BIOLOGY-MDCAT-2024

PROKARYOTES (KINGDOM MONERA)

PROKARYOTES

(KINGDOM MONERA)
• Cellular structure of bacteria
• Shapes and size of bacteria
• Importance and control of bacteria

Learning Objective
• Describe cellular structure of bacteria
• Explain diversity in shape and size in bacteria
• Highlight the importance of bacteria and control of harmful bacteria

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CELLULAR STRUCTURE OF BACTERIA

• All bacteria cells invariably have a
o Cell membrane
o Cytoplasm
o Ribosome
o Chromatin bodies
• The majority have a cell wall, which give shape to the bacterial cell
• Specific structures are not found in all bacteria such as
o Capsule
o Slime
o Flagella
o Pili
o Fimbriae
o Granules

FIMBRIAE
• Are long filamentous protein structures located at the surface of bacteria cells
• They enable the bacteria to bind to specific receptor structures and thereby to colonize specific
structures

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FLAGELLA
• It is thin, hollow, long, hair like appendage
• It is made up of proteins known as Flagellin
• It is helical
• It is about 20nm diameter and up to 20 µm in length

Structure of a flagellum

• They have three distinct regions

o Basal body
o Hooke
o Filament (flagellin)
• Basal body is attached just beneath cell membrane of a cell.

Classification of bacteria on the basis of flagella

Bacteria are classified on the basis of flagella as,

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i. Atrichous
A bacterium which lacks any flagella e.g., Lactobacillus
ii. Monotrichous
A bacterium having single flagellum e.g., Vibrio cholerae
iii. Lophotrichous
A bacterium having tuft of flagella at one pole e.g., Spirillum
iv. Amphitrichous
A bacterium having tuft of flagella at both poles e.g., Alkaligens faecalis
v. Peritrichous
A bacterium having flagella all over the body e.g., Salmonella typhi

Role of flagella in bacteria

• They are motile and help in locomotion by chemotaxis (movement in response to certain chemical
signals), and by phototaxis (movement in response to light stimulus)

PILI
• They are thin, hollow, short appendages
• They are non-helical
• They are made up of protein known as Pilin.
• True pili are only found in gram negative bacteria.
• They are non-motile

Role of Pili in bacteria

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• They are involved in a mating process between cells called conjugation process.
• Some pili are also involved in the attachment of bacteria with various surfaces.

FLAGELLA PILI
1. Long, thread like, hollow, appendages 1. Short, thread like, hollow, appendages

2. Helical 2. Non-helical

3. Helps in locomotion 3. Helps in conjugation

4. Composed of protein “Flagellin” 4. Composed of protein “pilin”

GLYCOCALYX
• It is the outer coating that covers the outside of bacterial cell wall
• A bacterium with glycocalyx becomes more pathogenic
• It promotes the adhesion of the bacteria to living and inert surface and the subsequent formation
of adherent, glycocalyx enclosed populations that are called biofilm
o Biofilm bacteria can become hard to kill, partly due to the presence of glycocalyx material
• It is a highly charged layer of membrane-bound biological macromolecules attached to a cell
membrane
• It is found outside the cell wall
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• It is composed of polysaccharides
• It also helps in defense
• The encapsulated bacteria cause disease while the same bacteria without capsule do not cause
disease e.g., diplococcus pneumoniae causes pneumonia
• It exists in two forms i.e., slime and capsule

SLIME
• Bacteria are covered with loose, soluble shield of macromolecules which is called slime
• It provides greater pathogenicity to bacteria.
• It also protects the bacteria from being phagocytosed.
• It is found in some bacteria such as Pseudomonas

CAPSULE
• Some bacteria have an envelope made up of repeating polysaccharide units and of proteins or of
both is known as capsule.
• It is tightly bounded to the cell.
• It has thicker, gelatinous, gummy nature that gives sticky characters to colonies of encapsulated
bacteria.
• It prevents dehydration of bacterial cell
• It is found in some bacteria such as Haemophilus influenza

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• The second function of a bacterial glycocalyx is to promote the adhesion of the bacteria to living
and inert surfaces and the subsequent formation of adherent, glycocalyx-enclosed populations
that are called biofilms
• Biofilm bacteria can become very hard to kill, partly due to the presence of the glycocalyx material

CELL WALL
i. It provides definite shape to a cell.
ii. It also protects the cell from osmotic lysis.
iii. Mycoplasma lacks cell wall.

