SAN ANTONIO INFOTECH SCHOOL INC.

143 ME C. Harina Street, Poblacion, San Antonio, Quezon

(043) 703-2273

Week 12
Lesson 9. Microorganisms

Microorganisms
 Microorganisms are very small living things that are not visible to human eyes.
 Microorganisms, are made up of only very few cells and sometimes even of only
a single cell.
 Yet these cells are also capable of carrying out life processes for the
microorganisms.
 Microorganisms are grouped based on their differences and similarities in
structure and genetic characteristics.
 They are classified into major groups called kingdoms.
 Sub - classifications of kingdoms are called phyla.
Five kingdoms of microorganisms are:
 Protista
 Monera
 Fungi
 Plantae
 Animalia
Kingdom Protista
 The term protista was introduced by German biologist Ernst Heinrich Philipp
August Haeckel to refer to all single – celled organisms that are intermediate in
many respects between plants and animals.
 This kingdom is made up of protozoans and algae and the protists are grouped
into protozoan protists and algal protists.

Protozoans
 Organisms under kingdom Protista are eukaryotic or have visibly evident nuclei.
 They are single – celled organisms that are found mostly in aquatic or watery
habitats, with some living in groups or colonies. they could be parasitic.
Protozoan protists are grouped into:
 Flagellates
 Sarcodina
 Ciliates

Some Examples of Protists and their Characteristics

Protozoan Example Characteristics
Protists
Flagellates Chlamydomonas sp. -Spherical or egg – shaped; free
Euglena sp. living
-Narrow, elongated, and with a red
Trichomonas sp. spot or stigma; can contact or twist

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143 ME C. Harina Street, Poblacion, San Antonio, Quezon
(043) 703-2273

its body into a sphere; exhibits

euglenoid movement; moves with
the help of flagella; lives singly
-Mostly found in the food tubes of
Trichonympha campanula organisms, particularly in the mouth
and intestines
-Digests the cellulose in termites
Trypanosoma gambiense -Parasitic; causes Gambian
Volvox sp. sleeping sickness, physical
weakness, and depression
-Contains 50 to 50 000 vegetative
cells; colonial
Sarcodina Amoeba proteus -Has translucent jellylike nucleus
with numerous with numerous
granules; uses pseudopodia for
locomotion; found in freshwaters;
phagocyte, feeds on small algae,
rotifers, and nematode worms
Endamoeba histolytica -Commonly found in contaminated
food and water; lives in the large
intestines of organism; can cause
amoebic dysentery and ulcer
Entamoeba gingivalis -Commonly found at the base of the
teeth of humans
Ciliates Balantidium sp. -Lives in the intestines of humans,
pigs, and monkeys; can cause
dysentery and ulcer
Paramecium sp. -Slipper – shaped and with uniform
cilia; some species live freely in
fresh water while others live in
saltwater
Spirostomum sp. -Long, slender, and cigar-shaped;
its peristome reaches up to the
middle of its body
Stentor sp. -Large, greenish or bluish, and with
trumpetlike cilia
Stylonychia sp. -Shows jerky, creeping movements;
with cilia that are not uniform
Vorticella sp. -Small, inverted, and bell-shaped;
with a small, highly contractile stalk
at its top; found in aquatic habitats.

Sporozoans
 Sporozoans are protozoans that have no cilia or flagella.

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(043) 703-2273

 They are parasitic and live in their hosts. The most familiar species of
protozoans, the Plasmodium falcifarum, is known as the cause of malaria.
 This protozoan is transmitted from host to host by the female Anopheles
mosquito.
 The human body is a host to the parasite.
 Sexual reproduction of the parasite takes place only in the stomach of a female.
Anopheles mosquito infected biting a human malarial victim.
 The gametes unite to form zygotes that encyst in the lining of the mosquito’s
stomach. By internal division and redivision, great numbers of sporozoites are
formed.
 The sporozoites are introduced into the human body by the infected mosquito.
They form trophozoites, the stage of growth when the parasites attack the red
corpuscles or red blood cells of their host.
 The red blood cells swell and disintegrate. Within 48 hours in temperate zones,
the parasites attain full size and become much larger than the red blood cells. the
simultaneous breakdown of millions of red blood cells brings about chilling, which
is followed by fever. The cycle is repeated when a mosquito bites this infected
person.

Algae
 Algae are microorganisms that also belong to the kingdom Protista. They grow in
moist or aquatic places and in freshwater habitats, although many also thrive in
terrestrial habitats, particularly in soil and trees.
 Although algae have been known to have beneficial effects in food and medicine,
natural toxins of dinoflagellates called pyrodinium bahamense var.
compressa have become a menace especially to fisherfolk.
 These algae cause red tide, a phenomenon that takes place when large
concentrations of estuarine, marine, or freshwater algae accumulate rapidly in
sea water and cause the discoloration of surface water in coastal areas.
 Filter feeders such as shellfish get their food by filtering the water that goes in
and out of their bodies. they take in vast quantities of water and strain away
every last bit of organic material from the liquid.
 Red tide poisoning causes a condition called paralytic shellfish poisoning. A
lethal dose takes effect within 30 minutes after contaminated shellfish has been
ingested.

