Bacteria Outline

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 10th grade February 2008

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Bacteria - Oldest, structurally simplest, most abundant forms of life - Only organism with prokaryotic cellular organization - The only members of the kingdom Monera (4800 different kinds) - Characteristics change depending on growth conditions - Maintenance of life depends on them - play vital role of productivity and as decomposers - Capable of fixing atmospheric N for use by other organisms - Used in production and fermentation of various food and as antibiotics and is being tested for insect control - Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes - Multi-cellularity - All bacteria fundamentally single celled - Sometimes cells adhere within a matrix to form filaments - Activities of bacterial colonies less integrated and coordinated than in multicellular eukaryotes Eukaryotes Bacteria Cell Size 10x size of bacteria 1 micrometer (çm) diameter Chromosomes Membrane bound nucleus w/ chromosomes w/ nucleic acid & proteins No nucleus/chromosomes w/ DNA DNA contained in cytoplasm Cell Division and Genetic Remcombination Mitosis involving microtubules Sexual reproduction - meiosis/syngamy Binary fusion Lack of sexual reproduction - no equal participation Internal Compartementalization Respirational enzymes packed into mitochondria Corresponding enzymes bound to cell membranes Cytoplasm - no internal compartments/organelles (except ribosomes) No cytoskeleton Flagella Complex 9+2 structure of microtubules (whip-like motion) Simple w/ a single fiber protein flagellin Spins like a propellar Autotrophic Diversity Enzymes for photosyn.

Packed in membrane-bound organelles (plastids) Only 1 type of photo. - release of O2 Enzymes bound to cell membrane Several patterns of aerobic/anaerobic photo. w/ formation of S, O, sulfate Chemosynthesis - process where certain bacteria obtain energy from oxidation of inorganic compounds and obtain C from CO2 - Bacterial Structure - Lypopolysaccharide - polysaccharide chain with lipids attached - Molecules of it deposited over layer of gram positive - forming outer membrane - Makes gram negative bacteria resistant to many antibiotics to which gram...