Gram positive and Gram-negative bacteria

• Hans Christian Gram developed a technique of gram stain. According to his staining technique,
those bacteria which retain blue or purple colour with primary dye (Crystal Violet-I complex) are
known as Gram positive bacteria, while those bacteria which retain red or pink colour with
secondary dye (Safranin) are known as Gram negative bacteria.

Difference between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

Gram positive bacteria Gram negative bacteria
1. They retain blue or purple color with 1. They retain pink or red color with
primary dye secondary dye
2. They lack true pili 2. They have true pili

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Difference between Gram-positive and Gram-negative cell wall

Characteristics Gram +ve cell wall Gram –ve cell wall

Number of major layers 1 2
Chemical Make up Peptidoglycans (50 % of dry Peptidoglycans (10 % of dry
weight) weight)
Techoic acid Lipopolysaccharides
Lipotechoic acid Lipoproteins
Lipids (1-4 %) Lipids (11-12 %)
Overall thickness 20-80 nm 8-11 nm
Outer membrane No Yes
Periplasmic space Present in some Present in all
Permeability More permeable Less permeable
Resistance to Molecules Less More
• The cell walls of most bacteria have a unique macromolecule called as Peptidoglycan or Murein or
Mucopeptide (Peptidoglycan has a long chain of sugars with short chains of amino acids-normally
4-5)
• Its amount varies in different types of bacteria
• It is composed of framework of glycan chains cross-linked with peptide fragments
• The intact cell wall also contains chemical constituents such as
o Sugar molecules
o Teichoic acid
o Lipoproteins
o Lipopolysaccharides
Which are linked to peptidoglycans
• Several bacterial groups lack the cell wall structure characteristics of Gram-positive or Gram-
negative bacteria, and some bacteria have no cell wall at all
• Cell walls of archaebacteria are composed of
o Proteins
o Glycoproteins
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o Polysaccharides

CELL MEMBRANE/PLASMA MEMBRANE

• It is just beneath the cell wall
• It is very thin, flexible and completely surrounds the cytoplasm
• It is very delicate in nature any damage to it results in death of organism
• Bacterial cell membrane lacks cholesterol, while eukaryotic cell membrane does have cholesterols.

Functions

• It regulates the transport of proteins, nutrients, sugar and other metabolites.

• It also contains enzymes for
o Respiratory metabolism
o DNA replication
o Cell division

CYTOPLASMIC MATRIX
• The cytoplasm of prokaryotic cell lacks
o Membrane bound organelles
o Cytoskeleton
• The cytoplasmic matrix is the substance present between the plasma membrane and the nucleoid
• It has gel like consistency
• Small molecules can move through it rapidly
• The plasma membrane and everything present within it is known as protoplast
• The cytoplasmic matrix is a major part of protoplast
• Matrix consists of large discrete structures such as
o Chromatin/nuclear body
o Ribosomes
o Mesosomes
o Granules
o Nucleoid

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NUCLEOID
• Bacterial cells lack discrete chromosomes and nuclear membrane.
• DNA in bacterial cells occupies a position near to the centre of a cell.
• It is a single, double stranded circular DNA molecule.
• It aggregates as an irregular shaped dense area called the nucleoid
• It is actually an extremely long molecules of DNA that is tightly folded so as it fit inside the cell
component
• Bacterial cell is a haploid due to single chromosome
• It is diploid only during binary fission
• It is also known as
o Nuclear region
o Nuclear body
o Chromatin body
o Bacterial chromosome
o Genophore
• It is visible in the light microscope after staining with Feulgen stain
• E. coli closed circle chromosome measures approximately 1,4000 µm

