VIRUSES & PROKARYOTES

Virus - noncellular particle made up of genetic material and protein that can invade living cells
- are very small; can only see through electric microscope
- one of the characteristics obligate intercellular parasite rickettsia

- various ways in controlling bacteria growth

Ex. Vaccines – need to be aseptic/ has no organism & use filtration called bacteriological
filtration.
- they don’t have their own metabolism, they use the host metabolism to generate ATP/
multiply

Bacteriological Filtration – retain the bacteria; viruses maka pass

Obligate intercellular parasite - required host to multiply that this is shared certain bacteria called
Rickettsia

Rickettsia - a bacteria; in order to multiply they need host such as vectors

- before it can infect to humans it will need 1 st to bite the vectors

Vectors – your insects, tickets, lice, fleas, etc.

• Structure

• Core of nucleic acid surrounded by a protein coat called a capsid

• Capsid can be DNA or RNA, but not both

• A layer of membrane called the envelope 

Diff. shape of viruses according to capsid structure:

Helical – helix (parang spiral)

Polyhedral – icosahedron
- 20 triangular faces & 12 corners

Ex. Adenovirus – common virus causes pharyngitis/ upper respiratory infection

Enveloped – can be enveloped helical / enveloped polyhedral

Complex – ex. Bacteriophage – virus infect bacteria; agent to destroy bacterial infection
- it was stop because aside from destroying bacteria the host cell also destroy

- complex because the head is polyhedral, tail is helical

2 ways to reproduce:

1. Lytic cycle – destroying host cell

2. Lysogenic cycle – integration happen; hindi pinpatay ang host cell

Diff. terms use in viruses:
1. Virion – complete/ fully develop infectious viral particle (NA, capsid, protein)
2. Viroid – infectious molecule of RNA causes many plant disease
- one NA w/out capsid
3. Prion – infectious agent composed only protein
Ex. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – a “mad cow” disease for cow
- slowly degenerate the brain/ slow
death
Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease (CJD) – if human eat the meat of the infected cow w/ mad cow
disease/ drink the milk, it is the disease for human.
• Prokaryotes - Prokaryotes are cellular organisms.
- live w/out the host cell/ own metabolism
- can multiply even outside/inside the host cells
3 main shapes:
 Cocci – spherical bacteria
 Bacilli – rod-shaped bacteria
 Spirilla – helical bacteria
 Coccobacilli – combination of spherical & rod/ oval

