MICROBIOLOGY
LECTURE SERIES I
BY:
JEORJE KALFRED MASETE
MORDECAI
Bacteria
• Living
• Microscopic
• Unicellular
• Earliest Prokaryotic Cells
– They DO NOT contain a nucleus or
membrane bound organelles
• The most numerous organism on Earth!
• Earliest bacterial fossils date back 2.5 billion
years.
• Most grow best at pH of 6.5 to 7.0
• Many act as decomposers recycling
nutrients
• Some are beneficial
• Some cause disease
• Contain ribosomes
• Single, circular chromosome in nucleoid region
• Cell Wall for protection
• May have a sticky coating called the Capsule
• Some may have flagella for locomotion
Ribosome
Cytoplasm
Chromosome
Flagellum
Pili
Cell
Cell
Membrane
Wall
Print Master
Bacterial Shapes
• Coccus: Spherical (round)
• Bacillus: Rod shaped
• Spirillum: Spiral shape
• Diplo- Groups of two
– Diplococcus
• Strepto- chains
– Strephtococcus
•Strep throat
• Staphylo- Grapelike clusters
– Staphylococcus
Gram Staining
• Developed in 1884 by Hans Gram
• Bacteria treated with purple Crystal Violet & red
Safranin stains
• Cell walls either stain purple or reddish pink
Gram Positive
• Have thick layer of peptidoglycan (protein-
sugar complex)
• Single lipid layer
• Stain purple
• Can be treated
with antibiotics
Gram Negative
• Thin layer of peptidoglycan in cell wall
• Extra thick layer of lipids
–This keeps out more stain
• Stain pink or reddish
• Hard to treat with
antibiotics
Bacterial Reproduction
There are 3 ways in which bacteria reproduce
1. Binary Fission
2. Conjugation: Sexual Reproduction
3. Spore Formation
Bacterial Reproduction
1. Binary Fission
– Similar to Mitosis: Splitting
– New cells are identical
2. Conjugation: Sexual Reproduction
– Passing of genetic material
– New cells NOT identical
3. Spore Formation
– Form endospore (hard coating) for
protection when habitat conditions become
harsh (little food)
– Able to survive for long periods of time as
endosperm
– Difficult to destroy (heat resistant)
How Do They Eat?
• Saprobes: Decomposers
– feed on dead organic matter
• Parasites
– feed on a host cell
• Photoautotroph
– use sunlight to make food
• Chemoautotroph
– oxidize inorganic matter such as iron or
sulfur to make food
Methods of Respiration
• Obligate Aerobes
– require O2
• Example: tuberculosis
• Obligate Anaerobes
– die if O2 is present
• Example: tetanus
• Facultative Anaerobes
– don’t need O2, but aren’t killed by it
• Example:
Kingdoms of Bacteria
Archaebacteria: The Extremists
• Found in harsh environments
Eubacteria: The True Bacteria
• Most bacteria are in this group
Archaebacteria
Subdivided into 3 groups:
•Methanogens
•Thermoacidophiles
•Extreme Halophiles
Archaebacteria
1. Methanogens
• Break down cellulose in a cow’s stomach
• Produce marsh (methane) gas
Archaebacteria
2. Extreme Halophiles
• Live in very salty water
• Use salt to generate ATP
(energy)
• Dead Sea, Great Salt Lake
inhabitants
Archaebacteria
3. Thermoacidophiles or Thermophiles
• Live in extremely hot/acidic environments
• Found in volcanic vents, hot springs, cracks on
ocean floor that leak acid
Eubacteria
• May be aerobic or anaerobic
• Identified by Gram staining
• Three types:
1.Heterotophs : include most bacteria
2.Photosynthetic Autotrophs
3.Chemosynthetic Autotrophs
Eubacteria
1. Heterotophs : include most bacteria
• Use organic molecules as their food source
• Some are parasitic
2. Photosynthetic Autotrophs
• Live in areas with sun; they use sun
to make their food.
• Ex: cyanobacteria ( can be blue-green,
red or yellow; commonly live in ponds)
3. Chemosynthetic Autotrophs
• Breakdown inorganic compounds containing
sulfur and nitrogen
• Nitrogen Fixation: they convert atmospheric
nitrogen in to a compound that plants need to
survive
How Does Bacteria Harm Us?
• Bacteria poison our cells with
metabolic waste
• Your Immune system usually can not
fight bacterial infections alone.
• Antibiotics can kill bacteria!
Diseases of Bacteria
• Coccus
– Streptococcus pharyngitis (Strep Throat)
– Necrotizing fasciitis (Flesh-eating Bacteria)
• Baccilus
– Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax)
– Yersinia Pestis (Bubonic Plague)
• Spirillum
– Treponema pallidum (Syphilis)
– Borellia burgdorferia (Lyme disease)
Penicillin
• Discovered by Alexander Flemming
– A complete accident
– Mold grew in a petri dishes of
bacterial cultures left in the
sink
– The mold killed the bacteria
Beneficial Bacteria
• Some bacteria can degrade oil
–Used to clean up oil spills
Beneficial Bacteria
• Some bacteria act as decomposers
– Break down and recycle dead and
decaying organic matter.
Beneficial Bacteria
• Some bacteria carry out Nitrogen Fixation
– transform atmospheric nitrogen into
fixed nitrogen, usable by plants.
Viruses vs. Bacteria
• Living • Reproduce on
• Non-Living their own
• Genetic • Contain proteins
Material • Can be treated
• Cause Disease with antibiotics
• Can be • Many different
beneficial
shapes
