Distinguishing Features of Microbial groups

Eubacteria

Archaebacteria

Viruses

• DNA: single, circular molecule with no associated proteins.
• Cells may contain plasmids which often code for antibiotic resistance or particular enzymes.
• Indifferent to all major antibiotics.
• Cell walls of archaebacteria consist of psedomurein (made up of a combination of N-acetyltalosaminuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine); thus, they are immune to the effects of lysozymes.

• Obligate anaerobes.
• Survive in oxygen-free environments.
• Can survive in acidic, alkaline or saline aquatic environments.
• Size ranges from one-tenth of a micrometer to more than 15 micrometers.
• Some have flagella.
• Don't possess membrane-bound organelles.
• Rigid cell wall doesn't contain peptidoglycan.
• Have lipids in cell membranes.
• Genetic material floats free in cytoplasm as there is no nuclei present.

• Lack a cytoplasmic membrane
• Outside the host cell, viruses behave like inert chemicals.
• They can be crystallized and precipitated.
• There are four main morphological virus types:
• Helical viruses
• Icosahedral viruses
• Prolate viruses
• Complex viruses

• Viruses are not free-living; they cannot reproduce and carry on metabolic processes without a host cell.
• Non-cytoplasmic infectious agents.
• Transmissible from diseased to healthy organisms.
• Obligate parasites.
• Can multiply only within the living host cells.
• Contain only a single type of nucleic acid: either DNA or RNA.
• May be spherical or golf ball-like, rod-shaped, tadpole-like, helical or polyhedral.
• Core of a virus consists of nucleic acid, surrounded by a capsid (protein coat).
• The protein coats consist of identical protein sub-units called capsomeres (composed of either one or several types of proteins)

Example: Bacillus subtilis

• Unicellular.
• Prokaryotic.
• Reproduce asexually, most through binary fission (some by budding).
• Do not possess a nucleus or other membrane bound organelles.
• Have specialized internal membranes.
• Lack mitochondria or chloroplasts.
• Have a rigid cell wall consisting of peptidoglycan.
• If flagella are present, they are made of a single filament of the protein flagellin.
• Have a cell membrane composed of a phospholipid bilayer that lacks cholesterol and steroids.
• All eubacteria are either spirilla (spiral shaped), bacilli (rod shaped), or cocci (spherical).
• Able to survive in extreme conditions.

Example: Halobacterium salinarum

Example: Zaire ebolavirus

• Contribute to the autotrophic oxidation of ammonia to nitrite in different ecosystems.
• Cell membrane lipids are based on ether bonds connecting fatty acids to molecules of glycerol.
• RNA polymerases contain more than eight polypeptides.
• Protein synthesis: Archaea have an initiator tRNA with an unmodified methionine.
• Reproduce by binary fission.

Citations

Information

Photos:

• Eubacteria: http://shop.arrayit.com/Bacillus_subtilis.aspx
• Archaebacteria: http://mrrohanbio.wikispaces.com/Halobacterium+salinarum
• Paramecium:http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/pdb/images/ciliophora/paramecium/caudatum/intactcells/sp_04.html
• Euglena: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euglena
• Chlorella: http://www.e-shop.vivatnatura.sk/store/goods_Chlorellamlet100g_8_chlorella-vulgaris-prasok--hq-100g.html
• Amoeba: https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Amoeba_proteus
• Saccharomyces: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Baker-s-or-Brewer-s-Yeast-Saccharomyces-Cerevisiae-with-Some-Budding-SEM-Posters_i9014836_.htm
• Plasmodium:http://atlas.or.kr/atlas/alphabet_view.php?my_codeName=Plasmodium%20falciparum

Archaeabacteria:

• http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios104/mike/bacteria01.htm
• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-archaebacteria.html
• http://science.jrank.org/pages/474/Archaebacteria-General-characteristics.html#ixzz3BEChSSyW
• http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0000443.html
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/32547/archaea/281609/Characteristics-of-the-archaea

Plasmodium:

• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463621/Plasmodium
• http://tolweb.org/Plasmodium/68071

Paramecium:

• http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/paramecium.htm
• http://nonlocal.com/hbar/paramecium.html
• http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/paramecium.htm

Euglena:

• http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Euglena.html
• http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Euglena.html
• http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/euglena-characteristics-classification-structure.html#lesson

Chlorella:

• http://www.chlorella-guide.com/en/the-microalga-chlorella.html

Eubacteria:

• http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Eubacteria
• http://faculty.college-prep.org/~bernie/sciproject/project/Kingdoms/Bacteria3/eubacteria.htm
• http://www.miamisci.org/youth/unity/Unity1/Lubens/pages/characteristic.htm

Viruses:

• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/630244/virus
• http://www.preservearticles.com/201101092882/characteristics-of-viruses.html

