Question

Which bacteria is useful for cleaning the hydrocarbon and oil pollutants from soil and water?

• A. Lactobacillus
• B. Pseudomonas
• C. Diplococcus
• D. Rhizobium

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Pseudomonas

A- Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of the most common types of probiotics and can be found in fermented foods, yogurt and supplements. Its name gives an indication of what it produces lactic acid. It does this by producing an enzyme called lactase. Lactase breaks down lactose, a sugar found in milk, into lactic acid.

B- The bacterial pseudomonas is useful because of its ability to decompose a variety of organic compound including the hydrocarbon and oil-pollutants from soil and water.

C- A diplococcus is a round bacterium that typically occurs in pairs of two joined cells and the leading cause of pneumonia.

D- Rhizobia is "the group of soil bacteria that infect the roots of legumes to form root nodules". Rhizobia are found in the soil and after infection, produce nodules in the legume where they fix nitrogen gas (N₂) from the atmosphere turning it into a more readily useful form of nitrogen.

So, the correct option is 'Pseudomonas'.