Shelby Fife

Table of contents
What are bacteria?..................................................................page 1
Archeabacteria....page 2
Eubacteria.page 3
Structure of Bacteria..pages 4-5
Identifying Bacteria-Gram stain.page 6
Reproduction Asexual and Sexual..page 7
Importance of Bacteria...pages 8-9
Disease causing Bacteria...page 10
Reference Page.page 11

What are Bacteria?

Bacteria are a large group of unicellular
microorganisms. This means that they consist of one
cell and cannot be seen with out a microscope.
Bacteria are found in every habit on Earth. They live
in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, water,
and deep in the oceans crust. They can also live in
the bodies of plant and animal. Typically a few
micrometers in length, bacteria have a wide range of
shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals.
There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram
of soil and a million bacterial cells in a milliliter of
fresh water. There are thousands of bacteria in the
body. The immune system in the body makes most
bacteria harmless. Few are beneficial. Some are
pathogenic and cause infections diseases like
anthrax, syphilis, and cholera.
Bacteria
are
classified
as
prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes do not contain a nucleus or other
membrane-bound organelles, unlike eukaryotes.
Prokaryotes are broken down into two categories,
eubacteria and archaebacteria.
Bacteria can also be Aerobic or Anaerobic.
Aerobic bacteria are bacteria that can grow and live
in the presence of oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria are
bacteria that do not live or grow in the presence of
oxygen.

Archaebacteria.
Archaebacteria are the oldest living organisms
on earth. They live in very extreme conditions, like
the bottom of the ocean and volcanic vents. Earths
early atmosphere was filled with poisonous gases
and was very hot. Archeabacteria were the only
organisms that could survive in this harsh
environment. As oxygen was introduced into Earths
atmosphere, archeabacteria gave way to more
modern organisms. There are three groups of
archeabacteria. None of which can live in oxygen
environments.
Methanogens are characterized by their ability
to obtain energy by converting H2 and CO2 into
methane gas. They are found in marshes and in the
intestinal tracts of humans and some animals.
Ancient methanogens are the source of natural gas.
The second group is halophiles. In Greek this
name means salt-loving. Salt kills most bacteria, but
halophiles have adapted to the salty environments.

They are found in the Dead Sea, the Great Salt Lake,
and other areas with a high salt content. In order to
survive the high salinities, halophiles have two
different strategies to prevent desiccation through
osmotic movement of water out of their cytoplasm.
In the first, organic compounds are accumulated in
the cytoplasm, known as compatible solutes. The
second, adaptation involves the selective influx of
potassium (K+) ions into the cytoplasm.
The third group is the thermoacidophiles. These
bacteria are found in extremely acidic conditions and
in areas with very high temperatures. They can
survive in areas with temperatures as high as 230
degrees Fahrenheit and with pHs below 2. It can
survive hydrochloric acid which is incredibly strong
and has a pH of 1. These locations include volcanic
vents and hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents
are cracks in the ocean floor where scalding hot
water leaks out.

Eubacteria
Unlike the Archaea, the Eubacteria have been
known and studied for more than 150 years. Perhaps
more
importantly,
many
of
them
inhabit
environments that are easily studied and sampled.
Eubacteria have been separated into the Gram
positive and Gram negative groups, based upon a
standard stain technique. As it turns out, the way a
cell stains is related to the type and structure of the
cell wall. Gram positive cells have a single
membrane with a murien or peptidoglycan wall to
the outside of the single membrane. Gram negative

cells have an inner membrane and an outer

membrane with a murein layer sandwiched between
them. The system of Margulis and Schwartz (1998)
is based on the fundamental separation of gram
positive and gram negative cells.
There are three types of eubacteria, Heteratrops,
Photosynthetic autotrophs, and chemosynthetic
autotrophs. Heteratrophs use organic carbon for
growth. They are known as consumers in food chains
and obtain organic carbon by eating other
heterotrophs or autotrophs. They break down
complex organic compounds that are produced by
autotrophs.
Photosynthetic autotrophs produce complex
organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules
using energy from light by photosynthesis. They
must live in environment with sunlight. In addition to
deriving energy from chemical reactions, synthesize
all necessary organic compounds from carbon
dioxide.
Chemoautotrophs generally only use inorganic
energy sources. They live in hostile environments
such as deep sea vents and are the primary
producers
in
such
ecosystems.
Evolutionary
scientists believe that the first organisms to inhabit
Earth were chemoautotrophs that produced oxygen
as a by-product. Chemoautotrophs generally fall into
several groups: methanogens, halophiles, sulfur
reducers,
nitrifiers,
anammoxbacteria
and
thermoacidophiles.