PLASMID
• Many bacteria contain plasmids in addition to chromosomes
• They are the extra circular double stranded DNA molecules found in many bacteria.
• These are self-replicating in nature.
• They are not essential for bacterial growth and metabolism.
• They often contain drug resistant, heavy metals, disease and insect resistant genes on them.
• They are used as a vector in genetic engineering techniques.
• Plasmids are natural extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules which carry genes for antibiotics
resistance and fertility etc.
• One of the plasmids discovered earlier
o pSC 101 has antibiotic resistance gene for tetracycline (P=Plasmid, S=Stanley, C=Cohen)

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o pBR 322 has antibiotic resistance genes for tetracycline as well as ampicillin (P=Plasmid,
B=Bolivar, R=Rodriguez)
• Inserting gene of interest in tetracycline resistant gene of plasmid pBR 322 would enable
separating out colonies of bacteria in a medium containing ampicillin and vice versa

RIBOSOMES
• They are composed of RNA and proteins
• They are smaller than eukaryotic ribosome
• Their size is 70 S
• Their larger sub-unit is 50 S while smaller sub-unit is 30 S
• Some may be loosely attached with plasma membrane
• They are the protein factory of a cell
• There are thousands of ribosomes in each healthy growing cell

MESOSOMES
• These are the invaginations of plasma membrane in the form of
o Vesicles,
o Tubules or
o Lamella
• These are involved in
o DNA replication
o Photosynthesis
o Cellular Respiration
• Some mesosomes are also involved in the export of exocellular enzymes

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• They also have respiratory enzymes

GRANULES AND STORAGE BODIES

• Since bacteria exist in a very competitive environment where nutrients are usually in short supply
• They tend to store extra nutrients, when possible, in the form of
o Sulphur
o Fats
o Glycogen
o Phosphates
o Proteins
• In addition, cells contain waste materials that are subsequently excreted in the form of
o Alcohol
o Lactic acid
o Acetic acid

SPORES
• They may be exospores (outside the cell) or endospores (inside the cell) to the vegetative cells.
• They are metabolically dormant and are produced at a late stage of cell growth.
• They are resistant to adverse physical environmental conditions such as
o Light
o High temperature
o Desiccation
o pH
o Chemical agents
• Under favorable conditions they germinate and form vegetative cells.
• They are heat resistant.
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• Actinomycetes are large group of spores forming, Gram positive bacteria

CYSTS
• They are dormant, thick walled and desiccation resistant forms and develop during differentiation
of vegetative cells which can germinate under suitable conditions.
• They are not heat resistant
• Azotobacter species and several others are known to form cysts
• Encystment (cyst formation) occurs by change in the cell wall, the cytoplasm contracts and the cell
wall thicken

Spore Cyst
1. Formed inside (endospores) or outside 1. Formed inside the cell
(exospores) the cell
2. Is heat resistant 2. Is not heat resistant
Similarity between spore and cyst

1. Both shows resistance towards desiccation

2. Both are dormant and develops during favorable conditions

Endospore

• Some Gram-positive bacteria produce highly resistant structures called endospores

• The spores remain alive for many years under extreme harsh conditions with regarded
temperature, radiations and water shortage prevailing on earth in its early days
• It develops within vegetative cell, so named endospore

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• The original cell forms a copy of its chromosome and covers it with hard wall, water is removed
and metabolism stops

SIZES OF BACTERIA
Bacteria Size
Mycoplasma 0.1 to 0.2 µm (100 to 200 nm in diameter)
E. coli 7 µm long, 1.8 µm in diameter
1.1 to 1.5 µm wide by 2.0 to 6.0 µm long
Some spirochaetes 500 µm in length
Epulopiscium 600 µm long, 80 µm thick
Staphylococci and Streptococci 0.75 to 1.25 µm in diameter
• Bacteria ranges in size from 0.1 to 600 µm over a single dimension
• Mycoplasma has the size approximately the size of the larges virus (poxvirus)

SHAPES OF BACTERIA
• On the basis of shape, bacteria are classified into three categories
1. Cocci
2. Bacilli
3. Spiral
• Although most of the bacterial species have fairly constant characteristic cell shape, yet some cells
are pleomorphic and they can exist in a variety of shapes e.g.,
o Helicobacter pylori (Helix and Spherical shape)

