Download Shapes of Bacteria

Shapes of Bacteria
Rod Bacillus
Round Coccus
Staphylococcus
Spirillium
Streptococcus
General Descriptions of
Bacteria
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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 Diversity
How 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.