Structure of Bacteria
Bacteria have a well developed cell structure that
is responsible for many of their biological properties.
Many of their features are not found among
eukaryotes.
The cell structure of bacteria has been well
studied. The cell shape can be coccus (spherical),
bacillus (rod-like), spirillum (spiral), or filamentous.
Some bacteria have complex life cycles involving the
production of stalks and appendages and some
produce elaborate structures bearing reproductive.
These are often the first characteristics observed by
a microbiologist to determine the identity of an
unknown bacterium.
The primary function of the cell wall is to protect the
cell from internal pressure. The bacterial cell wall
differs from that of all other organisms by the
presence of peptidoglycan, which is located outside
of the cytoplasmic membrane. Peptidoglycan is
responsible for the rigidity of the bacterial cell wall
and for the determination of cell shape. Since the cell
wall is required for bacterial survival, but is absent in
eukaryotes, several antibiotics, penicillin and
cephalosporin, stop bacterial infections by interfering
with cell wall synthesis. This process has no effect on
human cells.
Fimbrae are protein tubes that extend out from
the outer. They are generally short in length and
present in high numbers about the entire bacterial
cell surface. Fimbrae aid in the attachment of
bacterium to a surface. Pili are similar in structure to

fimbrae but are much longer and present on the

bacterial cell in low numbers. Pili are involved in
reproduction. . Non-sex pili also aid bacteria in
gripping surfaces.
An S-layer is a cell surface protein layer found in
many different bacteria. It serves as the cell wall. All
S-layers are made up of a two-dimensional collection
of proteins and have a crystalline appearance. The
exact function of layer is unknown. An S-layer could
conceivably keep extra cellular proteins near the cell
membrane by preventing their diffusion away from
the cell. In some pathogenic species, an S-layer may
help to facilitate survival within the host by
conferring
protection
against
host
defense
mechanisms.
Flagella are whip-like structures protruding from
the bacterial cell wall and are responsible for
bacterial movement. There are different forms of
flagella. Peritrichous are multiple flagella found at
several locations in the cell. Polar is a single flagella
found at one of the cells poles. Lophotrichous is a
tuft of flagella found at one cell pole. Flagella are
complex structures that are composed of many
different proteins. Flagellin is the protein that makes
up the whip-like tube. It and a protein complex that
spans the cell wall form a motor that causes the
flagellum to rotate.
The most well known bacterial adaptation to
stress is endospores. Endospores are bacterial
survival structures that are highly resistant to many
different types of chemical and environmental
stresses and therefore enable the survival of bacteria

in environments that would be lethal for these cells

in their normal form.

Identifying bacteria- gram stain

The Gram staining method is named after the
Danish bacteriologist, Hans Christian Gram. He
introduced it in 1882. It is almost always the first test
performed for the identification of bacteria. The
primary stain of the Gram's Method is crystal violet.
The microorganisms that retain the crystal violetiodine complex appear purple brown under
microscopic examination. These microorganisms that
are stained by the Gram's Method are commonly
classified as Gram-positive. Others that are not
stained by crystal violet are referred to as Gram
negative, and appear red.

Gram staining is based on the ability of bacteria

cell wall to hold in the crystal violet dye. The cell
walls for Gram-positive microorganisms have a
higher peptidoglycan and lower lipid content than
gram-negative bacteria. Iodine is subsequently
added to form the crystal violet-iodine complex so
that the dye cannot be removed easily. This step is
referred to as fixing the dye. However, subsequent
treatment with a decolorizer, which is a mixed
solvent of ethanol and acetone, dissolves the lipid
layer from the gram-negative cells. The removal of
the lipid layer enhances the removal of the primary
stain from the cells into the surrounding solvent. The
solvent dehydrates the thicker Gram-positive cell
walls, closing the pores as the cell wall shrinks during
dehydration. As a result, the diffusion of the violetiodine complex is blocked, and the bacteria remain
stained.

