1. Prokaryotes
Bacteria are small living organisms found almost everywhere on the earth.
Bacteria are prokaryotes which are typically unicellular.
Bacteria are classified into the monera kingdom.

2. Classification of Bacteria
Bacteria are classified into two major groups : archaebacteria and eubacteria.
Archaebacteria : live without oxygen, and obtain their energy from inorganic compounds.

3. Archaebacteria
Archaebacteria can survive and thrive in “harsh” environments.
Examples of archaebacteria include : methane-producting bacteria in cows stomachs, salt-loving bacteria, and heat and acid loving bacteria which thrive in hot springs.

4. Archaebacteria
Archaebacteria found in the stomachs of cows allow for the cow to break down and digest the “cellulose” in plant cells. These bacteria help cows turn cellulose into glucose. The bacteria produce methane gas in this process.

5. Eubacteria
Eubacteria display a wide array of habitats and metabolism. Eubacteria are divided into groups including :
Heterotrophs
Photosynthesic Autotrophs
Chemosynthetic Autotrophs

6. Eubacteria
Eubacteria differ from Archaebacteria in differences of cell walls, plasma membrane, and sequence of DNA bases.

7. Eubacteria Most common bacteria are classified as eubacteria.
Eubacteria include the phostosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria include many different colors, based upon the pigments they contain to trap sunlight to make their own food.

8. Bacteria Structure
Bacteria have different shapes and structures, but a structures found in bacteria include :
Flagella (some)
Capsule (some)
Cell wall
Plasma membrane
DNA
Pili (some)

9. Bacteria Structure/Function
Flagella : allows movement
Pili: extensions of plasma membrane, help “sticking”
Plasma membrane: lipid layer
Capsule: extra barrier (gelatinous), bacteria with capsules are more likely to cause disease.
DNA: genetic material for the cell
Cell Wall: rigid, protection for cell, different composition with different bacteria.

10. Bacteria Shapes Most bacteria are found in “colonies”.
Bacteria can be round, spiral, or rod shaped.
Round : coccus
Spiral : spirillum
Rod : bacillus

11. Bacteria Groups
Bacteria are also classified into the shape of groups or colonies they form.
Diplo : paired cells
Staphylo: grapelike clusters
Strepto: long chains

12. Bacteria Metabolism
Most bacteria require oxygen to metabolize. These bacteria are called obligate aerobes.
Bacteria which don’t use oxygen, and are killed by it are termed obligate anaerobes.

13. Endospores
Some bacteria when faced with unfavorable conditions form an endospore. An endospore has a hard outer covering which is resistant to drying out, or temperature, etc.
When conditions are favorable the endospore germinates and reproduces.

14. Botulism
One group of bacteria called clostridia, can form endospores. Clostridium botulinum, produces a toxin. If canned food is not properly sterilized these endospores can become active inside a can and the disease “botulism” can occur.

15. Bacteria Reproduction
Bacteria reproduce by the process of binary fission.
Binary fission involves the copying of the DNA and the splitting into two new cells.

16. Bacteria Reproduction
Under optimum conditions bacteria can reproduce every 20 minutes.
Bacteria reproduction is controlled by various factors including : temperature and food availability.

17. Bacteria- Cell Wall Structure
Bacteria are divided into two groups based upon the composition of their cell walls.
Gram positive : two layers ( lipid, peptidoglycan – sugar/amino acids network)
Gram negative : three layers, lipid, peptidoglycan, and lipopolysaccharide.
Gram +
Gram -

18. Antibiotics
Bacteria have a cell wall which gives protection. The cell walls of bacteria are made of long sugar chains linked with short amino acid chains.
Most bacteria live in a hypotonic environment. (This means there’s usually more water outside the cell than inside the cell)

19. Antibiotics
Most antibiotics aim to break down part of the cell wall to cause water to move in and rupture the bacteria cell.
Penicillin is one bacteria to work this way.

20. 1) Describe the discovery of the first antibiotic penicillin.
2) Describe one other antibiotic and explain how it works to kill bacteria cells.

21. Bacteria/Uses
Bacteria can be “helpful or harmful” to humans. Bacteria play many different roles in their environment.
A few ways humans use bacteria is in the production of yogurt, swiss cheese and pickles.

22. Bacteria
One major role of bacteria in the envrironment is to “fix” nitrogen from the atmosphere into a useable form for plants.
Several species of bacteria living in the soil have the ability to take diatomic nitrogen (N2) and convert it into ammonia (NH3). Other bacteria convert this ammonia into nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3)

23. Nitrogen Fixation
Some nitrogen fixing bacteria form symbiotic relationships with legumes. ( beans, peas, soybeans, peanuts, etc.)
These bacteria live on the roots of the plants and add nitrate and nitrite (useable forms of nitrogen for plants) into the soil.
These crops are sometimes grown in “off years” to enrich the soil with useable nitrogen
Rhizobium bacteria live on legume roots.

24. Bacteria - Decomposers
Bacteria break down organic matter in dead organisms.
These heterotrophic bacteria help recycle nutrients from dead plants and animals back into the soil.
Bacteria help break down leaves into useable compounds in the soil.

25. Bacteria Bacteria are very metabolically diverse.
Different bacteria produce different waste products during fermentation. (Making ATP without oxygen)
These waste products are used to make different food products (yogurt/pickles/swiss cheese/ sauerkraut/ vinegar, etc)

26. Bacteria
Bacteria also are used to make antibiotics. Some helpful bacteria will produce chemicals which will kill pathogenic bacteria.
Streptomycin and erythromycin are a few examples of antibiotics made from bacteria.

27. Harmful Bacteria
Most bacteria are not harmful, but a few cause disease in animals and plants.
It’s estimated that about half of all human diseases are caused by bacteria.

28. Bacteria Caused Diseases
Bacteria can cause the following diseases:
Tuberculosis
Pneumonia
Strep throat
Staph infections
Scarlet fever
Syphilis
Gonorrhea
Chlamydia
Boils
Tetanus
Lyme disease
Ear infections

29. Bacteria and Disease Bubonic Plague/Black Death.
In the 1330’s the bubonic plague originated in China. This disease caused by bacteria spread quickly to England and other parts of present day Europe.
This bacteria was mainly found on rodents but fleas are thought to have carried it to humans.

30. Bubonic Plague
The bubonic plague killed an estimated 1/3rd of all Europeans.
The bacteria caused boils which started as red bumbs on the skin, and then turned into black dots. “Black Death”.
The bacteria Yersinia pestis is thought to have caused this disease.

31. Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a disease which can be caused by a virus or bacteria.
Pneumonia involves a build-up of the pathogen in the lungs or respiratory system.
The most common pneumonia is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumonia. This bacteria grows in the lungs, causing the disease.

32. Other Bacterial Diseases
Many sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) are caused by bacteria.
Gonorrhea
Syphilus
Chlamydia