Shapes of Bacteria

Rod Bacillus Round Coccus Spirillium

Staphylococcus Streptococcus

General Descriptions of Bacteria

They are all prokaryotic There are two kingdoms:

– Eubacteria- nickname is true bacteria. Examples of Eubacteria Cyanobacteria- blue green algae Chlamydia MOST diseases are caused by

Eubacteria.

Archeabacteria (ancient bacteria)– Evolutionist believe this was where all life

began.– Live in most inhospitable environments

such as geothermal vents, sulfur pools, etc.– Archeabacteria are at the bottom of the

food chain for such animals as tube worms, mussels, and clams that live at the bottom of the ocean around thermal vents.

– They are chemotrophic (transform chemicals into food)

Gram positive and Gram negative…

What is it, who cares?!?!?! Gram staining allows doctors to tell

different bacteria apart. Without it, an improper diagnosis would be made. Each bacterium has something unique that distinguishes them from others. Often, whether or not they take a stain may be that difference.

Gram positive bacteria contain a large amount of peptidoglycans. When the stain hits these proteins, it dyes them purple.

Gram negative bacteria contain little peptidoglycans in their cell walls. They tend to be dyed pink.

Gram Positive

– Scarlet fever, flesh eating virus (which is caused by a bacteriophage), and strep throat.

– Also involved in making of antibiotics.

– Most are harmless and live in soil and water.

– Some even live in the human body.

Gram Negative- Bacteria called Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans causes periodontal disease, which can cause early tooth loss.

– Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common cause of acute respiratory infections and atherosclerosis (fat deposits and clogs the aorta and other blood vessels).

– C. psittaci is primarily an animal pathogen that can be transmitted to humans through contact with an infected animal. For example, serious respiratory infections in humans have occurred after contact with birds infected with C.psittaci.

C. trachomatis- primarily a human pathogen and the causative agent of eye, genital and respiratory diseases. It is the cause of the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in the industrialized world. The World Health Organization estimates that 89 million people have a chlamydial infection. C. trachomatis also facilitates HIV transmission.

Gram Positive Gram Negative

Random Bacteria Facts: Endospores- hard shell that surround bacteria.

Bacteria will produce this shell in times of exposure to harsh environmental changes. They can make you very sick in this form as in Clostridium Botulinum. Caused by improperly cooked or canned food.

Cell activity is not specialized. Prokaryotic!!! Chromosomes contain a single, circular piece of

DNA. Cell Division(reproduction) is done by binary fission.

The bacterial parent cell basically divides into two daughter cells with the exact same DNA.

Can move by use of Flagella. Salmonella move in this fashion.

Metabolic DiversityHow do bacteria eat?

I. By using Photosynthesis. *Most of the world’s photosynthesis is done by bacteria!!

II. Chemotrophic bacteria take electrons from inorganic molecules such as ammonia, CH4, H2S. Very important to soil because it provides it with nitrogen as a bi-product of digestion.

III. Heterotrophic Bacteria with fungi are the biggest decomposers in the world. Give off a nasty smell which is also a bi-product of digestion. Some can break down pesticides which could lead to huge economic values in recycling.

***Heterotropic bacteria also make some antibiotics.

***Rhizobium is the most nitrogen fixing bacteria. It is found in legumes such as soybeans, peas, alfalfa and clover. Farmers will rotate their crops in order to put nitrogen into soil. One year plant corn, which depletes the soil of nitrogen, next year plant soybeans to replenish nitrogen.

Other Diseases caused by bacteria

Several bacteria living in the human body are necessary. Some, however, cause diseases by attacking or secreting toxins that kill cells or makes you sick.

I. TB A. Disease of respiratory system. B. Get in from inhaling tiny drops of water with

bacteria on it. C. Bacteria then settle in the lungs where lungs

produce tiny nodules. May become scar tissue which render the bacteria harmless. This scar tissue does damage the lung.

D. If nodules break and go through bloodstream you will get complications from bacteria (coughing up blood, pain fever, fatigue) can eventually cause death.

II. Treating bacterial disease

A. In 1928 Flemming discovered that bacteria did not grow near mold. Apparently mold secreted something bacteria did no like. Flemming isolated the substance and called it penicillin.

B. Penicillin is used to treat pneumonia and scarlet fever. It is considered and antibiotic.

1. Antibiotics interfere with various cellular processes like preventing cell walls from being built or disrupting chemical processes. Viruses do not have these processes to disrupt.

2. Other antibiotics such as tetracycline, streptomycin and amphicillin have been discovered in nature or produced chemically. They inhibit such bacteria as TB, syphilis, gonorrhea, and pneumonia.