Bacteria Cell Structure

They are as unrelated to human beings as living things can be, but bacteria are essential to human life and
life on planet Earth. Although they are notorious for their role in causing human diseases, from tooth
decay to the Black Plague, there are beneficial species that are essential to good health.

For example, one species that lives symbiotically in the large intestine manufactures vitamin K, an
essential blood clotting factor. Other species are beneficial indirectly. Bacteria give yogurt its tangy flavor
and sourdough bread its sour taste. They make it possible for ruminant animals (cows, sheep, goats) to
digest plant cellulose and for some plants, (soybean, peas, alfalfa) to convert nitrogen to a more usable
form.

Bacteria are prokaryotes, lacking well-defined nuclei and membrane-bound organelles, and with
chromosomes composed of a single closed DNA circle. They come in many shapes and sizes, from
minute spheres, cylinders and spiral threads, to flagellated rods, and filamentous chains. They are found
practically everywhere on Earth and live in some of the most unusual and seemingly inhospitable places.

Evidence shows that bacteria were in existence as long as 3.5 billion years ago, making them one of the
oldest living organisms on the Earth. Even older than the bacteria are the archeans (also called
archaebacteria) tiny prokaryotic organisms that live only in extreme environments: boiling water, super-
salty pools, sulfur-spewing volcanic vents, acidic water, and deep in the Antarctic ice. Many scientists
now believe that the archaea and bacteria developed separately from a common ancestor nearly four
billion years ago. Millions of years later, the ancestors of today's eukaryotes split off from the archaea.
Despite the superficial resemblance to bacteria, biochemically and genetically, the archea are as different
from bacteria as bacteria are from humans.

In the late 1600s, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek became the first to study bacteria under the microscope.
During the nineteenth century, the French scientist Louis Pasteur and the German physician Robert Koch
demonstrated the role of bacteria as pathogens (causing disease). The twentieth century saw numerous
advances in bacteriology, indicating their diversity, ancient lineage, and general importance. Most
notably, a number of scientists around the world made contributions to the field of microbial ecology,
showing that bacteria were essential to food webs and for the overall health of the Earth's ecosystems.
The discovery that some bacteria produced compounds lethal to other bacteria led to the development of
antibiotics, which revolutionized the field of medicine.

There are two different ways of grouping bacteria. They can be divided into three types based on their
response to gaseous oxygen. Aerobic bacteria require oxygen for their health and existence and will die
without it. Anerobic bacteria can't tolerate gaseous oxygen at all and die when exposed to it. Facultative
aneraobes prefer oxygen, but can live without it.

The second way of grouping them is by how they obtain their energy. Bacteria that have to consume and
break down complex organic compounds are heterotrophs. This includes species that are found in
decaying material as well as those that utilize fermentation or respiration. Bacteria that create their own
energy, fueled by light or through chemical reactions, are autotrophs.

 Capsule - Some species of bacteria have a third protective covering, a capsule made up of
polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates). Capsules play a number of roles, but the most
important are to keep the bacterium from drying out and to protect it from phagocytosis
(engulfing) by larger microorganisms. The capsule is a major virulence factor in the major
disease-causing bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Nonencapsulated mutants of these organisms are avirulent, i.e. they don't cause disease.
 Cell Envelope - The cell envelope is made up of two to three layers: the interior cytoplasmic
membrane, the cell wall, and -- in some species of bacteria -- an outer capsule.
 Cell Wall - Each bacterium is enclosed by a rigid cell wall composed of peptidoglycan, a protein-
sugar (polysaccharide) molecule. The wall gives the cell its shape and surrounds the cytoplasmic
membrane, protecting it from the environment. It also helps to anchor appendages like the pili
and flagella, which originate in the cytoplasm membrane and protrude through the wall to the
outside. The strength of the wall is responsible for keeping the cell from bursting when there are
large differences in osmotic pressure between the cytoplasm and the environment.

