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Significance of Air Microflora

Significance of Air Microflora - Although, when compared with the microorganisms of other environments, air microflora are very low in number, they playa very significant role. This is due to the fact that the air is in contact with almost all animate and inanimate objects.

The significance of air flora has been studied since 1799, in which year Lazaro Spallanzani attempted to disprove spontaneous generation. In t 837, Theodore Schwann, in his experiment to support the view of Spallanzani, introduced fresh heated air into a sterilized meat broth and demonstrated that microbial growth couldn't occur.

This formed the basis of modern-day forced aeration fermentations. It was Pasteur in 1861, which first showed that microorganisms could occur as airborne contaminants. He used special cotton in his air sampler onto which the microorganisms were deposited.

He microscopically demonstrated the presence of microorganisms in the cotton. In his famous swan necked flask experiment, he showed that growth could not occur in sterile media unless airborne contamination had occurred.

 

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