Kingdom

Archaebacteria
Both kingdoms of bacteria have species that are
microscopic; humans cant see them unless we
stain them and then look at them under the
microscope. The pictures you see are magnified
many times!!
 Background
Biologists have long
organized living things
into large groups called
kingdoms.
There are six of them:
Archaebacteria
Eubacteria
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
 5 common characteristics used for
comparison among living organisms:

Cell type 2 kingdoms are prokaryotic; 4

kingdoms are eukaryotic
Cell wall 4 of the 6 kingdoms have a cell
wall
Body type unicellular vs. multicellular
Nutrition autotrophic vs. heterotrophic
Reproduction sexual vs. asexual
 Some recent findings
In 1996, scientists decided to split Monera into
two groups of bacteria:
Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
Because these two groups of bacteria were
different in many ways scientists created a
new level of classification called a DOMAIN.
Now we have 3 domains
1. Bacteria
2. Archaea
3. Eukarya
 ancient bacteria The Domain
Some of the first Archaea
archaebacteria
were discovered
in Yellowstone
National Parks
hot springs and
geysers.
Prokaryotes are
structurally
simple, but
biochemically
complex
 Basic Facts
They live in extreme environments (like
hot springs or salty lakes) and normal
environments (like soil and ocean
water).
All are unicellular (each individual is
only one cell).
No peptidoglycan in their cell wall.
Some have a flagella that aids in their
locomotion.
 Some weird things about this
kingdom
Most dont need oxygen to survive
They can produce ATP (energy) from sunlight
They can survive enormous temperature
extremes
They can survive high doses of radiation
(radioactivity)
They can survive under rocks and in ocean
floor vents deep below the oceans surface
They can tolerate huge pressure differences
 3 Main Types

Methanogens

Thermoacidophiles

Halophiles
 They release methane
(CH4) as a waste product Methanogens
Many live in mud at the
bottom of lakes and
swamps because it lacks
oxygen
Some live in the intestinal
tracts of animals to help
break down food
Others like to hang out in
the stomach
Your intestinal gas is a
waste product caused by
bacteria in the body
breaking down the food
you eatthats why farts
dont smell sweet!
 Significance of methanogens
They could play a role in
garbage/sewage cleanup
by having methanogens
eat garbage.
The methane waste the
bacteria produce after
eating the garbage or
sewage could be used
as fuel to heat homes.
Some landfills already
employ this methodthe
only problem is that its
expensive.
 Thermoacidophiles
Live in the dark
Live without oxygen
Like to live in superheated water with
temperatures reaching 750 deg F
Prefer environments that are very acidic (between
pH of 1-3)
Live in a chemical soup of hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
and other dissolved minerals (rotten egg smell)
Thermo = temperature
Acidophil = acid loving
 The interior layers of the Earth are
made up of many different types of
Black Smokers metals (iron, copper). The black color is
caused by a chemical reaction of the
metals with the ocean water. In
extreme temperatures and pressures,
this is where some thermoacidophiles
like to live.
Other thermoacidophiles like to live in hot springs or
geysers. Hot springs are pools of hot water that have
moved toward earth's surface. The source of their
heat is the hot magma beneath and they can reach
temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit
http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm

Old Faithful erupts more frequently than

any of the other big geysers. Its average
interval between eruptions is about 91
minutes. An eruption lasts 1 1/2 to 5
minutes, expels 3,700 - 8,400 gallons of
boiling water, and reaches heights of
106 - 184 feet.
 Halophiles
Can live in water
with salt
concentrations
exceeding 15%
The oceans
concentration is
roughly 4%
Halo = salt
phil = loving The Great Salt Lake in Utah
 The Great Salt Lake in Utah
It is interesting to note that the Great Salt Lake is
actually three to five times saltier than the
ocean.
Every year, members of the salt industry extract
about 2.5 million tons of sodium chloride (salt,
NaCl) from the lake.
The Great Salt Lake has no fish. The largest
aquatic critters in the Great Salt Lake are brine
shrimp.
Given that the salty water can be corrosive to
metal, motorized boats are not very popular at
Great Salt Lake State Park. Additionally, since
the salt content of the Great Salt Lake increases
the waters density, water skiing and jet skiing is
not very common.
 Kingdom
Eubacteria
true bacteria
 Bacteria vs. Eukarya
Bacteria Eukarya
Internal No nucleus, few Nucleus with many
compartmentalization organelles organelles
Cell size Very small; microscopic Small; still microscopic
but 10 to 100 times
bigger than bacteria
Number of cells unicellular multicellular
Chromosomes Single, circular DNA Many chromosomes
strand made up of DNA
Reproduction Asexually by binary Sexually by mitosis and
fission meiosis
Flagella Common in most Seldom seen in
species species; longer and
stronger than bacteria
Metabolic diversity Can survive with or Require oxygen to
without oxygen survive
 Bacterial Cell Shapes