Cell wall composition varies widely amongst bacteria and is one of the most important factors in
bacterial species analysis and differentiation. For example, a relatively thick, meshlike structure
that makes it possible to distinguish two basic types of bacteria. A technique devised by Danish
physician Hans Christian Gram in 1884, uses a staining and washing technique to differentiate
between the two forms. When exposed to a gram stain, gram-positive bacteria retain the purple
color of the stain because the structure of their cell walls traps the dye. In gram-negative bacteria,
the cell wall is thin and releases the dye readily when washed with an alcohol or acetone solution.

 Cytoplasm - The cytoplasm, or protoplasm, of bacterial cells is where the functions for cell
growth, metabolism, and replication are carried out. It is a gel-like matrix composed of water,
enzymes, nutrients, wastes, and gases and contains cell structures such as ribosomes, a
chromosome, and plasmids. The cell envelope encases the cytoplasm and all its components.
Unlike the eukaryotic (true) cells, bacteria do not have a membrane enclosed nucleus. The
 chromosome, a single, continuous strand of DNA, is localized, but not contained, in a region of
the cell called the nucleoid. All the other cellular components are scattered throughout the
cytoplasm.

One of those components, plasmids, are small, extrachromosomal genetic structures carried by
many strains of bacteria. Like the chromosome, plasmids are made of a circular piece of DNA.
Unlike the chromosome, they are not involved in reproduction. Only the chromosome has the
genetic instructions for initiating and carrying out cell division, or binary fission, the primary
means of reproduction in bacteria. Plasmids replicate independently of the chromosome and,
while not essential for survival, appear to give bacteria a selective advantage.

Plasmids are passed on to other bacteria through two means. For most plasmid types, copies in
the cytoplasm are passed on to daughter cells during binary fission. Other types of plasmids,
however, form a tubelike structure at the surface called a pilus that passes copies of the plasmid
to other bacteria during conjugation, a process by which bacteria exchange genetic information.
Plasmids have been shown to be instrumental in the transmission of special properties, such as
antibiotic drug resistance, resistance to heavy metals, and virulence factors necessary for
infection of animal or plant hosts. The ability to insert specific genes into plasmids have made
them extremely useful tools in the fields of molecular biology and genetics, specifically in the
area of genetic engineering.

 Cytoplasmic Membrane - A layer of phospholipids and proteins, called the cytoplasmic

membrane, encloses the interior of the bacterium, regulating the flow of materials in and out of
the cell. This is a structural trait bacteria share with all other living cells; a barrier that allows
them to selectively interact with their environment. Membranes are highly organized and
asymmetric having two sides, each side with a different surface and different functions.
Membranes are also dynamic, constantly adapting to different conditions.
 Flagella - Flagella (singular, flagellum) are hairlike structures that provide a means of
locomotion for those bacteria that have them. They can be found at either or both ends of a
bacterium or all over its surface. The flagella beat in a propeller-like motion to help the bacterium
move toward nutrients; away from toxic chemicals; or, in the case of the photosynthetic
cyanobacteria; toward the light.
 Nucleoid - The nucleoid is a region of cytoplasm where the chromosomal DNA is located. It is
not a membrane bound nucleus, but simply an area of the cytoplasm where the strands of DNA
are found. Most bacteria have a single, circular chromosome that is responsible for replication,
although a few species do have two or more. Smaller circular auxiliary DNA strands, called
plasmids, are also found in the cytoplasm.
 Pili - Many species of bacteria have pili (singular, pilus), small hairlike projections emerging
from the outside cell surface. These outgrowths assist the bacteria in attaching to other cells and
surfaces, such as teeth, intestines, and rocks. Without pili, many disease-causing bacteria lose
their ability to infect because they're unable to attach to host tissue. Specialized pili are used for
conjugation, during which two bacteria exchange fragments of plasmid DNA.
 Ribosomes - Ribosomes are microscopic "factories" found in all cells, including bacteria. They
translate the genetic code from the molecular language of nucleic acid to that of amino acids—the
building blocks of proteins. Proteins are the molecules that perform all the functions of cells and
living organisms. Bacterial ribosomes are similar to those of eukaryotes, but are smaller and have
a slightly different composition and molecular structure. Bacterial ribosomes are never bound to
other organelles as they sometimes are (bound to the endoplasmic reticulum) in eukaryotes, but
are free-standing structures distributed throughout the cytoplasm. There are sufficient differences
between bacterial ribosomes and eukaryotic ribosomes that some antibiotics will inhibit the
 functioning of bacterial ribosomes, but not a eukaryote's, thus killing bacteria but not the
eukaryotic organisms they are infecting.

