Microorganisms

MODULE 10
What is microorganism?

 Microorganisms, as their name implies, are so small that they

usually require a microscope to see. The vast majority of
microorganism on the earth pose no real threat to humans, plants
or animals; in fact, they actually work alongside humans to make
world go round, aiding decomposition, decay and even helping us
to digest our food. However, there are some microorganisms which
negatively impact our lives, causing illness, bad odors and
damaging products and surfaces.
 Microscopic organisms, commonly known as microorganisms or
microbes, are found all around us and even inside our bodies it
also plays a major role in maintaining the Earth’s ecosystem
The scientist who studies microorganism are
called microbiologist
 The division of microorganism includes a massive range of
organisms including bacteria, protist, and fungi

A. BACTERIA

- perhaps the most well-known microorganism, they lived

on this planet for two billion years before the first
eukaryotes and, during that time, evolved into millions of
different species. It is a unicellular organism and has a
prokaryotic cell.
 CHARACTERISTICS

SIZE AND SHAPE

- Bacteria are so small that they can only be

seen with a microscope. When viewed under
the microscope, they have three distinct
shapes. Bacteria can be identified and
classified by their shape:

1. Bacilli are rod-shaped.

2. Cocci are sphere-shaped.
3. Spirilli are spiral-shaped.
Structural Components of
Bacterial Cells

1. Capsule - 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

2. Cell Envelope - The cell envelope is made up of two to

three layers:
 the interior cytoplasmic membrane encloses the
interior of the bacterium, regulating the flow of
materials in and out of the cell.
 the cell wall gives the cell its shape and surrounds the
cytoplasmic membrane, protecting it from the
environment
 
3. 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.

4. 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.
 

5. 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.
 6. 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.

7. 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.
 Distinct groups of Bacteria

 Within bacteria there are two classes, Gram positive bacteria which have thicker cell wall and Gram
negatives which have a thinner layer sandwiched between an inner and outer membrane. Such
distinction can be observed when a bacterium is subjected to a Gram- staining process. Hans C.J
Gram, a microbiologist, developed the Gram staining procedure.
 Reproduction of Bacteria
 Bacteria reproduce both
asexually and sexually

A. Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction in bacteria occurs by the following methods:

 Binary fission: This is the most common

type of asexual reproduction in actively
growing bacteria and occurs during
favorable conditions. In this process, the
cytoplasm and the nucleoid divide equally
into two without mitosis, and the two
daughter cells formed are identical to each
other.
  Budding: Some bacteria continuously produce protrusions,
called buds, which on detachmentform new individuals.
Hyphomicrobium vulgare and Rhodomicrobium vannielia
are commonexamples of budding bacteria.

 Fragmentation: It occurs in colonial cyanobacteria. After

reaching a certain length, the blue bacterium breaks up
into pieces called fragments. Each fragment is the
beginning of a new colony.
Sexual reproduction
 

 Genetic Recombination in different strains of bacteria. Genetic recombination

introduces new traits to the daughter cells formed since they are products of the
combination of the traits of their parents. These new traits will give them the
advantage for survival in the new environment
Economic importance of Bacteria

 Bacteria are microorganisms and they are useful to us. Bacteria are economically
important as these microorganisms are used by humans for many purposes.

a. Food processing - The milk-souring bacterial genus Lactobacillus is used

to make yogurt and cheese. Bacteria are also used to form organic acids in
pickles and vinegar
b. Pest control - Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in
biological pest control. This commonly uses Bacillus thuringiensis (BT), a
Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium.
c. Bioremediation - Bacteria can be used to remove pollutants from contaminated
water, soil and subsurface material. During the Mega Borg Oil Spill, for example, 100
pounds of bacteria were sprayed over an acre of the oil slick to break down the
hydrocarbons present into more benign by-products.
d. Digestion - Bacteria living in the gut of cattle, horses and other herbivores, for
example Ruminococcus spp., help to digest cellulose by secreting the enzyme
cellulase. This is how herbivores are able to get the energy they need from grass and
other plants.
e. Medicines - Bacteria are used to create multiple antibiotics such as Streptomycin from the
bacteria streptococcus. Bacteria can also be used to create vaccines to prevent several diseases.
f. Biotechnology - involves the use of microorganisms including bacteria and fungi in the
manufacturing and services industries. These include chemical manufacturing such as ethanol,
acetone, organic acid, enzymes, and perfumes.
 
 Harmful effects of Bacteria

 Harmful bacteria are called pathogenic bacteria because they cause disease and
illnesses like strep throat, staph infections, cholera, tuberculosis, and food
poisoning.

A. In Man and Animals

 
 Cholera - Vibrio cholerae
 Influenza- Haemophilis influenzae
 Pneumonia- Diplococcus pneumoniae
 Meningitis- Neissaria meningitides
 Tetanus- Clostridium tetani
 
  
B. Food spoilage
 Some saprophytic bacteria grow on unprotected foodstuffs like fruits, pickles,
jams, jellies, bread, etc., and spoil them by causing decay. The use of salt,
sugar and oil, etc., in preservation of pickles and jams, checks the growth of
such bacteria. Clostridium botulinum produces a very virulent poison in canned
food and many deaths occur due to it.
 B. PROTIST

 Protists are a group of loosely connected, mostly unicellular eukaryotic

organisms that are not plants, animals or fungi.

