Kingdom Monera BACTERIA & BLUE-GREEN ALGAE

click: general characteristics click: ARCHAEOBACTERIA

Kingdom Monera: The Prokaryotes BACTERIA - single-celled prokaryotes among the simplest forms of living things w/ few organelles or specialized cell structures believed to be the most abundant organism on earth

Bacterial Structure: FLAGELLUM- long and slender appendage; for locomotion CELL WALL- provides rigidity, protection and identification CAPSULE/ SLIME LAYER- contributes in protection and virulence

Bacterial Structure: CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE- controls what enters and exits the cell NUCLEAR REGION- carries genetic information RIBOSOMES- involved in protein synthesis

Bacterial Structure: PILI/ FIMBRIAE- shorter appendages which confer adhesive properties MESOSOMES- large infoldings of cell membrane; increase surface area ENDOSPORES- highly resistant body formed during extreme conditions

Bacterial Shapes Bacillus – rod-shaped Coccus – sphere-shaped Spirillum – spiral-shaped

Staphylococcus sp.

Bacillus sp.

Spirochetes

Bacterial Reproduction: a. Binary Fission asexual reproduction in which a bacterium replicates its chromosomes and divide into two b. Budding asexual reproduction in which an outgrowth develops into another individual

Bacterial Reproduction: c. Spore formation/ sporulation formation of endospores which are resistant to unfavorable conditions d. Conjugation A bacterium transfers some DNA to another bacterium, thus changing the genes of the latter

Examples Pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus pyrogene – sore throat Clostridium botulinum – paralysis due to food poisoning Treponema pallidum – syphyllis

Beneficial bacteria Escherichia coli – colon bacterium Rhizobium sp.- nitrogen-fixing bacterium

Nutrition: A. Autotrophic – make their own food from inorganic substances Photosynthetic – contains chlorophyll Chemosynthetic – make their own food by using energy from chemical reactions involving sulfur, iron, and nitrogen

Nutrition: B. Heterotrophic – obtain organic matter from their environment for food Saprophytic – feed on dead organic matter Parasitic – feed on other living things

Conditions for Bacterial Growth Nutritional requirement Temperature Moisture Exposure to sunlight Chemicals

Significance of Bacteria Food industry Medicine Leather tanning Agriculture Decomposition of living things Some can cause diseases

Some Bacterial Diseases Rheumatic fever Gonorrhea Pneumonia Meningitis Diphtheria Thypoid fever Bubonic plague Tetanus Tuberculosis Anthrax Food poisoning Leprosy Diarrhea Conjunctivitis Sore throat Tonsillitis Gas gangrene Whooping cough

SPIROCHAETES - spiral-shaped, w/o a rigid cell wall and move by rotating, corkscrew motion - causes syphilis, yaws, pinta, infectious jaundice

MYCOPLASMAS/ PPLO - smallest known organisms that are capable of growth & reproduction outside of living host cells - causes primary atypical pneumonia in humans

RICKETTSIAE - obligate intracellular parasites - cause typhus fever, Q fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Trench fever Tsutsugamushi fever

THE ARCHAEOBACTERIA

Comparison of Viruses and Bacteria nucleus present No metabolism Yes response to stimuli multiply evolve

CYANOBACTERIA

BLUE-GREEN ALGAE prokaryotic unicellular: colonial or filamentous w/ chlorophyll, phycocyanin or phycoeryhtrin found in fresh or marine waters & damp soil food for fish; may cause pollution; fertilize soil

The cyanobacteria are autotrophs and obtain nutrition through photosynthesis.  They possess chlorophyll a and other pigments but lack plastids. (Remember, they are prokaryotic).  These organisms are sometimes responsible for algal blooms in polluted lakes.

                                                 Figure 3. Blue-green algae washed ashore on a small pond, 1994.

Lyngbya colonies (blue-green algae)                                                                            Lyngbya colonies (blue-green algae)

                                                                                                 Large Algal Bloom

Algal Bloom Close-up                                                                                                                

Water Sample                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Aphanizomenon                                                                                                                                                                                     

More on Cyanobacteria

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