The bacterial cell cycle involves the formation of new cells through the replication of DNA and
partitioning of cellular components into two daughter cells. In prokaryotes, reproduction is always
asexual, although extensive genetic recombination in the form of horizontal gene transfer takes place, as
will be explored in a different chapter. Most bacteria have a single circular chromosome; however, some
exceptions exist. For example, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has a linear
chromosome.

Binary Fission
The most common mechanism of cell replication in bacteria is a process called binary fission, which is
depicted in Figure 1. Before dividing, the cell grows and increases its number of cellular components.
Next, the replication of DNA starts at a location on the circular chromosome called the origin of
replication, where the chromosome is attached to the inner cell membrane. Replication continues in
opposite directions along the chromosome until the terminus is reached.

Figure 1. (a) The electron micrograph depicts two cells of Salmonella typhimurium after a binary fission
event. (b) Binary fission in bacteria starts with the replication of DNA as the cell elongates. A division
septum forms in the center of the cell. Two daughter cells of similar size form and separate, each
receiving a copy of the original chromosome. (credit a: modification of work by Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention)

The center of the enlarged cell constricts until two daughter cells are formed, each offspring receiving a
complete copy of the parental genome and a division of the cytoplasm (cytokinesis). This process of
cytokinesis and cell division is directed by a protein called FtsZ. FtsZ assembles into a Z ring on the
cytoplasmic membrane (Figure 2). The Z ring is anchored by FtsZ-binding proteins and defines the
division plane between the two daughter cells. Additional proteins required for cell division are added to
the Z ring to form a structure called the divisome. The divisome activates to produce a peptidoglycan cell
wall and build a septum that divides the two daughter cells. The daughter cells are separated by the
division septum, where all of the cells’ outer layers (the cell wall and outer membranes, if present) must
be remodeled to complete division. For example, we know that specific enzymes break bonds between the
monomers in peptidoglycans and allow addition of new subunits along the division septum.
Figure 2. FtsZ proteins assemble to form a Z ring that is anchored to the plasma membrane. The Z ring
pinches the cell envelope to separate the cytoplasm of the new cells.

The Growth Curve

Microorganisms grown in closed culture (also known as a batch culture), in which no nutrients are added
and most waste is not removed, follow a reproducible growth pattern referred to as the growth curve. An
example of a batch culture in nature is a pond in which a small number of cells grow in a closed
environment. The culture density is defined as the number of cells per unit volume. In a closed
environment, the culture density is also a measure of the number of cells in the population. Infections of
the body do not always follow the growth curve, but correlations can exist depending upon the site and
type of infection. When the number of live cells is plotted against time, distinct phases can be observed in

the curve (Figure 4).

Figure 4. The growth curve of a bacterial culture is represented by the logarithm of the number of live
cells plotted as a function of time.

The Lag Phase

The beginning of the growth curve represents a small number of cells, referred to as an inoculum, that are
added to a fresh culture medium, a nutritional broth that supports growth. The initial phase of the growth
curve is called the lag phase, during which cells are gearing up for the next phase of growth. The number
of cells does not change during the lag phase; however, cells grow larger and are metabolically active,
synthesizing proteins needed to grow within the medium.

The Log Phase

In the logarithmic (log) growth phase, sometimes called exponential growth phase, the cells are actively
dividing by binary fission and their number increases exponentially. For any given bacterial species, the
generation time under specific growth conditions (nutrients, temperature, pH, and so forth) is genetically
determined, and this generation time is called the intrinsic growth rate.