Protists include a remarkable number and variety of living organisms that

far outnumber bacteria and viruses in their species diversity. It is estimated
that there are nearly three times as many undiscovered protists as there are
ones that have been described.

Protists were first classified as a group of organisms by Ernst Haeckel in the 1860s, using the term
derived from the Greek word protistos meaning ‘the very first’. It was initially used to indicate that
these organisms were probably primitive forms of plants and animals.
 Protists are a group made up of Protozoa “animal like” and Algae “plant like” protist

A. Protozoa “animal – like protist “

 protozoans are only made up of a single cell, these organisms manage to perform all the basic tasks
of life. The protozoa are divided into four major groups: the ciliates, the flagellates, the heliozoans,
and the amoebas. Some protozoan are disease causing or pathogenic

 Ciliates:Ciliophora- member of the protozoan of

which there are some 8,000 species; ciliates are
generally considered the most evolved and complex
of protozoans. Ciliates are single-celled organisms
that, at some stage in their life cycle, possess cilia,
short hairlike organelles used for locomotion and food
gathering.
 Ex: Balantidium coli - large pathogenic ciliated protozoan that in rare instances infects humans and
produces intestinal symptoms. B. coli has a worldwide distribution, and prevalence is highest in
areas of poor hygiene and nutrition and where pigs and humans have close contact.
  Flagellates - are characterized by having one or more flagella. Parasitic
species generally have more flagella than those that are free living.

Ex: Helicobacter pylori – a flagellated bacterium that cause

ulcer of the stomach or the first part of the small intestine. The
infection is also associated with the development of certain cancers
occurring in less than 20% of cases.
 Amoebas - is a type of cell or unicellular organism these protozoans are
constantly changing shape; they look and move much like balloons half filled
with water.

 Ex: Entamoeba histolytica -responsible for a disease

Amebiasis caused by infection with a parasitic amoeba that,
when symptomatic, can cause dysentery and invasive
extraintestinal problems. Some risk factors for amebiasis
include consuming contaminated food or water, association with
food handlers whose hands are contaminated.
 Heliozoan – commonly known as sun-animalcules, are microbial
eukaryotes (protists) with stiff arms (axopodia) radiating from their
spherical bodies, which are responsible for their common name
 B. Algae “plant like protist”

 they are a large and diverse group. Some algae, the diatoms, are
single-celled. Others, such as seaweed, are multicellular Why are
algae considered plant-like? The main reason is that they contain
chloroplasts and produce food through photosynthesis. However,
they lack many other structures of true plants. For example, algae do
not have roots, stems, or leaves. Some algae also differ from plants
in being motile. They may move with pseudopods or flagella.
Although not plants themselves, algae were probably the ancestors
of plants. Algae play significant roles as producers in aquatic
ecosystems. Microscopic forms live suspended in the water column.
 One of the microscopic algal group that impacts other organism, including humans is the
unicellular phytoplankton known as the dinoflagellates. These protists reproduce by binary
fission, and their population can double in a limited span of time if the water is polluted.
Excessive growth of dinoflagellates are a phenomenon called algal bloom popularity known as
red tide. Red produces toxins that kill much of the coastal wildlife and can cause paralysis and
other illnesses or even death to humans
C. FUNGI

 Fungi are a kingdom of usually multicellular eukaryotic organisms that are heterotrophs
(cannot make their own food) and have important roles in nutrient cycling in an ecosystem.
Fungi reproduce both sexually and asexually, and they also have symbiotic associations
with plants and bacteria.
 Importance of Fungi in Human Life

 Although we often think of fungi as organisms that cause disease and rot food, fungi are
important to human life on many levels. They influence the well-being of human populations
on a large scale because they are part of the nutrient cycle in ecosystems. They also have
other ecosystem uses, such as pesticides.

1. Biological Insecticides - as animal pathogens, fungi help to control the population of damaging
pests. These fungi are very specific to the insects they attack; they do not infect animals or plants.
For example, the fungus Beauveria bassiana is a pesticide being tested as a possible biological
control agent for the recent spread of emerald ash borer.

2. Farming - The mycorrhizal relationship between fungi and plant roots is essential for the productivity of
farm land. Without the fungal partner in root systems, 80–90 percent of trees and grasses would not survive.
For example, Mycorrhizal fungal inoculants are available as soil additives from gardening supply stores and
are promoted by supporters of organic agriculture.
3. Medicine - Fungi naturally produce antibiotics to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria,
limiting their competition in the natural environment. Important antibiotics, such as
penicillin and the cephalosporins, can be isolated from fungi.

4. Food - Fungi figure prominently in the human diet. Morels, shiitake mushrooms,
chanterelles, and truffles are considered delicacies. The meadow mushroom, Agaricus
campestris, appears in many dishes. Molds of the genus Penicillium ripen many
cheeses.
 How ever despites of the vast benefits of fungi provide, they also cause food spoilage
and several plants and animals diseases. Plants diseases caused by fungi include rust,
smuts, and leaf, root, and stem roots that could cause severe damage to crops. Fungi
can cause ringworm. Athlete’s foots, fungal allergies due to the airborne spores they
produce, and some other serious