BACTERIA

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. MORPHOLOGY
3. STRUCTURE OF BACTERIAL CELL
4. REPRODUCTION IN BACTERIA
5. GENETIC RECOMBINATION
6. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BACTERIA
 INTRODUCTION

 Bacteria are microbes with a cell structure simpler

than that of many other organisms.
 Bacteria are ubiquitous, living in every possible
habitat on the planet including soil, underwater,
deep in Earth's crust
 They do not have a distinct nucleus due to lack of
nuclear membrane and hence prokaryotic.
 They posses a cell wall outer to the cell membrane.
 The DNA is a ds-DNA and circular in nature.
 No histone protein is found in bacterial chromosome.
 Bacteria mainly reproduce by binary fission. There is
no sexual reproduction, however some bacteria
conjugate to transfer their genetic material to other
bacteria.
 Plasmid or extra genomic DNA are found in some
bacteria.
 Some bacteria are motile and posses flagella for
movement.
 MORPHOLOGY

SIZE
 The unit of measurement used in bacteriology is the micron
(micrometer) which is one-thousandth of a millimeter.
 Bacteria are, in general one-tenth the size of the eukaryotic
cell. On average, the size of bacteria ranges from 0.5 to 5 µm.
 They can be as tiny as 0.3 µm and as large as 0.7mm.
 Many bacteria are smaller than this size, they are not visible
with naked eyes.
 The size of common bacteria like Escherichia coli ranges in
size from 1.1 to 1.5 µm in diameter.
 CELL SHAPE

The common categories of bacteria based on

their shapes are:
 Cocci
The bacteria that are oval or spherical in shape
are included called cocci bacteria.
 Bacilli (Rod-shaped)
These are rod-shaped cells that also like cocci,
remain either single or attached to other cells.
 Spiral
This group includes bacteria that are either
helical-shaped or curved (comma-shaped).
 Structure of bacterial cell

1. The Covering (capsule, slime layer, cell wall)

2. Surface Appendages
3. Cell Wall
4. The Cell Membrane
5. The Cytoplasm
 1.The covering

A . Capsule and Slime Layer

 A slime layer is an unorganized loosely associated
extracellular layer that surrounds the bacterial cell
wall.
 It is made up of glycoproteins, glycolipids and
exopolysaccharides.
FUNCTION:
 It protects the bacterial cell from physical damage
such as desiccation and antibiotics.
 It helps the bacteria in adhering to smooth surfaces.
 A bacterial capsule is an organised and tightly
associated extracellular layer present around the
bacterial cell wall. It is made up of simple sugars
or polysaccharides.
 The capsules are water loving (hydrophilic) and
hence prevent the bacterial cell from water loss
or desiccation.
 It also protects the bacterial cell wall from
engulfment by the white blood cells (
phagocytosis).
 2.SURFACE APPENDAGES

 There are some external structures of the

cell. These are called surface appendages.
 The surface appendages are:
A. Flagella
B. Fimbriae
C. Pilli
D. Spinae
 A.FLAGELLA

 Flagella are microscopic hair-like structures

involved in the locomotion of a cell. The word
“flagellum” means “whip”.
 The flagella is a helical structure composed of
flagellin protein. The flagella structure is
divided into three parts:
a) Basal body
b) Hook
c) Filament
 Types of Flagella

There are four different types of flagella:

1. Monotrichous
A single flagellum at one end or the other.
2. Peritrichous
Several flagella attached all over the organism.
3. Lophotrichous
Several flagella at one end of the organism or the
other.
4. Amphitrichous
Single flagellum on both the ends of the organism.
FUNCTION:
 They help an organism in movement.
 They act as sensory organs to detect
temperature and pH changes.
 Few eukaryotes use flagellum to increase
reproduction rates.
 Recent researches have proved that flagella
are also used as a secretory organelle. For eg.,
in Chlamydomonas
 B. FIMBRIAE

 Fimbriae enable the bacteria in colonization of

environmental cells or surfaces and help in
resisting flushing.
 The fimbriae comprises 100% protein known as
pilin or fimbrilin consisting of close to 163 amino
acids.
 The shaft having Pilin consists of adhesive tip
structures towards its terminal with a shape that
corresponds to that of particular glycolipid
receptors on the cell of the host.
 C. PILLI