Stationary Phase

As the number of cells increases through the log phase, several factors contribute to a slowing of the
growth rate. Waste products accumulate and nutrients are gradually used up. In addition, gradual
depletion of oxygen begins to limit aerobic cell growth. This combination of unfavorable conditions
slows and finally stalls population growth. The total number of live cells reaches a plateau referred to as
the stationary phase

The Death Phase

As a culture medium accumulates toxic waste and nutrients are exhausted, cells die in greater and greater
numbers. Soon, the number of dying cells exceeds the number of dividing cells, leading to an exponential
decrease in the number of cells.
Structure of Fungal Cell

Fine Structure of Torula Yeast Cell

(a) The Cell Wall of the Fungal Cell:

The composition of cell wall is variable among the different groups of fungi or between the different
species of the same group. In the majority of fungi, the wall lacks cellulose but contains a form of chitin
known as the fungus cellulose which is strictly not identical with insect chitin. The suggested formula for
fungus chitin is (C22 H54 N21)n. Electron microscope studies reveal that chitin occurs as elongated
variously oriented microfibrillar units. These are laid down in layers and form the basis of the structural
rigidity of fungal cell walls. The microfibril layers generally run parallel to the surface. Associated with
the microfibrillar components is the nonfibrillar material. The chief chemical constituents are various
polysaccharides, but proteins, lipids besides other substances have also been reported. In the lower fungi,
the biflagellate Oomycetes are said to be distinct from all over fungi m the cellulose nature of the cell
wall. De Bary reported true cellulose in Peronospora and Saprolegnia. Precise analysis of the cell wall of
Phytophthora and Pythium by Bartnicki-Garcia (1966), Mitchell and Sabar (1968) has revealed that
cellulose is a minority component or even absent altogether. On the other hand, glucan predominates in
their walls. Thus, the Oomycetes may be said to have cellulose in their cell walls but it may not be the
predominant material. Chitin which had long been considered to be absent has recently been reported to
be present even in the cell walls of some Oomycetes. The basic structural constituent of the cell wall in
the Zygomycetes and higher fungi (Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes) is chitin. It is a polysaccharide
based on the nitrogen containing sugar (glucosamine). It is probable that more or less closely associated
with chitin in the cell wall are pectic materials, protein, lipids, cellulose, callose and minerals. The clear
evidence of such an association is, however, lacking. Burnet (1968) is of the opinion that insoluble B
glucan forms the predominant structural material of the wall of Ascomycetes and Basi-diomycetes. In
addition chitin may as well be present in appreciable amounts. In the yeasts and a few other Hemias-
comycetideae chitin is absent. Their walls are mainly composed of micro-fibrils of mannan and B glucan.
Mannan is a polymer of hexose sugar mannose whereas glucan is polymer of glucose. Some investigators
have reported the occurrence of lignin in several fungi It is doubtful whether this substance is chemically
the same as the lignin of higher plants. It is obvious that our present knowledge of the chemical
composition of the cell wall of fungi is incomplete like the cellulose wall; the chitin wall of most fungi is
permeable both to water and substances in true solution.

(b) The Protoplast in the Fungal Cell:

The living substance of the cell within the cell wall is the protoplast. It lacks the chloroplasts but is
differentiated into the other usual cell parts such as plasma or cell membrane, vacuolated cytoplasm, cell
organelles and one or more nuclei.

(c) Cell Membrane:

It is a delicate, extremely thin, living membrane which closely invests the protoplast. The cell or plasma
membrane is pressed against the cell or hyphal wall except for occasional invaginations in some regions.
The Invagination is either in the form of an infolded convoluted pocket or a pouch enclosing granular or
vesicular material. Moore and Mc Lear (1961) named it lomasome. Actually the plasma membrane is the
surface layer of the protoplast altered to perform special functions. It is differentially permeable and
shows a typical tripartite structure under the electron microscope. There is an electron dense layer on
either side of the less dense central region.

