Which pairing describes an Industrial microbiologist's role as given in the material?

• A. Public health microbiologist -- track AIDS
• B. Agricultural microbiologist -- crop disease
• C. Industrial microbiologist -- manipulate strains to be less pathogenic
• D. Medical microbiologist -- bladder infection

Answer: (C)

Industrial microbiology focuses on turning microbes into reliable workhorses for production, so a central aim is to optimize and safen the strains used in industry. Manipulating strains to be less pathogenic fits this goal because it reduces risk in large-scale applications while maintaining or improving useful traits like yield, robustness, and ease of handling. This contrasts with other branches: public health microbiology centers on monitoring and controlling diseases in populations; agricultural microbiology deals with crop diseases and soil microbes; and medical microbiology focuses on diagnosing and understanding human infections. So the pairing about adjusting strains to reduce pathogenicity best describes an industrial microbiologist’s role.