Bacillus (rod-shaped)
Coccus (round-shaped)
Spirillum (spiral-shaped)
 Obtaining Energy
Most scientists classify bacteria based on
how they obtain energy:

Photosynthesizers
Chemoautotrophs
Heterotrophs
 A significant fraction
Photosynthesizers
of the worlds
photosynthesis is
carried out by
bacteria
Cyanobacteria are
blue-green bacteria
that contain
chlorophyll in their cell
membrane
Cyanobacteria are
thought to have made
the Earths oxygen
atmosphere
Chemoautotrophs
Breakdown chemicals
found in the soil; they
use those chemicals
for nutrition
The bacterias waste
products act as
fertilizer and helps
with agriculture
A handful of soil can
have up to 10 billion
bacterial organisms
 Most types of
Eubacteria are
Heterotrophs
heterotrophic
Together with
fungi, they serve
as primary
decomposers for
the environment by
releasing nutrients
back to the soil
after living things
have died.
 Pathogenic Bacteria
Your body is a treasure chest of wealth
just waiting to be discovered by bacteria.
Bacteria have evolved various ways of
entering your body and taking what they
need in order to survive
In some cases, the competition for the
resources in your body can result in you
becoming ill.
 Bacteria are harmful in two ways:
1. #1 - Bacteria can
metabolize their host by
using different parts of
the body as their food
source.
Tuberculosis is a less
common bacterial
infection that attacks the
lungs of humans.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
is the bacteria that uses
the lung tissue as a food
source.
The warm, moist environment
allows the bacteria to
reproduce and populate
the lungs.
#2 - Bacteria cause disease by secreting chemical
compounds called toxins into their environment.

Humans are most affected when food is not properly

prepared. Food poisoning is the common name
given to people who get severely sick after eating
something that wasnt cooked well.

Most types of toxin bacteria can be killed by boiling

water and cooking foods at recommended
temperatures.

Kitchen and surface antibacterial products also help

in ridding our house of these relentless pests.
 In 1928, Alexander
Fleming noticed a fungus
growing on a Petri plate Antibiotics
that was growing bacteria.
He saw that the bacteria
did not grow near the
fungus.
He concluded that the
fungus was secreting a
substance that killed the
bacteria.
He later called the
secretion penicillin.
Penicillin is one of many
medicines that help fight
bacterial infections.
 Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Problem #1:
Because bacteria can multiply very quickly, a 7-
10 day course of antibiotics might not kill all of
the bacteria.
The bacteria that remain become resistant and
may mutate their DNA and reproduce more
cells.
The new cells are now resistant to the antibiotic
and make it harder to treat an infection the next
time around.
Problem #2:
Another problem in
society is related to
people not taking their
prescribed course of
pills.
Sometimes if people
start to see
improvement in their
symptoms they stop
taking their
medication.
This leaves more
opportunity for the
bacteria not yet killed
by the antibiotic to
reproduce and create
resistant cells.
Problem #3:
Do antibacterial
soaps really work?
Regular, routine use
of these types of
soaps may be doing
more harm then good.
The bacteria that are
commonly found on
our skin may become
resistant to the
antibacterial
chemicals put in the
soaps.
Weve talked about why bacteria is BADIs
there anything GOOD about bacteria?
Act as decomposers
Live within our digestive
tract (called probiotics)
Many foods we eat are
processed by bacteria
(pickles, buttermilk,
cheese, sauerkraut,
olives, vinegar, etc.)
Bacteria can be used in
mines to breakdown the
surrounding rock and
leave behind the useful
ore/metal.