Download Bacteria

Bacteria
Characteristics of
Various Phyla
Four Phyla
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Bacteria are members of the kingdom
MONERA
Within this kingdom there are four PHYLA
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Eubacteria
Cyanobacteria
Archaebacteria
Prochlorobacteria
Eubacteria- Characteristics
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“true” bacteria
Largest of the Moneran phyla
Cell wall made of complex carbohydrates
protects them from injury
Have one or two cell membranes
Have whip like flagellum for movement
Eubacteria- Lifestyles
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Have a variety of lifestyles:
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Live in the soil
Make their own food using light energy
Infect other organisms and produce disease
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Strep throat, typhus, syphilis, chlamydia etc
Cyanobacteria- Characteristics
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Also called blue-green bacteria
Only a few members are blue-green in color
These members contain a pigment called
phycocyanin and chlorophyll A
Other members contain different pigments
that cause them to be yellow, brown or red
Cyanobacteria- Photosynthesis
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Contain membranes that carry out
photosynthesis
These membranes have photosynthetic
pigments but are less complex and different
from chloroplasts found in plants
Cyanobacteria- Lifestyles
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Found in fresh and salt water, very hot water,
land and the arctic
They carry out Nitrogen Fixation
This process converts nitrogen to ammonia
which is used by plants for amino acid
synthesis
Archaebacteria- Characteristics
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They live in very harsh environments
There are three types of archaebacteria
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Methanogens
Halophiles
Thermoacidophiles
Archaebacteria- Methanogens
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Anaerobes
Produce Methane gas
Live in thick mud, sewage and the digestive
tracks of animals and humans
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Eg: in cows, they break down cellulose, allowing
cows to get nutrients from grass and plants
Eg: Used in industry to treat sewage and help
purify water
Archaebacteria- Halophiles
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Live in very SALTY conditions
Found in the great salt lake in Utah and the
Dead Sea in Israel
Grow in water 10x saltier than sea water
They use salt to generate energy
Archaebacteria- Thermoacidophiles
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Live in very HOT water (230 F)
Can also live in very ACIDIC environments
(ph less than 2)
Found in hot springs, volcanic vents and
hydrothermal vents in the ocean floor
Prochlorobacteria
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These bacteria are photosynthetic
They have chlorophyll A and B
More similar to plant chloroplasts than to
cyanobacteria
Sometimes called prochlorophyta (phyta
means plant)
Monera- Phyla Summary
Phyla
Eubacteria
Cyanobacteria
Archaebacteria
Prochlorobacteria
Characteristics