Saccharomyces

• http://www.doctorfungus.org/thefungi/Saccharomyces.php
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccharomyces
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/515197/Saccharomyces

Amoeba

• http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Amoeba
• http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/amoeba.htm
• http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=2861

Distinguishing Features of Microbial groups

Saccharomyces

Paramecium

Example: Paramecium caudatum

Example: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

• Single-celled organisms.
• Belong to kingdom Protista.
• Range from 50 to 330 micrometers in size.
• Paramecia are prey for Didinium (heterotrophic organisms), which eject trichocysts and attachment lines into their prey.
• Oval shaped, elongated, cigar-shaped cells, that are rounded at the front/top and pointed at the back/bottom.
• Have a pellicle (stiff but elastic membrane) that gives the paramecium a definite shape.
• Cilia cover the pellicle and aid in movement.
• The rear opening is called the anal pore.
• The contractile vacuole and radiating canals are found on the outside of a paramecium; inside is the cytoplasm, trichocysts, the gullet, vacuoles, macronucleus and micronucleus (Paramecia have multiple nuclei).
• Capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction.
• Live in aquatic environments, typically in stagnant, warm water.
• Contain macronuclear DNA with high gene density (a macronucleus can contain as many as 800 copies of each gene).

• Ability to covert sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol by means of enzymes.
• Typically have a diameter of approximately 2-8μm and length of 3-25μm.
• Unicellular.
• Globose and ellipsoid.
• Typically undergo multilateral budding.
• Hyphae are absent.
• Produce ascospores.
• Grow in colonies and mature rapidly in three days.
• Gave Blastoconidia (cell buds)
• Celll walls composed of glucan and mannoproteins.
• Cells are generally oblong spheroids; contain a central vacuole.

Amoeba

Euglena

Example: Euglena gracilis

Example: Amoeba proteus

• Unicellular protists.
• Considered to have both plant and animal features.
• Pear shaped with flagella that enable movement through water.
• Contains chlorophyll; thus euglena are able to make their own food (like plants) in the presence of sunlight.
• Have a bright red eyespot which is sensitive to light and aids in finding light.
• Reproduces by binary fission
• Have a tough outer coating (pectile) consisting of proteins; this allows for increased strength and flexibility.
• When environmental conditions are too hot or cold, euglena can form protective casing (cyst) to protect the body until conditions improve.
• Contain organelles including: mitochondria, chloroplasts and a nucleus.
• The chloroplasts contain pyrenoids which enable euglena to survive for relatively long period of time without light.
• Found in freshwater.

• Found in freshwater.
• Each amoeba has a simple contractile vacuole that maintains its osmotic pressure and nuclei.
• Unicellular.
• Eukaryotic.
• Do not have cell walls.
• Reproduce by binary fission.
• Feed by phagocytosis.
• Cytoplasm includes: ectoplasm (jelly-like otuer layer next to the cell membrane), and endoplasm (liquid inner cytoplasm in which organelles are suspended).
• Ingested food is digested in the food vacuoles.
• Indigestible material is egested at the cell membrane.
• Respond to external stimuli such as light and chemicals.
• When exposed to potentially lethal environments, may turn into dormant form (Amoebic cyst) and remain as such until the environment has returned to a normal condition.

MICroscopic eukaryotes

Chlorella

• Cells of microscopic eukaryotes contain organelles
• DNA is arranged in complicated chromosomes

Plasmodium

Example: Chlorella Vulgaris

To include:

• Saccharomyces
• Amoeba
• Plasmodium
• Paramecium
• Euglena
• Chlorella

• Unicellular.
• Have not been annihilated by climate change or natural catastrophes.
• Only visible through a microscope; it is a microalga.
• Have an ellipsoidal to spherical shape.
• Dark green color is due to high chlorophyll content.
• Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b.
• Develop best under intense sunlight.
• Typically range from 2 to 10 micrometers in diameter.
• Able to reproduce rapidly, in the presence of carbon dioxide, water, sunlight and minerals.
• Rich in proteins and B-complex vitamins.

Example: Plasmodium falciparum

• Eukaryotic parasitic protozoa (agent of human malaria)
• Infect red blood cells in mammals, birds, and reptiles.
• Till date, all examined species contain fourteen chromosomes, one mitochondrion, and one plastid.
• Occur worldwide (particularly in tropical and temperate zones).
• Undergo merogony (multiple divisions of the nucleus followed by segmentation of the cytoplasm, producing daughter cells called merozoites).
• Produce hemozoin pigment, crystalline by-product of hemoglobin digestion.
• Multiple stages of life cycle include: Infective stage (enters vertebrate host with a vector bite), Exoerythrocytic stage (sporozoite undergoes multiple rounds of asexual divisions and matures into merozoites), Erythrocytic stages. Stages include gametocytes, sporozoites and merozoites.