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• Exceptions to the above bacteria might have shapes such as
o Trichome forming
o Sheathed
o Stalked
o Square
o Star-shaped
o Spindle shaped
o Lobed
o Filamentous

COCCI
• The cocci are spherical or oval bacteria having one of several distinct arrangements based on
their planes of division
• If division is in one plane it will produce either a diplococcus or streptococcus arrangement
Diplococcus
o When cocci occur in pairs then arrangement is diplococcus
Streptococcus
o When cocci form long chain of cells then arrangement is called as streptococci
Tetrad
o When the division of cell is in two planes it will produce a tetra arrangement
o A tetrad is a square of four cocci
Sarcina
o When the division is in three planes it will produce a sarcina arrangement
o Sarcina is a cube of eight cocci
Staphylococcus
o When division occurs in random planes, it produces a staphylococcus arrangement in
which cocci are arranged in irregular, often grape like clusters
• Examples of cocci are
o Diplococcus pneumonia
o Staphylococcus aureaus

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BACILLI
• Bacilli are rod-shaped bacteria
• Bacilli all divide in one plane producing a
o Bacillus
o Diplobacillus
o Streptobacillus
• Bacillus is a single cell bacterium
Diplobacilli
o When rod shaped bacteria occur in pairs then arrangement of cells is known as diplobacilli
Streptobacillus
o Streptobacillus is a chain of bacilli
• Examples of bacillus are
o E. coli
o Bacillus subtilis
o Pseudomonas

SPIRAL
• The spiral shaped bacteria are spirally coiled
• Spirals come in one of the three forms
o Vibrio
o Spirillum
o Spirochaete
Vibrio
o It is a curved or comma-shaped rod bacteria
Spirillum
o It is a thick, rigid spiral bacteria
Spirochaete
o It is a thin, flexible bacteria
• Examples of spiral shaped bacteria are
o Vibrio
o Hyphomicrobium
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IMPORTANCE AND CONTROL OF BACTERIA

ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE
• They are able to decompose organic matter
• They serve as recyclers of nature
• The process of nitrogen fixation is done by certain bacteria like
o Rhizobium
o Cyanobacteria
• They play important role ecological interactions
• They are used in bioremediation
• They are involved in symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the roots of leguminous plants
• They play a significant role in the completion of
o Nitrogen cycle
o Phosphorous cycle
o Sulphur cycle
o Carbon cycle

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
• Bacteria are used in number of industries, including

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o Food
o Drugs (production of antibiotics and vaccines)
o In biotechnology
• Bacteria are also responsible for spoilage of
o Food
o Vegetables
• Many plant pathogens adversely affect the agricultural industry
• Some alimentary canal bacteria help in herbivores in the digestion of cellulose by an enzyme
cellulase.
• They are present in appendix or in caecum of cow, goat etc.
• Bacteria are used in mining industry to extract metal from low grade to high grade, i.e., a
bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, help in leaching of rock through the metal sulphides.
• This bacterium and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans also help in leaching of gold and uranium
• Biodegradable plastics are also produced by recombinant bacteria

MEDICAL IMPORTANCE
• Bacteria are very common pathogens of humans
• Approximately 200 species are known to cause diseases in humans
• Many bacteria normally inhabit the bodies of man and other animals
• Riboflavin is vitamin produced by clostridium

CONTROL OF BACTERIA
• Control of microorganisms is essential in
o Home
o Industries
o Medicinal fields
• By controlling microorganism one can prevent and treat diseases
• Spoilage of foods and other industrial products can be inhibited by controlling microorganisms
• Microorganisms can be controlled by various methods

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PHYSICAL METHODS
• Physical method includes controlling bacteria by
1. Sterilization
▪ Moist heat
▪ Dry heat
▪ Membrane filtration
▪ Radiation
2. Moist heat

1. Sterilization

• The process in which we use physical agents to control bacteria/microorganisms is known as

sterilization process.
• Sterilization is destruction of all life forms
• High temperature is usually in microbiological labs for control of microbes
• It is also used to preserve milk and meat on large scale

i. Moist Heat

• It causes coagulation of proteins and kills the microbes

ii. Dry Heat

• It causes oxidation of chemical constituents of microbes and kills them

• Incineration is dry heat treatment of sterilization of disposable items such as paper cups, dressing
etc. the contaminated items are placed in an oven at 170 OC for 2 hours to kill microbes

iii. Membrane Filtration

• Heat sensitive compounds can be sterilized by membrane filtration

o Antibodies
o Seras
o Hormones
o Growth media
o Enzymes
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o Vitamins etc.