Reproduction asexual and sexual

Bacteria grow to a fixed size and then reproduce
through binary fission, a form of asexual

reproduction. Bacteria can only reproduce under

certain conditions. These conditions are not often
met, and that is one thing that keeps bacteria from
growing out of control. Bacteria can grow and divide
extremely rapidly, and bacterial populations can
double in 9.8 minutes.
Asexual reproduction involves only one parent.
The offspring generated by asexual reproduction are
exact duplicates of the parent. Binary fission is the
process by which a bacteria splits into two cells.
Each cell gets an exact copy of the parent cell's
genetic material.
Sexual reproduction involves the joining of two
parent cells and the exchanging of genetic
materials. In sexual reproduction, the offspring will
have a mixture of the parent cells' traits.
Conjugation is the process by which bacteria join and
exchange genetic materials. Once genetic materials
are exchanged, each bacteria cell will go through
binary fission to produce an offspring with a new
genetic makeup.

Binary fission

Importance of Bacteria
Bacteria are important in many ways:
Fermentation processes, such as brewing and
baking use bacteria.
Cheese and butter
manufacturing require the use of bacteria. Bacteria
have been used for thousands of years in the
preparation of foods such as cheese, pickles, soy
sauce, sauerkraut, vinegar, wine, and yogurt.
Bacteria can actually help to fight themselves.
Doctors and scientists have figured out how to use
dead or weakened bacteria to prevent other bacterial
diseases. This process is called vaccination.
Vaccination has helped us all become a lot healthier
then we were a hundred years ago. Bacteria also
make, or help to make, drugs, hormones, or
antibodies.
Some bacteria living in the gut of cattle, horses
and other herbivores secrete cellulose, an enzyme
that helps in the digestion of the cellulose contents
of plant cell walls. Cellulose is the major source of
energy for these animals.
Bacteria are used to decompose sewage wastes.
They break down organic matter to harmless, soluble
sludge in settling tanks. The methane gas produced
is used as energy source. Similarly toxic chemicals
synthesized by living organisms and those present in
the pesticides are disposed with the help of bacteria.

The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic

compounds is remarkable and has been used in
waste processing, and bioremediation. Bacteria
capable of digesting the hydrocarbons in petroleum
are often used to clean up oil spills.
Bacteria play a big role in Nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen
fixation refers to the biological process by which
nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into
ammonia. This process is essential for life because
fixed nitrogen is required to build the basic building
blocks of life, like nucleotides for DNA and amino
acids for proteins.
Decomposing is one of the most important jobs
bacteria do. This is also called mineralization. When
an organism dies in the wild, it just sits and rots.
What is happening is that bacteria are releasing
carbon to the atmosphere which plants use. With no
carbon dioxide there would be no photosynthesis. By
decomposing the dead organisms, the bacteria
release essential nutrients into the air and soil.
Lastly, bacteria play a large part in many
commercial industries. They help in tanning, making
linen, curing tea and tobacco leaves, extracting
precious metals from rock, coloring foods, coloring
cosmetics, tenderizing meat, removing stains,
processing paper, processing cloth, changing one
chemical into another.

Disease causing bacteria

If bacteria form a parasitic association with other
organisms, they are called pathogens. Pathogenic
bacteria are a major cause of human death and
disease and cause infections such as tetanus,
typhoid fever, diphtheria, syphilis, cholera, food
borne illness, leprosy and tuberculosis. Bacterial
diseases are also important in agriculture, with
bacteria causing leaf spot, fire blight and wilts in

plants, as well as Johne's disease,

salmonella and anthrax in farm animals.

mastitis,

Bacterial infections may be treated with

antibiotics. They are classified as bactericidal if they
kill bacteria, or bacteriostatic if they just prevent
bacterial growth. There are many types of antibiotics
and each class inhibits a process that is different in
the pathogen from that found in the host. Antibiotics
are used both in treating human disease and in
intensive farming to promote animal growth, where
they may be contributing to the rapid development
of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.
Infections can be prevented by antiseptic measures
such as sterilizating the skin prior to piercing it with
the needle of a syringe. Surgical and dental
instruments
are
also
sterilized
to
prevent
contamination by bacteria. Disinfectants such as
bleach are used to kill bacteria or other pathogens on
surfaces to prevent contamination and further reduce
the risk of infection.

Reference page

 www.earthlife.net/prokaryotes/disease.html
En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria
www.livescience.com/bacteria
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/bacteria.html
www.buzzle.com/articles/diferent-types-of-bacteria.html