Scribd
Upload
15 views

Microorganisms Around Us

Uploaded by

hannahrubyabba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
15 views

Microorganisms Around Us

Uploaded by

hannahrubyabba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

MICROORGANISMS AROUND US

A microorganism, or microbe, is a microscopic organism, which


may exist in its single-celled form or in a colony of cells .
Microorganisms also known as microbes or germs are the tiny
organisms that cannot be seen with ordinary naked eye. They are
common disease-causing agents also known as pathogens and are
mainly parasitic. Though, most microorganisms have beneficiary
effects such as most saprophytic ones that bring about decay of
organic matters and also some that bring about fermentation and the
ones in the gut of man that aid digestion

Micro-organisms were first discovered by Anthony Van


Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1733), a scientist who discovered microbes
with his newly invented microscope.

IDENTIFICATION OF MICROORGANSISMS

Microscope organisms can be observed through the following


techniques:

 Observing the form and structure of microorganism through a


light microscope. The form and structure of viruses, however
can only be studied through electron microscope;
 Staining microorganisms with various types of stain and
observing their reactions through the microscope;
 Characteristics of colonies formed on various types of culture
media;
 Oxygen requirement of microorganisms especially bacteria;
 Biochemical tests to determine the activities of
microorganisms, thus helping to identify those that look very
similar.

GROUPS OF MICRO ORGANISMS

The major groups of microorganisms are as follow:

 Bacteria;
 Fungi (yeasts and molds);
 Algae;
 Protozoa and
 Viruses.

Bacteria (eubacteria and archaea)


The organisms that constitute the microbial world are characterized
as either prokaryotes or eukaryotes; all bacteria are prokaryotic—
that is, single-celled organisms without a membrane-bound nucleus.
CLASSIFICATION OF BACTERIA
Classification of bacteria is based on:

 Shape
 Oxygen requirements
 Gram’s staining technique
Types of bacteria based on shapes are:

 Coccus: A coccus (plural cocci) is any bacterium or archaeon


that has a spherical, ovoid, or generally round shape. Eg. Staph
aures, S. epidermidis, S. saphrophyticus, S. haemolyticus, S.
hominis. Etc.
 Bacillus: A bacillus (plural bacilli) or bacilliform bacterium is
a rod-shaped bacterium or archaeon. Eg. B. cereus, B. subtilis,
B. anthracis, B. thuringiensis, B. subtilis \

Schematic drawing of the structure of a generalized bacterium.


 Spirillum: These are spiral and corkscrew shaped rigid
bacterium. E.g. Spirillum minor
 Vibrio: These are rigid curved, comma shaped bacteria. E.g.

Vibrio cholera
 Flagellated Spirochaetes: These are corkscrew-shaped bacteria

with whip-like structure called flagella that effect their


movement.
 Rickettsia and

 Mycoplasma.
Classification of bacteria based on oxygen requirement:
Bacteria can be described based on their use of oxygen for
respiration
A. Aerobic Bacteria: This group of Bacteria uses oxygen in
respiration e.g. vibrio cholera Mycobacterium tuberculosis
B. Obligate anaerobes: This group of bacteria do not utilize
oxygen in respiration e.g. putrifying bacteria, Clostridium
tetani and Clostridium botulinum.
C. Facultative anaerobes: These are bacteria that can exist in
two states i.e. they can use oxygen and they can also do
without oxygen. E.g. E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis. Etc.
Classification of bacteria Based on Gram’s staining technique:

The Gram stain characterizes bacteria based on the structural


characteristics of their cell walls.

A. Gram positive bacteria: retains the purple/violet stain in its


peptidoglycan (a large structural molecule found in the bacteria
cell wall). E.g. S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. pneumonia, Hay
bacillus, Listeria monocytogenes, B.cereus, B. megaterium,
Clostridium botulinum. Etc.
B.Gram negative bacteria: loses or do not retain the purple stain
in the cells. E.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae,
E. coli. Etc.

You might also like