iv. Radiations

• Certain electromagnetic radiations below 300 nm are effective in killing microorganism

• Gamma rays are in general used for sterilization process

v. Pasteurization

• It was developed by L. Pasteur

• It was used to kill non-spore forming bacteria e.g., Milk is pasteurized by heating at
o 71 OC for 15 seconds
o 62 OC for 32 minutes
o 140 OC for 3 seconds and then cooled suddenly in a vacuum chamber. Milk treated by
UHT (ultra-high temperature) can be stored at room temperature for several months
• This process is used to destroy Tuberculosis and Typhoid bacteria in milk
• This process does not change the taste of milk

2. Low Temperature

• Low temperature (10 to 15 OC) can preserve food for several days such as
o Milk
o Meat
o Egg
o Cheese
o Vegetables
• Refrigeration at temperature O to 7 OC reduces activities of microbes; they cannot reproduce
or produce toxins. It is called bacteriostatic effect

3. Freezing

• Meat and some vegetables can be preserved from microbial destruction by freezing at below O
OC (-10 to -18 OC) for several weeks to several months

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4. Drying

• In this method water is removed from food like meat, milk, vegetables etc. thus bacteria can
not grow because their enzymes need water for action

5. Preservatives

• Many preservatives stop the growth of microbes e.g.,

o Acid lowers the pH
o Salts and sugar decreases water in food increases its osmotic pressure and creates a
hypertonic environment
• The reduced water checks the growth of bacteria

6. Certain chemicals

• Like potassium metabisulphate stop bacterial growth when added in

o Pickles
o Candies
o Jams
o Bread
o Biscuits

CHEMICAL METHODS
• Following can be used to control microbes
1. Antiseptics
2. Disinfectants
3. Chemotherapeutic agents
1. Antiseptics
• Joseph Lister was the first person to use antiseptic
• Chemical substances used on living tissues that inhibit the growth of microorganism are called
antiseptics
• Dettol and iodine are used as antiseptics
• Tincture iodine is one of many antiseptics used

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2. Disinfectants
• Disinfection is oxidizing and reducing agents for example,
o Halogens
▪ Among halogens, chlorine is used to disinfect drinking water and pools
o Phenols
▪ Phenolics are effectively used against Gram-Positive bacteria in nurseries but their
excessive use in infants is harmful
o Hydrogen peroxide
o Potassium permanganate
o Alcohol
▪ Alcohols kill bacteria and also evaporate leaving no residue
o Formaldehyde
▪ Formaldehyde (Formalin) is widely used to preserve biological specimens
▪ It inactivates bacteria in vaccines.
▪ Glutaraldehyde is less irritating but more effective that formalin.
▪ It is used to disinfectant hospital instruments
• It inhibits the growth of vegetative cells and are used on non-living materials
• Heavy metal include copper, selenium, mercury and zinc are used as disinfectants against skin
wounds, in pools, fresh tanks, dandruff shampoos and mouthwashes
3. Chemotherapeutic agents and antibiotics
• They work with natural defense and stop the growth of bacteria and other microbes
• These are
o Sulphonamides
o Tetracyclines
o Penicillin etc.
• They destroy or inhibit the growth of microorganisms in living tissues

Microbicidal effect
Microbicidal effect is one that kills the microbes immediately

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Microbistatic effect
Microbistatic inhibits the reproductive capacities of the cells and maintains the microbial population at
constant size
Modes of action

