Chapter 11

Characterizing and Classifying Prokaryotes

General Characteristics of Prokaryotic Organisms

Prokaryotes-Most numerous and diverse group of cellular microbes
 Thrive in various habitats
 Only a few are capable of colonizing humans and causing disease

Endospores=Produced by Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus and Clostridium

 Each vegetative cell transforms into one endospore
 Each endospore germinates to form one vegetative cell
 Defensive strategy against unfavorable conditions
 often difficult to kill

Reproduction of Prokaryotic Cells

 All reproduce asexually
 Several different methods
1. Binary fission (most common)
2. Snapping division
3. Reproductive spores
4. Budding
5. Viviparity

Arrangements of Prokaryotic Cells =Result from two aspects of division during binary fission
 Planes in which cells divide and separation of daughter cells

Modern Prokaryotic Classification

 Currently based on genetic relatedness of rRNA sequences
 Three domains
1. Archaea
2. Bacteria
3. Eukarya

Survey of Archaea
 Common features
1. Lack true peptidoglycan
2. Cell membrane lipids have branched hydrocarbon chains
3. AUG codon codes for methionine

 Two phyla: Crenarchaeota, Euryarchaeota

 Reproduce by binary fission, budding, or fragmentation
 Are cocci, bacilli, spirals, or pleomorphic
 Not known to cause disease

Extremophiles =Require extreme conditions to survive ex. temperature, pH, and/or salinity
 Prominent members are thermophiles and halophiles

Thermophiles =DNA, RNA, cytoplasmic membranes, and proteins do not function properly below 45ºC

Hyperthermophiles – require temperatures over 80ºC

 Two representative genera
1. Geogemma
2. Pyrodictium

Thermophiles
 Thermophilic enzymes are used for research and industrial applications
 Recombinant DNA technologies
 Additives in laundry detergents

Halophiles =iInhabit extremely saline habitats

 Depend on greater than 9% NaCl to maintain integrity of cell walls
 Many contain red or orange pigments (may protect from sunlight)
 Most studied – Halobacterium salinarium
Photoheterotroph =lacks photosynthetic pigments
 Uses bacteriorhodopsins to establish proton gradient

Methanogens =largest group of archaea

 Convert carbon dioxide, hydrogen gas, and organic acids to methane gas
 Convert organic wastes in pond, lake, and ocean sediments to methane
 Some live in colons of animals
 One of primary sources of environmental methane
 Produced ~10 trillion tons of methane buried on ocean floor
 Digest sludge during sewage treatment

Deeply branching bacteria

 Scientists believe these organisms are similar to earliest bacteria

Autotrophic
 Live in habitats similar to those thought to exist on early Earth

Aquifex
 Considered to represent earliest branch of bacteria

Deinococcus
 Has outer membrane similar to Gram-negatives but stains Gram-positive

Deeply Branching and Phototrophic Bacteria

Phototrophic bacteria =phototrophs that contain photosynthetic lamellae
 Autotrophic
 Divided into five groups based on pigments and source of electrons for photosynthesis
1. Blue-green bacteria (cyanobacteria)
2. Green sulfur bacteria
3. Green nonsulfur bacteria
4. Purple sulfur bacteria
5. Purple nonsulfur bacteria

Photosynthesis: Comparing Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

Bacteria =Low G + C Gram-Positive Bacteria
 G + C content below 50%
 Have similar 16S rRNA sequences
 Classified in phylum Firmicutes
 Rod-shaped, obligate anaerobes ex. Clostridia
 Important in medicine and industry
 Produce toxins that cause diseases in humans
 Endospores survive harsh conditions
 Related microbes include Epulopiscium, sulfate-reducing microbes, and Selenomonas

Mycoplasmas
 Facultative or obligate anaerobes;lack cell wall; smallest free-living cells
 Colonize mucous membranes of the respiratory and urinary tracts of animals

Other low G + C bacilli and cocci

1. Bacillus =Endospore-forming aerobes and facultative anaerobes
 Many common in soil
 Bacillus thuringiensis toxin is used by farmers and gardeners as an insecticide
 Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax
 Other species synthesize antibiotics
2. Listeria =contaminates milk and meat products
 Capable of reproducing under refrigeration
 Survives inside phagocytic white blood cells
 Rarely causes disease in adults
 In pregnant women, can kill the fetus if crosses the placenta
3. Lactobacillus = grows in the human mouth, stomach, intestinal tract, and vagina
 Rarely causes disease
 Inhibits the growth of pathogens within the body
 Used in the production of various foods
4. Streptococcus and Enterococcus = cause numerous diseases
 Various strains of multi-drug-resistant streptococci
 Staphylococcus = one of the most common inhabitants of humans
 Produces toxins and enzymes that contribute to disease
5. Corynebacterium = pleomorphic aerobes and facultative anaerobes
 Produces metachromatic granules
6. Mycobacterium = aerobic rods that sometimes form filaments
 Slow growth, partly due to mycolic acid in its cell walls
 Some species are pathogens of animals and humans