 Pili are of two types – the long conjugation pili

and the short attachment Pili.
 The F or sex Pili (Long conjugation Pili) are long
and a few in number.
 These conjugation pilus facilitates conjugation.
 Genetic recombination is enabled in gram-
negative bacteria through the transfer of DNA
from the male bacterium to a female bacterium.
 3.CELL WALL

 The outer cell layer or cell envelope has two major

components – a rigid cell wall and an underlying plasma
membrane.
 let’s learn the functions and composition of a bacterial
cell wall.
 Components of Bacterial Cell Wall:
 The peptidoglycan that makes up the rigid portion of the
cell wall is called murein and is made up of N-acetyl
glucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid molecules that
alternate in chains and are cross-connected by peptide
subunits. Gram-positive bacteria have simpler chemical
structures in their cell walls than Gram-negative bacteria.
Gram-negative Cell Wall
 The gram-negative cell wall has the following components:
 Thin peptidoglycan layer – Peptidoglycan is a polymer of sugar and
amino acids and is often single-layered in the gram-negative cell
wall.
 Outer membrane – It is a protein layer that acts as a target site for
antibiotics and phages.
 Lipoprotein layer – Links the peptidoglycan to the outer cell
membrane.
 Lipopolysaccharide – It constitutes the endotoxicity of gram-
negative bacteria. The toxicity is associated with the lipid A
molecule of the lipopolysaccharide.
 Periplasmic space – It is the space between the outer and inner
membranes.
Gram-positive Cell Wall
 The gram-positive cell wall has the following
components:
 Thick or multilayered peptidoglycan. It
provides structural strength and mechanical
rigidity.
 Teichoic acid – It is a water-soluble polymer
that constitutes the major surface antigens of
gram-positive bacteria.
Functions:
 The bacterium is surrounded by a strong, rigid cell
wall. The cell wall gives bacteria stiffness and
determines the form of the cell. It is a component
of cell division. The cell wall also offers a defence
against osmotic damage to the cell.
 The bacterial cell wall has lysozymes,
bacteriophages, and antibiotic target sites. It
transports antigens from the bacteria that are vital
to virulence and immunity.
 4.Cell membrane

 An outermost envelope-like membrane or a structure,

which surrounds the cell and its organelles is called the
plasma membrane. It is a double membrane cell
organelle, which is also called the phospholipid bilayer
and is present both in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
 In all living cells, the plasma membrane functions as
the boundary and is selectively permeable, by allowing
the entry and exit of certain selective substances.
Along with these, the plasma membrane also acts as a
connecting system by providing a connection between
the cell and its environment.
Structure of Plasma Membrane
 A plasma membrane is mainly composed of
carbohydrates, phospholipids, proteins, and
conjugated molecules, and it is about 5 to 8 nm in
thickness.
 The plasma membrane is a flexible, lipid bilayer
that surrounds and contains the cytoplasm of the
cell. Based on their arrangement of molecules and
the presence of certain specialized components, it
is also described as the fluid mosaic model.
 The fluid mosaic model was first proposed in the year
1972 by American biologists Garth L. Nicolson and
Seymour Jonathan Singer.
 The fluid mosaic model describes in detail, the
plasma membrane structure in the eukaryotic cells,
and how well it is arranged along with their
components – phospholipids, proteins, carbohydrates
and cholesterol.
 These components give a fluid appearance to the
plasma membrane.
Functions of Plasma Membrane
 The plasma membrane functions as a physical barrier
between the external environment and the inner cell
organelles.
 The plasma membrane is a selectively permeable
membrane, which permits the movement of only certain
molecules both in and out of the cell.
 The plasma membranes play an important role in both the
endocytosis and exocytosis processes.
 The plasma membrane also functions by facilitating
communication and signalling between the cells.
 The plasma membrane plays a vital role in anchoring the
cytoskeleton to provide shape to the cell and also maintain
the cell potential.
 5. cytoplasm
Composition
 About 80% of the cytoplasm of bacteria is composed of
water.
 The liquid component of the cytoplasm is called the
cytosol.
 Within the cytoplasm can be found nucleic acids (DNA and
RNA), enzymes and amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids,
inorganic ions, and many low molecular weight compounds.
Functions:
 The cytoplasm is the site of most bacterial metabolism.
 Bacterial cytoplasm also contains helical actin-like proteins
that along with the cell wall, contribute to cell shape.
 6. plasmids

