put into an anaerobic sludge digester for further sewage treatment?
Correct Answer: (c)
Activated sludge is pumped into anaerobic digesters, where anaerobic microbes digest it and release biogas.
Q36. Which is not true about antibiotics?
Correct Answer: (c)
Antibiotics often act against a range of susceptible microbes, not only one kind.
Q37. Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used industrially for
Correct Answer: (c)
Brewer’s yeast produces ethanol by fermentation.
Q38. Select the correct statement.
Correct Answer: (d)
Activated sludge contains aerobic microbial flocs; biogas is anaerobic and methane-rich, not pure methane.
Q39. Human insulin is commercially produced from a transgenic species of
Correct Answer: (a)
Recombinant Escherichia coli is used to produce human insulin.
Q40. Match microbes with their importance.
MicrobeImportance
(A) Saccharomyces cerevisiae(i) Production of immunosuppressive agents
(B) Monascus purpureus(ii) Ripening of Swiss cheese
(C) Trichoderma polysporum(iii) Commercial production of ethanol
(D) Propionibacterium sharmanii(iv) Production of blood-cholesterol lowering agents
Correct Answer: (d)
Yeast produces ethanol; Monascus produces statins; Trichoderma produces cyclosporin A; Propionibacterium ripens Swiss cheese.
Q41. Which statement about methanogens is not correct?
Correct Answer: (d)
Methanogens are obligate anaerobes, not aerobic organisms.
Q42. A drug used for _____ patients is obtained from _____ .
Correct Answer: (b)
Cyclosporin A from Trichoderma polysporum is an immunosuppressant used in organ transplantation.
Q43. Which is likely to be achieved in the coming two decades?
Correct Answer: (b)
The source answer identifies improved control of cancer as the likely achievement.
Q44. Rice yield has been increased by use of
Correct Answer: (a)
Anabaena is a cyanobacterial biofertiliser that improves rice yield.
Q45. Match Column-I with Column-II.
Column-IColumn-II
(a) Clostridium butylicum(i) Cyclosporin-A
(b) Trichoderma polysporum(ii) Butyric acid
(c) Monascus purpureus(iii) Citric acid
(d) Aspergillus niger(iv) Blood-cholesterol lowering agent
Select the correct matching.
Correct Answer: (a)
C. butylicum produces butyric acid, Trichoderma produces cyclosporin A, Monascus produces statins and A. niger produces citric acid.
Q46. Which sewage-treatment stage removes suspended solids?
Correct Answer: (b)
Primary treatment physically removes floating debris and suspended solids through filtration and sedimentation.
Q47. Over 50% higher rice yields have been reported using
Correct Answer: (a)
Azolla pinnata with Anabaena serves as an excellent paddy biofertiliser.
Q48. The term antibiotic was first used by
Correct Answer: (c)
Selman Waksman coined the term “antibiotic” in 1942.
Q49. Which is a pair of biofertilisers?
Correct Answer: (a)
Azolla and blue-green algae enrich fields through nitrogen fixation.
Q50. Select the correct group of biocontrol agents.
Correct Answer: (b)
Trichoderma, baculoviruses and Bt are important biocontrol agents.
Q51. Industrial ethanol production from starch is brought about by
Correct Answer: (a)
Saccharomyces ferments sugars derived from starch into ethanol.
Q52. Trichoderma harzianum is useful for
Correct Answer: (d)
T. harzianum is a biocontrol agent against soil-borne plant pathogens.
Q53. Monascus purpureus is used commercially for production of
Correct Answer: (d)
This yeast produces statins, which lower blood cholesterol.
Q54. For retting of jute, the fermenting microbe used is
Correct Answer: (b)
Butyric-acid bacteria break down pectins and help separate jute fibres.
Q55. Which is a non-symbiotic biofertiliser?
Correct Answer: (a)
Azotobacter is a free-living, non-symbiotic nitrogen fixer.
Q56. Common nitrogen fixer in paddy fields is
Correct Answer: (c)
Oscillatoria is a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium used in paddy fields.
Q57. Which pair is not correctly matched?
Correct Answer: (b)
Serratia is not associated with drug addiction; the other pairs are correct.
Q58. A non-photosynthetic aerobic nitrogen-fixing soil bacterium is
Correct Answer: (c)
Azotobacter is an aerobic, free-living, non-photosynthetic nitrogen fixer.
Q59. Which is a wrong microbe-industrial product matching?
Correct Answer: (c)
C. butylicum produces butyric acid, not lactic acid.
Q60. Which microorganism is used for industrial citric-acid production?
Correct Answer: (b)
Aspergillus niger is the standard industrial producer of citric acid.
Q61. Match organisms with products.
OrganismProduct
(a) Lactobacillus(i) Cheese
(b) Saccharomyces cerevisiae(ii) Curd
(c) Aspergillus niger(iii) Citric acid
(d) Acetobacter aceti(iv) Bread
(v) Acetic acid
Select the correct combination for (a)-(d).
Correct Answer: (b)
Lactobacillus makes curd, yeast makes bread, A. niger makes citric acid and A. aceti makes acetic acid.
Q62. Probiotics are
Correct Answer: (c)
Probiotics are beneficial live microbes added to foods or supplements.
Q63. Primitive prokaryotes responsible for biogas production from ruminant dung include
Correct Answer: (c)
Methanogens anaerobically digest dung and generate methane-rich biogas.
Q64. Which is not used in organic farming?
Correct Answer: (d)
Snails are pests, whereas mycorrhizae, earthworms and cyanobacteria support organic farming.

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