The Good, the bad and The Ugly Bacteria The Good, the bad and The Ugly

What are bacteria? Bacteria are unicellular organisms containing nuclear material

Characteristics of Bacteria: Prokaryotic Have cell walls and membranes Lack organelles Can multiply and adapt quickly Can be beneficial or harmful

Types of bacteria Bacillis – rod shaped bacteria Example: Anthrax http://media.npr.org/news/images/2008/aug/11/anthrax200-4fb7972d257056ed1fd6aee68b38e0249028755f-s6-c30.jpg

Types of bacteria Coccus – round shaped bacteria Examples include: Strep throat (streptococcus), Pneumonia (pneumococcus) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jjKU3CoT6IQ/Ul2971y6DcI/AAAAAAAAGX8/xR9rtLzpdKw/s1600/Streptococcus.jpg

Types of bacteria Spirullum – spiral shaped bacteria Examples include: h. pylori which causes ulcers http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/labmanua/lab1/shapes%20and%20arrangements/spirillum1_scale.jpg

Bacterial Movement Bacteria can move using Gliding motion flagellum spirochete motion

Gliding Motion Bacteria secrete a slimy substance that they use to glide from one place to another, very much like a snail Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHg15E414lk

Flagellum Motion A flagella is a long whip-like structure that can move the bacteria around Bacteria may have one flagella, a cluster of flagellum or multiple flagellum around the bacteria.

Spirochete Motion The bacteria has an internal flagellum that allows it to move in a corkscrew fasion. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7BV4IOVKyg

Gram Staining Bacteria are either Gram Positive or Gram Negative. The staining method is names after Hans Christian Gram who developed the Gram Staining method.

Gram Staining Bacteria are treated with Gram Stain, then rinsed Gram Positive bacteria retain the gram stain due to their complex membrane structure Gram Negative bacteria do not retain the gram stain due to a simplified membrane structure

Gram Staining http://www.dbriers.com/tutorials/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/GramPositiveNegative21.jpg

Gram Staining http://laboratoryinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/gram-positive-vs-gram-negative.png

Benefits of Bacteria According to Harvard Medical school, the average person has over 100 trillion beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract alone. Bacteria aid in digestion for animals (including humans) Bacteria break down nutrients in the ecosystem (nitrogen)

More Benefits of Bacteria According to Harvard Medical school, the average person has over 100 trillion beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract alone. Bacteria aid in digestion for animals (including humans) Bacteria break down nutrients in the ecosystem (nitrogen)

Adding beneficial bacteria to your digestive system Probiotics – pills that are often recommended by doctors after an illness, antibiotic treatment or before traveling to an area with lower sanitation standards Probiotics add beneficial bacteria to your digestive tract Yogurt does this too! It is a live culture meaning that it has live bacteria – luckily they are all good for you!

Drawbacks of bacteria Some types of bacteria can make you sick Strep Throat Staph infections Ear infections Sinus infections Pneumonia Most colds and flus are caused by viruses, not bacteria (which is why antibiotics don’t help!) Bacteria can cause illness in other organisms too – plants and animals

Curing bacterial illness Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered Penicillin is made from a fungus Scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 Penicillin has saved countless lives! For example, two-thirds of the deaths in the Civil War were due to infection and disease. Many of these deaths could have been avoided with penicillin

Antibiotics Today There are over 100 types of antibiotics Antibiotics can be prescribes and found in common everyday items like hand sanitizer and cleaning solutions In fact, antibiotics are used so frequently today that there are concerns of over-use

Too many antibiotics? Your immune system remains healthy by fighting bacteria and viruses you are exposed to. If you live in a sterile environment, you immune system is weakened This means that you are more likely to get sick when you are exposed to a disease causing bacteria because your immune system isn’t healthy enough

Antibiotic Resistance Another negative effect of too many antibiotics is antibiotic resistance. Bacteria can adapt easily. If a bacteria adapts and is not killed by the antibiotic, it will reproduce quickly, producing more bacteria that will not be killed by the bacteria. The new strain of the bacteria is now antibiotic resistant, meaning that the antibiotic used for treatment will not kill the bacteria. Once this happens, a different antibiotic must be used for the organism infected as well as anyone infected by that individual.