High G + C Gram-Positive Bacteria

1. Actinomycetes = form branching filaments resembling fungi
 Cause disease primarily in immunocompromised patients
 Important genera include Actinomyces, Nocardia, Streptomyces
Actinomyces = normally present in oral cavity and throats of humans
Nocardia = soil- and water-dwelling aerobes
 Can degrade a variety of pollutants
Streptomyces = recycles nutrients in the soil
 Produces most of the important antibiotics

Gram-Negative Proteobacteria
 Largest and most diverse group of bacteria
 Five classes of proteobacteria
1. Alphaproteobacteria
2. Betaproteobacteria
3. Gammaproteobacteria
4. Deltaproteobacteria
5. Epsilonproteobacteria

1. Alphaproteobacteria
Often capable of growing at low nutrient levels
Some species have extensions called prosthecae
Used for attachment and nutrient absorption

2. Alphaproteobacteria
Nitrogen fixers
Two genera important to agriculture
Grow in association with the roots of plants
 Azospirillum
 Produces chemicals that aid in nutrient uptake
 Rhizobium
 Produces ammonia, which aids in plant growth
 Nitrogen fixers
 Rhodopseudomonas palustris
 Reduces hydrogen to hydrogen gas (H2)
 Potential for use as a biofuel

Nitrifying bacteria
 Oxidation of nitrogenous compounds provides electrons
 Important in the environment and agriculture
 Convert reduced nitrogenous compounds into nitrate (nitrification)

Nitrobacter
 Survey of Bacteria

Gram-Negative Proteobacteria
1. Alphaproteobacteria
2. Purple nonsulfur phototrophs
Grow at the bottom of lakes and ponds
Use bacteriochlorophylls to harvest light energy
Do not generate oxygen during photosynthesis
1. Alphaproteobacteria = pathogenic alphaproteobacteria

a. Rickettsia
Transmitted through bite of an arthropod
Causes several human diseases

b. Brucella
Causes brucellosis
Survives phagocytosis by white blood cells

c. Other alphaproteobacteria
Important in industry and the environment
Acetobacter and Gluconobacter are used in vinegar production
Caulobacter inhabits nutrient-poor waters
Agrobacterium plasmid useful for genetic manipulation of plants

2. Betaproteobacteria = Pathogenic betaproteobacteria

a. Neisseria
Inhabits mucous membranes of mammals
Causes numerous diseases

b. Bordetella
Causes pertussis

c. Burkholderia
Colonizes moist environmental surfaces and respiratory passages of cystic fibrosis patients

Other betaproteobacteria
a. Thiobacillus
Recycles sulfur in the environment.

b. Zoogloea
Form flocs that assist in the treatment of sewage

c. Sphaerotilus
Flocs impede flow of waste in treatment plants

Gammaproteobacteria
 Largest and most diverse class of proteobacteria
 Divided into subgroups
1. Purple sulfur bacteria
2. Intracellular pathogens
3. Methane oxidizers
4. Glycolytic facultative anaerobes
5. Pseudomonads

1. Purple sulfur bacteria = obligate anaerobes

Oxidize hydrogen sulfide to sulfur
Found in sulfur-rich zones in lakes, bogs, and oceans

2. Intracellular pathogens

a. Legionella
Causes Legionnaires' disease

b. Coxiella
Causes Q fever
Both pathogens survive within white blood cells

3. Methane oxidizers
Use methane as a carbon and energy source
Inhabit anaerobic environments
Digest methane within local environment before it can impact climate
4. Glycolytic facultative anaerobes
Largest group of gammaproteobacteria
Catabolize carbohydrates by glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway
Divided into three families

Survey of Bacteria
Pseudomonads = break down numerous organic compounds
 Important pathogens of humans and animals
 Pseudomonas causes infections of the urinary tract, ear, and lung
 Azotobacter and Azomonas are nonpathogenic soil-dwelling pseudomonads

Deltaproteobacteria
 Desulfovibrio
 Recycles sulfur in the environment
 Contributes to the corrosion of iron pipes
Bdellovibrio
 Destroys other Gram-negative bacteria
Myxobacteria
 Produce differentiated reproductive structures

Epsilonproteobacteria
 Campylobacter = causes blood poisoning and intestinal inflammation
 Helicobacter = causes ulcers

Other Gram-Negative Bacteria

1. Chlamydias = grow intracellularly in mammals, birds, and some invertebrates
= Some are smaller than viruses
= Most common sexually transmitted bacteria in the United States
2. Spirochetes = motile bacteria that move in a corkscrew motion
= have diverse metabolism and habitats
3. Treponema and Borrelia both cause disease in humans
4. Bacteroids
Bacteroides = inhabits digestive tracts of humans and animals
= Some species cause infections
Cytophaga
Aquatic, gliding bacteria = Important in the degradation of raw sewage