Diplo – 2 * Diplococcus
Tetrads – 4
* Staphylococcus
Sarcinae – 8
Staphilo – grapes, clusters *staphylobacilli; etc
Strepto – special in chain
Structure of Prokaryotes:
• Capsule – the outermost layer usually
It can be: composed of carbohydrate, of many
prokaryotic cells.
* Diplobacilli
 • Most prokaryotic cell walls are
composed of peptidoglycan.
• Prokaryotic cell wall provides a rigid
framework that supports the cell,
maintain its shape and keeps it from
bursting. Peptidoglycan – a
macromolecule that confers strength and
rigidity.
• Plasma membrane - the active barrier
between the cell and its external
environment
• Within the prokaryotes cytoplasm are
the ribosomes, where protein synthesis
occurs and the genetic Material (DNA).
• Plasmid - a small, circular DNA
molecule that carries genes separate
from the main DNA of a prokaryote.
Flagella – for locomotion
Fimbriae – for attachment
Pili – numerous hairlike structures
- sex conjugation – transfer of DNA material
to another
bacteria
Endospore - highly resistant resting structure
that forms within cells of certain
prokaryotes.
- some resistant that they can survive an
hour or more of boiling or centuries of
freezing.
Heterotroph - an organism that cannot produce
it’ s own food and obtains the carbon it
needs from organic compounds in other
organisms.
a) Commensals – neither help nor harm
the host; 2 organisms that only 1
benefit then the other none and do
not cause harm
b) Parasites – live at the expenses of
their hosts and cause disease.
Hurting/harm each other.
c) Mutualistic – associatiosn with onne
another organism; both benefit from
each other
Autotroph – organism that synthesizes all its
complex organic compounds from
carbon dioxide.
Photosynthetic prokaryotes – obtain energy to
manufacture organic
compounds from light
Chemosynthetic prokaryotes – obtain energy
from chemical
reactions
Five Groups of Photosynthetic Prokaryotes:
1. Cyanobacteria - also known as
Cyanophyta, are a phylum of bacteria
that obtain their energy from
photosynthesis and are the only
photosynthetic prokaryotes able to
produce oxygen.
2. Green Sulfur Bacteria - are capable of
anoxygenic photosynthesis and absorb
longer wavelengths of light than purple
sulfate bacteria.
3. Purple Sulfur Bacteria - this organisms
are anaerobic and are often found in
stagnant water and hot springs.
4. Green Non-Sulfur Bacteria - also
known as filamentous chloroflexi and
are abundant in wastewater treatment
processes with biological nutrient
removal.
5. Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria –
enrichment of these organisms relies on
providing an anaerobic environment
without a fermentable carbon source and
plenty of light.
• Aerobe - An organism that grows and
metabolizes only in the presence of
molecular oxygen.
• Facultative Anaerobe - An organism
capable of growing and metabolizing in
 either the presence or absence of the
molecular oxygen.
• Obligate Anaerobe - An organism that
grows and metabolizes only in the
absence of molecular oxygen.
* Prokaryotes reproduce by Binary Fission
Binary fission - Prokaryotes generally
reproduce asexually by Binary Fission, in
which one cell divides into two similar
cells.
- in Binary Fission, DNA replication and
segregation occur simultaneously.
3 Methods of Genetic Exchange: transfer genes
for resistance to antibiotics from one prokaryote
to another
Conjugation
 Two cells of different physiological
mating types come together, and genetic
material is transferred through pili from
one cell (donor) to the other (recipient).
Transformation
 Fragments of DNA released by a broken
cell are sometimes taken in by another
prokaryotic cell.
Transduction
 Alternatively, a virus may carry a
genetic material from one prokaryotic
cell to another.
Biofilms
 Archaea and bacteria form dense films
called Biofilms that attach to solid
surfaces.
 are microbial communities that consist
of many species of prokaryotes and may
include other types of organisms, such
as fungi and protozoa.
 The prokaryotes in a biofilm secrete
slimy, glue-like substance rich in
polysaccharides and become embedded
in this matrix, which may be layered or
clumped into various shapes.
Archaea - One of their most distinguishing
features is the absence of peptidoglycan
in cell wall.
3 groups in Archaea:
• Extreme Halophiles - Live only in very
salty environments, such as salt ponds,
Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake. Use
aerobic respiration to make ATP but
they also carry out a form of
photosynthesis in which they capture the
energy of sunlight by using purple
pigment (bacteriorhodopsin).
• Methanogens - Are obligate anaerobes
that produce methane gas from simple
carbon compounds.
• Extreme Thermophiles - Normally
grow in hot (45°C to 110°C or 113°F to
230°F), sometimes acidic environments.
Other extreme thermophiles inhabit
volcanic areas under the sea.
Bacteria - most familiar prokaryotes are
classified as prokaryotes, along with
another group of single-celled
organisms, the archaea. The bacteria are
microscopic, single-celled organisms
that thrive in diverse environments.
These organisms can live in soil, the
ocean and inside the human gut.
Staining properties of bacteria by Hans
Christian Gram
Gram staining procedure - is a common
technique used to differentiate two large groups
of bacteria based on their different cell wall
constituents.
 Gram positive - stain violet due to
the presence of a thick layer of
 peptidoglycan in their cell walls,
which retains the crystal violet these
cells are stained with.
 Gram negative - stain red, which is
attributed to a thinner peptidoglycan
wall, which does not retain the
crystal violet during the decoloring
process.
- resistant against antibodies
because of their
impenetrable cell wall.
decomposers, plant pathogens, and some
bacteria that inhabit humans.
E. coli (Escherichia coli) - is a type of bacteria
that normally lives in your intestines. It’s also
found in the gut of some animals.
Salmonella - most commonly causes food
poisoning in humans and animals. Spread by
ingesting foods that are contaminated by
salmonella such as raw eggs, raw meat, eggs,
fruits, vegetables, and contaminated water. 

Mycoplasma - also called “pseudomurein”; tiny

bacterium bounded by a plasma membrane but
lacking cell wall.
- smallest prokaryotic microbial cells
and the simplest form of cellular life.
Nitrogen-fixation bacteria - ability to fix
atmospheric nitrogen into inorganic
compounds plants can use.
- bacteria capable fixing to convert
nitrogen into inorganic compound
Azotobacter - species are free-living, nitrogen-
fixing bacteria; they normally fix molecular
nitrogen from the atmosphere without symbiotic
relations with plants, although
some Azotobacter species are associated
with plants.
Rhizobium - is a genus of gram-negative,
motile bacteria whose members are most notable
for their ability to establish a symbiotic
relationship with leguminous plants, such as
peas, soybeans, and alfalfa.
• Pseudomonas - is a common genus of
bacteria, which can create infections in
the body under certain circumstances.
- bacteria tend to live and breed in
water, soil, and damp areas. The
warmer and wetter it is, the better the
conditions are for the bacteria to
multiply.
ENTEROBACTERIA - group of gram-
negative bacteria that include free-living