Prokaryotes

1) Prokaryotes
a. prokaryotic means before the
nucleus
b. prokaryotic cells have DNA, cytoplasm,
and ribosomes, but no nuclear
membrane ( and so no nucleus)
c. the two kingdoms of living things that
are prokaryotic are:
i. eubacteria
ii .archaea

2. nutritional styles of living things

a. nutrition refers to the way in which an organism
obtains the two things it needs for its metabolism
b. carbon is needed by living things to make new
molecules
i. autotrophs need only inorganic CO2 as a carbon source
ii. heterotrophs must have at least one organic molecule
as a
carbon source

c. energy is needed by living things to fuel chemical

reactions
i. chemotrophs obtain energy from chemicals in the
environment
ii. phototrophs use light energy

d. major modes of nutrition

i. all combinations of carbon and energy acquisition are seen
in the living world

ii. Photoautotrophs
1) use CO2 as a carbon source
2) photosynthetic
3) plants are a familiar example of photoautotrophs
iii. Chemoautotrophs
1) use CO2 as a carbon source
2) obtain energy from inorganic substances in the
environment (H2S, NH3, Fe2+)
3) certain prokaryotes use this mode nutrition
iv. Photoheterotrophs
1) obtain carbon from organic molecules
2) use sunlight to generate ATP
3) certain prokaryotes use this mode of
nutrition.
v. Chemoheterotrophs
1) obtain carbon from organic molecules
2) also need organic molecules for energy
3) animals are a familiar example of chemoheterotrophs

vi. There is a great deal of diversity among

chemoheterotrophs
1) some of these organisms exhibit
animal-like nutrition, that is they ingest
organic nutrients and digest them
2) some are saprobes, decomposers that
absorb nutrients from dead organic
matter
3) some are parasites, that absorb nutrients
from the body fluids of living hosts
e. Some groups of prokaryotes exhibit each of the
four modes of nutrition
f. Eukaryotes only exhibit two nutritional modes
i. photoautotrophs
1) green plants
2) algae ( photosynthetic protists)
ii. Chemoheterotrophs
1) animals
2) some protists
3) fungi
g. Two modes of nutrition are unique to prokaryotes
i.chemoautptrophs
ii. photoheterotrophs

3) bacterial metabolism: nitrogen

a) nitrogen is an essential component
of the proteins and nucleic acids
common to all living things
b) eukaryotic organisms are limited in
the types of nitrogen compounds they
can use (they cannot use atmospheric
nitrogen)
c) only prokaryotes can perform
certain steps in the nitrogen cycle

d. Nitrogen cycle

e. Nitrogen fixation
i. only bacteria can take atmospheric nitrogen
(N2) and incorporate it into nitrogen
compounds
ii. Nitrogen fixing bacteria
iii. N2 NH3 or NH4+
iv. Bacteria convert nitrogen gas to ammonia which plants can use
f. Nitrification
i. only bacteria can break up ammonia
ii. Oxidizing it to nitrites (NO2-)
iii. Oxidizing it to nitrates (NO3-)
iv. nitrate or ammonium ions can be absorbed by plants from the soil, other organisms absorb
nitrogen in the form of amino acids, and other small organic molecules
g. Ammonification
i. nitrogen is excreted as ammonia (NH3) by
animals
ii. the nitrogen in plant and animal remains is
converted to ammonia by bacteria (and some
fungi) in other words bacteria convert nitrogen rich waste compounds into simpler ones.
h. Denitrification
i. only bacteria can break nitrogen compounds and return N2 to the
atmosphere
ii. NO2- N2
iii. This is the final step: bacteria convert nitrogen compounds back to nitrogen gas and is released
back into atmosphere.

4. bacterial metabolism: oxygen

a. the growth of different prokaryotes is affected in different ways
by oxygen

b. obligate aerobes
i. these bacteria use O2 for cellular respiration
ii. obligate aerobes cannot grow without the presence of O 2

c. obligate anaerobes
i. obligate anaerobes are poisoned by O 2
ii. these organisms use different forms of anaerobic
respiration
iii. Some of these bacteria use fermentation pathways
iv. others use inorganic molecules other than O2 are used as
electron acceptors
d. Facultative anaerobes
i. these organisms will use O 2 if it is preset
ii. If O2 is not available they can switch to fermentation
pathways

5.

bacterial reproduction: the prokaryotic genome

a. genome is smaller and simpler than eukaryotic
genome
b. there is no nuclear membrane; no nucleus
c. the nucleoid region is a concentrated snarl of DNA
i. it contains one double-stranded DNA molecule in the
form of a ring
ii. there is relatively little protein associated with the DNA

d. plasmids are smaller rings of DNA present in the

cytoplasm
i. each contains only a few genes
ii. the chromosome directs the essential functions of the cell
iii. plasmid genes can be quite useful
1) genes for antibiotic resistance
2) genes for the metabolism of unusual nutrients

iv. plasmids replicate independently of the main chromosome

v. plasmids can be readily transferred between cells

6. bacterial reproduction: binary fission

a. DNA replication, transcription to mRNA, and
translation to protein are alike for both pro- and
eukaryotic cells

b. prokaryotic cells however, do not engage

in mitosis or meiosis
c. prokaryotes reproduce asexually in a
process called binary fission
i. bacterial chromosome is attached to cell membrane
ii. chromosome replicates
iii. cell elongates, separating the 2 chromosomes
iv. cell pinches in 2; producing 2 identical new cells

d. Endospores
i.