• Damage can result malfunctions in the

o Cell wall
o Cell membranes
o Cytoplasmic enzymes or
o Nucleic acid

USES AND MISUSES OF ANTIBIOTICS

• Antibiotics is a Greek word (Anti=against and Bios=life)
• Antibiotics are the chemotherapeutic chemical substances which are used in treatment of
infectious diseases
• Antibiotics are synthesized and secreted by certain
o Bacteria
o Actinomycetes
o Fungi
• Today, some antibiotics are synthesized in the laboratory
• However, their origins are living cells
• To determine drug of choice, one must know its mode of actions, possible adverse side effects in
the human beings
• Massive quantities of antibiotics are being prepared and used, which are followed by the
widespread problems of drug resistance in microorganisms
• This result in an increasing resistance against disease treatments
• Misused antibiotics can interact with the human metabolism and in severe cases can cause death
of human beings
• Misuse of antibiotics such as
o penicillin can cause allergic reactions

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o Streptomycin can affect auditory nerve thus causing deafness
o Tetracycline and its related compounds cause permanent discoloration of teeth in young
children

BACTERIAL DISEASES IN MAN

1. Cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae
2. Typhoid caused by Salmonella typhi
3. Pulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
4. Pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae
5. Diphtheria
6. Tetanus
7. Leprosy
8. Meningitis
9. Sore throat
10. Whooping cough
11. Syphilis caused by Treponema pallidum
12. Gonorrhea caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae

BACTERIAL DISEASES IN PLANTS

1. Leaf spot caused by Xanthomonas campestris
2. Blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae
3. Soft rot caused by Corynebacterium
4. Wilting caused by Pseudomonas solanocaerum
5. Galls caused by Rhizobium leguminosarum

BACTERIAL FLORA OF HUMANS

Members of Normal Flora Anatomic Location
Clostridium species Colon
E. coli and other coliforms Colon, Vagina, outer Urethra
Lactobacillus species Mouth, colon, vagina
Staphylococcus aureus Nose, skin
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Enterococcus faecalis Colon
Viridans streptococci Mouth, Nasopharynx

TRANSGENIC BACTERIA
1. Bioreactors
• Recombinant DNA technology is used to produce bacteria that reproduce in large vats called
bioreactors
2. Biotechnology products
• If the foreign gene is replicated and actively expressed, a large amount of protein product can be
obtained.
• Biotechnology products produced by bacteria such as
o Insulin
o Human growth hormone
o Tissue plasminogen activator
o Haemophilia factor VIII
o Hepatitis ‘B’ vaccine
3. Frost -plus to Frost -minus bacteria
• Transgenic bacteria have been produced to promote health of plants for example, Bacteria
(Pseudomonas syringae) that normally lives on plants and encourages the formation of ice
crystals have been changed from frost -plus to frost -minus bacteria
4. Insect Toxins
• Bacteria that normally colonizes the roots of corn plants has now been endowed with genes that
code for an insect toxin. The toxin protects the roots from insects
5. Cleaning up beaches
• Bacteria can be selected for their ability to degrade a particular substance and then this ability can
be enhanced by genetic engineering, for instance, naturally occurring bacteria may be engineered
to do an even better job of cleaning up beaches after oil spills
6. Biofilters
• Bacteria used as biofilters to prevent airborne chemical pollutants from being vented into the air

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7. To remove sulphur from coal
• Bacteria also removes sulphur from coal before it is burned and help to clean up toxic waste
dumps
8. Suicide genes
• One such strain was given genes that allowed it to clean up levels of toxins that would have killed
other strains. Further, these bacteria were given ‘suicide genes’ that caused them to self-destruct
when the job had been accomplished
9. Organic chemical synthesis
• Organic chemicals are often synthesized by having catalysts act on precursor molecules or by
using bacteria to carry out the synthesis.
• Today, it is possible to go one step further and to manipulate the genes that code for these
enzymes, for instance biochemists discovered a strain of bacteria that is especially good at
producing phenylalanine; an organic chemical needed to make aspartame, the dipeptide
sweetener better known as Nutrasweet.
• They isolated, altered and formed a vector for the appropriate genes so that various bacteria could
be genetically engineered to produce phenylalanine.
10. Bioleaching
• Many major mining companies already use bacteria to obtain various metals.
• Genetic engineering may enhance the ability of bacteria to extract copper, uranium and gold
metals from low grade sources.
• Some mining companies are testing genetically engineered organism that have improved
bioleaching capabilities.

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