Question

Microorganism involved in curd formation is
A) Rhizopus
B) Lactobacillus
C) Smut
D) Rust

Answer 1

Hint: Curd formation occurs by the activity of bacteria and not the fungi.

Complete Answer:
The more you get to know the microbes, the more you love them for their varied properties and functions. They are harmful and beneficial. In both the ways they present a fascinating metabolic setup.

Talking about the beneficial microbes, that range from cyanobacteria to eubacteria to fungi, one cannot help but cite the most relevant example of curd. Something that forms an essential component of our foods, curd is a beautiful presentation of what happens when a certain class of bacteria called lactic acid bacteria or Lactobacillus is allowed to ferment in milk. Lactic acid bacteria produces lactic acids by converting the milk sugars (lactose) that coagulate and partially digest the milk protein, giving rise to curd.
A small amount of curd can be used as an inoculum to set the process of curdling milk. Apart from providing us with curd, the Lactobacillus also plays an important role in checking the growth of disease causing microbes.
Rhizopus is a fungal species that generally grows as mould on stale food. It is also used commercially for the production of lactic acid and cortisone, for alcoholic fermentation, and for the biosorption (passive adsorption of chemical contaminants by an organism) of heavy metals. Smut and rust are fungal diseases.

Therefore, the correct answer is option B.

Note: Some other types of microbes used for food production are:
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae for dough making
- Propionibacterium shermanii for swiss cheese
- Penicillium roqueforti for Roqueforte cheese