BACTERIA

BACTERIA  GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS  Prokaryotic/Unicellular  Most ancient Kingdom (once called Monera)  Autotrophic (photosynthetic or chemosynthetic)\ (ex: cyanobacteria are blue green for photosynthesis)  Heterotrophic (most—saprobes or parasites)  Found almost anywhere (air, water, soil)

KINGDOM MONERA  STRUCTURE  Have very few organelles  Consist of a cell membrane, cell wall, cytoplasm, ribosomes, genetic material, and a flagellum  Genetic material is DNA or RNA  Flagellum is used for movement

Kingdom Archaebacteria -- Live in extreme environments Methanogens—produce methane gas(marshes,lakes, & digestive tracts) Live in water with high concentrations of salt Hot acidic water of springs

Prokaryotes that live in more hospitable places (almost anywhere) True Bacteria Examples: E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria

 -Bacillus-rod  (oblong)  Coccus- round  Spirallus-spira  Diplo: pairs  Staphylo:clusters  Strepto: chains

 FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR GROWTH  Moisture  A certain temperature range  Oxygen or no oxygen  Must have a food supply  Must have the ability to remove waste

REPRODUCTION  REPRODUCTION  Very rapid-some can multiply from 1 to 600,000 in 4hrs  Methods of Reproduction Binary fission- -asexual:cells divide in half and produce 2 identical cells Conjugation- -sexual: bacteria line up side by side and exchange genetic material -Endospores -dormant spores that survive until favorable conditions are met and then split and bacteria reproduce rapidly

BENEFITS OF BACTERIA Make food (cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, soy sauce) Fermentation Medicine (antibiotics) Decomposers (saprophytes) Recycle Nitrogen and Sulfur (nitrogen fixation) Humans rely on them for digestion and to produce vitamins

Harmful Effects of Bacteria: –Parasitic –Destroy food –Pathogens-cause disease

 TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE  Airborne  Sexual contact  Water  Contaminated foods  Direct contact with vectors-organisms that carry disease (fleas & ticks)

 BACTERIAL DISEASES  Tuberculosis, strep, food poisoning  Scarlet Fever  Lyme Disease  Leprosy  Bubonic Plague  Tetanus  Cholera  Menigitis  Pneumonia  Syphilis

 CONTROLLING BACTERIAL DISEASE  Sanitation and hygiene  Pasteurization -heating to kill the bacteria  Cooling-refrigerators  Vaccinations  Antibiotics  Properly cook food and boil water  Avoid contact with vectors (Black Plague was carried by fleas and it killed ½ of the population)