(d) Cytoplasm:

Within the plasma membrane is the colorless cytoplasm in which sap-filled vacuoles may occur. In young
hyphae and hyphal tips, the cytoplasm appears rather uniform and homogeneous. Immersed in the
cytoplasm are structures known as the organelles and inclusions. The organelles are living structures,
each with a specific function. The inclusions are dead, have no specific function and thus are not essential
to cell survival. Amongst the cell organelles are included the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria,
ribosomes, Golgi apparatus and vacuoles. Lomasomes which are membranous structures lying between
the cell wall and plasma membrane are common. Examples of inclusions are the stored foods (glycogen,
and oil drops) pigments and secretory granules.
(i) Endoplasmic Reticulum:

The presence of endoplasmic reticulum in the fungal cytoplasm has been demonstrated by the use of
electron micro-scope. It is composed of a system of membranes or microtubular structures usually beset
with small granules which by some scientists are likened to the ribosomes. In many fungi, the
endoplasmic reticulum is highly vesicular. Usually it is loose and more irregular than in the cells of green
plants.

(ii) Mitochondria:

The cytoplasm contains small, usually spherical bodies known as the mitochondria. Each mitochondrion
is enveloped by a double membrane. The inner membrane is infolded to form the cristae which are in the
form of parallel flat plates or irregular tubules.

The cristae contain the same fluid that fills the space between the two membranes. The mitochondria
function as the power house of the cell. There is no fundamental difference between the mitochondria of
fungi and those of green plants. However, Hawker (1965) holds that the cristae of fungal mitochondria
are fewer, flatter and more irregular than those of the green plants.

(iii) Golgi Apparatus (Dictyosomes):

With the exception of Oomycetes there is less certainty of the occurrence of structures similar to those of
the golgi apparatus (dictyosomes) m fungi. Moore and Muhlethaler (1963) reported a golgi apparatus
consisting of three flattened sacs surrounded by many bubble-like structures in Saccharomyces cells.

(iv) Vacuole:

The cytoplasm of young hyphae or fungal cells and hyphal tips lacks vacuoles. They appear further back
or in the old cells. With age, they enlarge and show a tendency to coalesce and ultimately reduce the
cytoplasm to thin lining layer immediately within the cell wall.
(v) Inclusions:

The cytoplasm contains various kinds of inclusions. Examples of stored foods are lipid globules, granules
of glycogen, oils and the carbohydrate trehalose, proteinaceous material and volutin. The glycogen may
occur in vacuoles. There are no starch grains. Of the pigments, the fungi lack chlorophyll. Carotenoids are
often conspicuous by their presence and may occur throughout the cytoplasm or concentrated in the lipid
granules or distributed in the cell wall. The cytoplasm, in addition, secretes several kinds .of ferments,
enzymes and organic acids.

Nucleus:

The cytoplasm in the individual cells contains one, two or more globose or ellipsoid nuclei which in the
somatic portion are small and usually range from 1-2 or 3µ in diameter. They cannot be seen without
special techniques.

Structurally the nucleus consists of:

(i) A central, dense body with a clear area around it.

(ii) Chromatin strands, and

(iii) The whole structure surrounded by a definite nuclear, membrane.

The central body takes heavy iron haematoxylin stain and is usually Feulgen-negative. In electron
micrographs, it appears as an amorphous or granular mass. Mycologists usually designate it as the
nucleolus. Bakerspigel (1960) stated that it contains RNA. During nuclear division, the chromatin strands
become organised into chromosomes which are extremely small and difficult to count.

Under the electron microscope, the nuclear membrane is seen to consist of inner and outer layers of
electron dense material and the middle one of electron transparent substance. The nuclear membrane has
pores. At certain points, the nuclear membrane is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum.

Nucleolus
Bacteria play important roles in the global ecosystem.

The ecosystem, both on land and in the water, depends heavily upon the activity of bacteria. The
cycling of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur is completed by their ceaseless labor.