Diatoms
 Diatoms are a major group of algae. they are generally single – celled, although
they can also form colonies with filamentous, ribbonlike, fanlike, zigzag, and
starlike shapes.

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 SAN ANTONIO INFOTECH SCHOOL INC.
143 ME C. Harina Street, Poblacion, San Antonio, Quezon
(043) 703-2273

 They are the most common type of phytoplankton, or marine organisms that
resemble plants because they contain chlorophyll and need sunlight in order to
grow.
 Diatoms play a very significant role in maintaining ecological balance. Because
they can be found in different bodies of water anywhere in the world, they
contribute as much as 20% of global photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide
into carbohydrates and therefore have greater ability for carbon fixation than the
world’s tropical rainforests.
 They also release oxygen during photosynthesis and are also a good source of
silica because their cell walls contain compounds rich in silica.

Foraminiferans
 Foraminiferans are a group of protists with amoeba-like caharcteristics. Their
size ranges from 1 mm to 20 cm.
 They are among the most common marine plankton species. They are mostly
found in the seas although some live in the mud at the bottom of oceans.
 Some species are also found in fresh water.
 Foraminiferans are called “hole bearers” because they have shells that have
either one or multiple chambers made of calcium carbonate and there are holes
in between these chambers.
 Their shells are good sources of chalk.

Kingdom Monera
Bacteria
 Bacteria are prokaryotes and therefore do not have nuclei and organelles. Like
other organisms, they utilize energy.
 Sulfur and nitrifying bacteria are two types of bacteria that are classified as
autotrophic bacteria, or bacteria that can produce their own food.
 Other bacteria are heterotrophic, or are not capable of producing their own food
but only depend on other organisms and other materials for their nourishment.
 Saprophytic bacteria break complex proteins and other organic materials.
 There are different forms of bacteria. These are classified according to their
physical shape and form. Among the common ones are the cocci, bacillus,
spirillum, and vibrio forms.

 Cocci bacteria are spherical in shape while bacilli bacteria are shaped like
rods.
 Spirillum bacteria are shaped like a coiled screw while vibrio bacteria
resemble a comma or the letter c.
 Bacteria can synthesize or produce enzymes to make vitamins that your body
absorbs. Others aid in the digestion of certain substances. The intestinal bacteria
E coli have been utilized in genetic engineering experiments, ahead of the virus

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and protozoa, through recombinant DNA technology. This include manipulation

of genes.
 Generally, bacteria act as decomposers of dead organisms, allowing the
biochemical cycle to continue.
 A new form of bacteria can also devour oil spills in the sea. They are also used in
the preparation of medicines for treating diseases.
 Some bacteria in pathogenic forms can cause diseases. Because they grow at
temperatures from 25°c to 40°c and can be destroyed only at temperatures from
65°c to 70°c, they survive even under extreme conditions.
 However, such factors as sunlight, salt, sugar, and alcohol, including antiseptics,
can kill bacteria.

Disease Bacterium
Abscess Staphylococcus aureus
Venereal disease Neisseria gonorroheae
Cholera Vibrio comma
Dysentery Shigella dysenteriae
Diphtheria Corynebacterium diphtheria
Tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Kingdom fungi
 Fungi are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that cannot manufacture their food
because they do not have chlorophyll.
 To produce their food, they secrete enzymes that absorb materials from their
host organisms. While some fungi species are parasites, others are
saprophytes, or nourish on decaying organic matter.
Fungi are classified into four:
 Zygomycota or zygospore (e.g., bread molds)
 Ascomycota or sac fungi (e.g., yeast)
 Basidiomycota or club fungi (e.g., common mushroom)
 Deuteromycota (e.g., species that cause athlete’s foot and ringworm)

 Fungi grow very well in watery or moist places. Amanita phalloides is a

poisonous mushroom that grows on the ground under trees or in decaying
woods.
 The lichens you see on the trees show the association of fungi with another
organism, the cyanobacteria or blue – green algae.

Viruses
 Viruses are very small particles that are included in a special class of obligate
intracellular parasites. They depend on living hosts for their existence. They

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 SAN ANTONIO INFOTECH SCHOOL INC.
143 ME C. Harina Street, Poblacion, San Antonio, Quezon
(043) 703-2273

are also microbial agents that infect plants, animals, bacteria, and humans. They
contain either DNA or RNA as genetic material and replicate within the cell of
their living hosts, from which they generate energy or manufacture proteins.

Viral infections
 Experiments have shown that when the sap from a virus-infected tobacco plant
was rubbed on the leaves of healthy tobacco plants, the latter plants developed
the tobacco mosaic disease.
 In 1892, studies of tobacco mosaic virus conducted by Dmitri Iosifovich
Ivanovsky, a Russian biologist, first gave the world an insight to the intimate
structure of viruses: that their particles consisted of a core containing RNA or
DNA enclosed within a protein coating called capsule.

Bacteriophage
 A bacteriophage is a virus that feeds on bacteria. Infection happens when the
virus attaches its tail to the bacteria’s cell.
 The nucleic acid of the virus goes into the cell, leaving the protein outside, then
produces self-duplicating units.
 After 20 to 30 min, the units are recombined into new particles that resemble the
original infecting virus.
 These are then released after the bacterial cell absorbs water and destroys the
substance within the cell.