some bacteria produce resistant cells called

endospores
ii. after replication, one cell is surrounded by a durable
cell wall
iii. the outer part of this cell disintegrates
iv. the enclosed endospore can survive lack of
nutrients, lack of water, extreme heat or cold, and
most poisons
v. boiling water will not kill spores; need an autoclave
or pressure cooker which heats things to 120 oC
vi. endospores are produced under stressful conditions
vii. when the environment becomes favorable again,
the endospores rehydrate and revive
viii. bacteria that produce endospores include botulism,
anthrax

7. bacterial reproduction: gene

exchange
a. true sexual reproduction involves the
combination of whole genomes from
two organisms
b. bacteria do not have any mechanism for
sexual reproduction
c. bacteria do have ways of exchanging
some genetic information
d. all the following processes are one-way
transfers

e. Transformation
i. many bacteria have proteins on their surfaces that allow
them to take up naked DNA (genes) from the
surrounding environment
ii. this DNA can be left behind when other bacteria die
iii. DNA must come from a closely related species
f. Transduction
i.

in transduction, genes are transferred between bacteria by

viruses (phages)
ii. results from mistakes in phage reproductive cycle

g. Conjugation
iii.
iv.
iii.
iv.

this is the bacterial version of sex

genes transferred directly between two prokaryotic cells
this is a one-way transfer
cells attach to one another with a temporary cytoplasmic
bridge
v.
donor plasmids are transferred to the recipient cell

8. prokaryotic cell structure

a. cell size
i. bacteria are much smaller than eukaryotic cells
ii. size range of eukaryotic cells; 10-100 m
iii. iii. size range of prokaryotic cells; 1-5 m

b. the bacterial cell surface

iv. bacterial cell membranes are a lipid bilayer, just like
other cells
v. there is a cell wall outside of membrane
1) this cell wall is analogous to plant cell walls
2) plant cell walls made of cellulose
3) bacterial cell walls made of other chemicals

iii. Capsule
1)
2)
3)
4)

found in some species

a second protective layer outside of the cell wall
sticky - helps bacteria stick to substrate
helps cells resist attack

9. gram staining
a. staining technique used to identify
eubacteria
b. 2 dyes are used in sequence to stain
the molecules of the cell wall
c. gram positive bacteria
i.

cell walls contain a lot of a molecule called

peptidoglycan
ii. the first stain reacts with the
peptidoglycan, leaving the cells a purple
color
iii. Staphylococcus aureus, a gram +
bacterium

d. gram negative bacteria

i.

these have a more complex cell wall with a

lot less peptidoglycan
ii. cell wall includes an outer cell membrane
containing molecules called
lipopolysaccharides
iii. when the slides are washed after the 1st
stain, the purple washes out
iv. a second stain is applied, which leaves the
cells pink
v. Escherichia coli, a gram - bacterium

e. Bacterial cell
walls

f. gram negative bacterial infections are often more

dangerous than gram positive infections
i. the lipopolysaccharides themselves are often toxic
ii. the second membrane helps protect the bacterium from
antibiotics by impeding the entry of the drugs

10. Antibiotics
a. the first antibiotics were substances produced by
other microorganisms that harm bacteria
b. antibiotics interfere with bacterial metabolism
i. some interfere with bacterial enzymes
ii. others target the bacterial cell wall

c. because the targets of these drugs are bacterial

compounds, antibiotics have no effect on viruses,
and do not harm eukaryotic organisms taking
them (us)

11. bacteria and disease

a. Kochs postulates
i.

in the late 1800's, Koch developed criteria, still

used today, to link specific bacteria to specific
disease
ii. first, find the same pathogen in each diseased
individual
iii. second, isolate the pathogen from a diseased
subject and grow it in a pure culture
iv. third, induce the disease in an experimental
animal by transferring the pathogen from the culture
v. fourth, isolate the same pathogen from the
experimental animal after the disease develops

b. bacterial toxins
i. bacterial toxins cause disease in humans
ii. exotoxins
1) proteins secreted by the bacteria
2) can cause disease even in the absence of the
bacteria
3) examples: Clostridium botulinum, Vibrio cholerae,
E. coli

iii. Endotoxins
1) usually lipopolysaccharides in the cell wall of
gram negative bacteria
2) can lead to endotoxic shock

12. bacterial movement and adhesion

a. Taxis
i. taxis is directed movement
ii. movement towards something is called positive,
movement away from something is called negative
iii.
movement in response to chemicals is called
chemotaxis (+
or -)
iv. movement in response to light is called phototaxis (+
or -)
v. about of all bacterial species are capable of directed
movement

b. methods of movement
i. Flagellae
1) bacterial flagellae are analogous to eukaryotic
flagellae
2) each species may have many or only one or two

ii. filaments
1) found in spirochetes
2) produce a corkscrew motion

iii. gliding
)
)

some secrete slimy chemicals

bacteria move on these like slugs

c. Adhesion
i. bacteria have several mechanisms to stick to
the substrate or to one another
ii. sticky capsules are used for both purposes
iii. pili (singular pilus) are small surface
appendages
)
)

adhere bacteria one another during conjugation

fasten bacteria to host cells

13. classifying bacteria in the medical

lab
a. the Eubacteria are classified in the
medical laboratory by shape and gram
staining properties
b. this system is not phylogenetic - it is
practical and useful (it has been used
since the very earliest days of
bacteriology)
c. bacterial shapes
i. cocci (singular - coccus) are sphere-shaped
1)may occur as single cells
2)may occur in chains (streptococci)
3) may occur in grapelike clusters (staphylococci)

ii. bacilli (singular - bacillus) are rod-shaped

1) may be single
2) may be in end-to-end chains

iii. spiral forms

1) there are various spiral sorts
2) spirilla and spirochetes are two
3) these may also be single or in chains