Organic carbon, in the form of dead and rotting organisms, would quickly deplete the carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere if not for the activity of decomposers. This may not sound too bad to
you, but realize that without carbon dioxide, there would be no photosynthesis in plants, and no
food. When organisms die, the carbon contained in their tissues becomes unavailble for most
other living things. Decomposition is the breakdown of these organisms, and the release of
nutrients back into the environment, and is one of the most important roles of the bacteria.

The cycling of nitrogen is another important activity of bacteria. Plants rely on nitrogen from the
soil for their health and growth, and cannot acquire it from the gaseous nitrogen in the
atmosphere. The primary way in which nitrogen becomes available to them is through nitrogen
fixation by bacteria such as Rhizobium, and by cyanobacteria such as Anabaena, Nostoc, and
Spirulina, shown at right. These bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into nitrates or nitrites as part
of their metabolism, and the resulting products are released into the environment. Some plants,
such as liverworts, cycads, and legumes have taken special advantage of this process by
modifying their structure to house the basteria in their own tissues. Other denitrifying bacteria
metabolize in the reverse direction, turning nitrates into nitrogen gas or nitrous oxide. When
colonies of these bacteria occur on croplands, they may deplete the soil nutrients, and make it
difficult for crops to grow.

Importance of Fungi

Fungi are everywhere in very large numbers—in the soil and the air, in lakes, rivers, and seas, on
and within plants and animals, in food and clothing, and in the human body. Together with
bacteria, fungi are responsible for breaking down organic matter and releasing carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, and phosphorus into the soil and the atmosphere. Fungi are essential to many household
and industrial processes, notably the making of bread, wine, beer, and certain cheeses. Fungi are
also used as food; for example, some mushrooms, morels, and truffles are epicurean delicacies,
and mycoproteins (fungal proteins), derived from the mycelia of certain species of fungi, are
used to make foods that are high in protein.

Studies of fungi have greatly contributed to the accumulation of fundamental knowledge in

biology. For example, studies of ordinary baker’s or brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
led to discoveries of basic cellular biochemistry and metabolism. Some of these pioneering
discoveries were made at the end of the 19th century and continued during the first half of the
20th century. From 1920 through the 1940s, geneticists and biochemists who studied mutants of
the red bread mold, Neurospora, established the one-gene–one-enzyme theory, thus contributing
to the foundation of modern genetics. Fungi continue to be useful for studying cell and molecular
biology, genetic engineering, and other basic disciplines of biology.
Brewer's yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of budding yeast, is able to ferment sugar into carbon dioxide
and alcohol and is commonly used in the baking and brewing industries.

The medical relevance of fungi was discovered in 1928, when Scottish bacteriologist Alexander
Fleming noticed the green mold Penicillium notatum growing in a culture dish of
Staphylococcus bacteria. Around the spot of mold was a clear ring in which no bacteria grew.
Fleming successfully isolated the substance from the mold that inhibited the growth of bacteria.
In 1929 he published a scientific report announcing the discovery of penicillin, the first of a
series of antibiotics—many of them derived from fungi—that have revolutionized medical
practice.
Penicillium, a genus of green mold, attacks many fruits and is the source of the antibiotic drug
penicillin.
Penicillium, a genus of green mold, attacks many fruits and is the source of the antibiotic drug
penicillin.
Walter Dawn

Another medically important fungus is Claviceps purpurea, which is commonly called ergot and
causes a plant disease of the same name. The disease is characterized by a growth that develops
on grasses, especially on rye. Ergot is a source of several chemicals used in drugs that induce
labour in pregnant women and that control hemorrhage after birth. Ergot is also the source of
lysergic acid, the active principle of the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Other species of fungi contain chemicals that are extracted and used to produce drugs known as
statins, which control cholesterol levels and ward off coronary heart disease. Fungi are also used
in the production of a number of organic acids, enzymes, and vitamins.

lumenlearning.com/microbiology/chapter/how-microbes-grow/

https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/bacteriacell.html

https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/bacterialh.html

https://www.britannica.com/science/fungus/Importance-of-fungi

Viruses

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8174/