 Many bacteria often contain small extra

chromosomal, covalently closed, circular, double
stranded DNA molecules called plasmids.
 The plasmids are endosymbionts of bacteria, i.e.
utilize the replication system of host chromosome
for their replication.
 Plasmids carry additional genetic information and
replicate independently of the chromosome.
 Plasmids usually contain between 5 and 100
genes.
FUNCTIONS:
 Formation of bacteriocins, enzymes, toxins,, such as the
tetanus exotoxin and Escherichia coli enterotoxin.
 vector for transfer of genetic material from one organism
to other.
 R-plasmids, found in some gram-negative bacteria, often
have genes coding for both production of a conjugation
pilus and resistance to antibiotics.
 Such plasmids are responsible for transferring
antimicrobial resistance to bacteria of same or other
species/genus/family by process of conjugation.
 REPRODUCTION IN BACTERIA

 A bacterial population grows in a geometric or

exponential fashion, with each division cycle
(generation) producing two cells, four cells, eight
cells, sixteen cells, 32 cells, and so on.
 However, they do show vegetative and asexual
means of reproduction.
 There is no sexual reproduction in bacteria due to
lack of sex organs.
 VEGETATIVE METHODS OF REPRODUCTION
 It includes:
1) Budding
2) Fragmentation
3) Binary Fission
ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
 Asexual reproduction include endospore,
conidia and zoo spores formation.
 During unfavourable condition, endospores
are formed.
 Under favourable condition, endospore wall
gets ruptured and new cell is formed.
GENETIC RECOMBINATION IN
BACTERIA

 Bacterial recombination is a type of genetic

recombination in bacteria characterized by DNA
transfer from one organism called donor to another
organism as recipient. This process occurs in three
main ways:
 Transformation the uptake of exogenous DNA from
the surrounding environment.
 Transduction the virus-mediated transfer of DNA
between bacteria.
 Conjugation the transfer of DNA from one bacterium
to another via cell-to-cell contact.
BACTERIAL
TRANSFORMATION
BACTERIAL
TRANSDUCTION
BACTERIAL CONJUGATION
 Economic importance of bacteria

 Bacteria are economically important as

these microorganisms are used by humans
for many purposes.
 The beneficial uses of bacteria include the
production of traditional foods such as fudge,
yogurt, cheese, and vinegar.
 Microbes are also important in agriculture for
the compost and fertilizer production.
 Useful bacteria

 Food processing
1) Sourdough bread is made to rise by
fermentation, with a leaven that consists of
bacteria, often combined with wild yeast
enzymes.
2) The milk-souring bacterial genus
Lactobacillus is used to make yogurt and
cheese. Bacteria are also used to form organic
acids in pickles and vinegar.
 Biotechnology
1)Biotechnology involves using microrganisms
including bacteria in the manufacturing and
services industries.
2)These include chemical manufacturing such as
ethanol, acetone, organic acid, enzymes, and
perfumes.
3)Bacteria are important in the production of
many dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals.
 Genetic engineering
1)Genetic engineering is the manipulation of genes. It is
also called recombinant DNA technology.
2)In genetic engineering, pieces of DNA (genes) are
introduced into a host by a variety of techniques, one of the
earliest being the use of a virus vector.
3)The foreign DNA becomes a permanent feature of the
host and is replicated and passed on to daughter cells along
with the rest of its DNA.[5] Bacterial cells are transformed
and used in production of commercially important products.
4) Examples include presentation of human insulin (used to
treat diabetes)[6] and human growth hormone
(somatotrophin used to treat pituitary dwarfism). [7]
 Medicines
1) Bacteria are used to create multiple
antibiotics such as Streptomycin from the
bacteria streptococcus.
2) Bacteria can also be used to create
vaccines to prevent several diseases.
 Harmful bacteria

 Bacteria cause a wide range of diseases in

humans and other animals. These include:
1) superficial infections (e.g. impetigo),
2) systemic infections (e.g. typhoid fever),
3) acute infections (e.g. cholera) and
4) chronic infections (e.g. tuberculosis).
 Food spoilage
 Saprotrophic bacteria attack and decompose
organic matter. This characteristic has posed
a problem to mankind as food such as stored
grains, meat, fish, vegetable and fruits are
attacked by saprotrophic bacteria and
spoiled. Similarly milk and products are
easily contaminated by bacteria and spoiled.