Chapter # 06

Prokaryotes
Taxonomy of prokaryotes
➢In recent past all living organisms are grouped into five kingdoms
➢Prokaryotes were placed into kingdom Prokaryotae.
➢Recently status of classification has been changed in late 90’s.

➢Carl Woese and his colleagues proposed Domain system of

classification based upon subcellular structures ribosome and cell
membrane.

➢He described that life has evolved on earth along three lineages
called domains.
 PHYLOGENY OF PROKARYOTES
➢Most primitive and first inhabitants of earth may have evolved from
Protobionts ancestors.
Probionts (protocell) : The first formed cells are called probionts or
were considered as the aggregate of abiotically produced organic
molecules surrounded by membranes.
➢ Protobionts are spherical collections of organic molecules that are
thought to have been the precursors to cells.
They are also known as protocells or pre-cells.
Their early selective habitat could be microbial mats as evidenced by the
fossil presence aged 3.5 billion years ago.
These mats are few centimeter thick, moist and sticky due to excretion
of extra cellular matrix and found near hydrothermal vents to obtain
energy and food from these vents.
These mats when dried becomes stromatolites as sedimentary structure
represents the earliest fossilized record of life on earth.
❑ Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which
geothermally heated water discharges.
❑ Microbial mats are multi-layered sheets of microorganisms that grow
on solid surfaces, like rocks and sand. They are made up of bacteria and
archaea.
❑ Stromatolites are microbial reefs created by colonies of
cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, that produce adhesive
compounds to bind sand and other materials together.
 DOMAIN ARCHEA
➢Diverse group in Domain system of classification.
➢Previously classified as Archeabacteria but now they are placed
in separate domain.
➢Exist in different shapes like spherical, rod, lobed square etc.
➢Diameter ranges from 0.1 to 15 micrometer.
➢Don’t have Peptidoglycan in cell wall as it is present in bacteria.
➢Reproduce asexually by binary fission, fragmentation or budding.
➢Live in different habitats of extreme conditions.
✓ Thermophiles: living in hot spring.
✓ Acidophiles: live in highly acidic environment
✓ Methanogens: marshy areas and gut produces biogas to obtain
energy
✓ Halophiles: live in high salt environment
➢Membrane is bit different from bacterial membrane.
➢Hydrocarbons attached to glycerol by ether linkage rather than
ester linkage. This combination is called Archaeol specially in
methanogens.
➢ Bacterial membrane glycerol ester lipid are present.
E.g Methanococcus, halobacterium
➢ Donot live as pathogens or parasites instead they develop
useful associations
Forexample: methanogen Archea E.coli live in human intestine and
help in digestion.
Marine archean Cenarcheaum symbiosum lives within sponges
Axinella Mexicana as symbiont.
➢ Some thermophile archaea are used in biotechnology due to
survival in high temperature.
Bacterial Habitat
➢Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotes.

➢Found almost in all habitats present in soil, water, plants,

animals, glaciers, hot springs.

➢Range extending up to 30 miles up to in atmosphere and

1000 meters deep in water.

➢A gram of soil typically contain 40 million bacterial cells

➢A millimeter of water hold about one million bacteria.

How Big is a Bacteria?
➢Bacteria cells are typically 0.5–5.0 µm in length.

➢Among the smallest bacteria are members of the

genus phytoplasma which infect plants and mycoplasma which
infect animals , which measure only 0.1 to 0.2 µm, while a few
others are so big that they are visible even to the naked eye.

➢For example, Thiomargarita magnifica is the largest and longest

bacteria measuring about 2000 micrometer
 Aerobic Bacteria Anaerobic Bacteria

Live in places where oxygen is Live in places where oxygen in not

available available

They produce CO2 and H2O They produce CO2, ethanol and
lactic acid

Live in soil, water and open Live in areas where oxygen is

surfaces depleted

Lactobacillus, Mycobacterium Clostridium and E.coli

 Phylum Character Example
Protobacteria Free living and symbiont Helicobacter pylori causes
Some are pathogenic stomach ulcer
Salmonella causes sexually
transmitted disease
Chlamydia (Gram –ve Obligate intercellular Chlamydia trachomatis
bacteria) parasite. causes sexually transmitted
Cell wall with low disease
peptidoglycan
Spirochetes Spiral shaped, free living Treponema pallidium
anaerobes pathogenic, causes syphilis
flagella present.
Cyanobacteria Previously known as blue Prochlorococcus most
green algae. abundant photosynthetic
Chlorophyll present. organism on earth.
Aquatic environment.
Gram positive bacteria Pathogenic and Clostridium botulinum
decomposers. cause botulism.
Thick cell wall and without Bacillus anthrax cause
outer membrane anthrax.
 Gram staining technique
❑ Gram Staining Process
A differential staining technique used in microbiology to classify bacteria into
two major groups based on the structural differences in their cell walls.
It was developed by Hans Christian Gram in 1884.
• Bacteria are stained with crystal violet (purple dye).
• Treated with iodine, which binds to the crystal violet and traps it.
• Washed with alcohol or acetone (decolorization step).
• Counterstained with safranin (a red dye).

❑ Gram-positive bacteria
✓ retain the crystal violet show blue or purple after gram-staining in a
laboratory test. They have thick cell walls.
✓ Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus, Clostridium, enterococcus etc.
✓ More sensitive to antibiotics like penicillin (which targets peptidoglycan)
✓ Can form endospores
❑ Gram-negative bacteria
✓ show pink or red on staining and have thin walls
✓ Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella, proteus, helicobacter, pseudomonas.
Classification of bacteria on the basis of number of Flagella
STRUCTURE OF BACTERIAL CELL
❑ Capsule
➢Made up of complex polysaccharides, it forms the outermost covering
of the bacterial cell.
➢Capsules are an important structural component that keeps the
bacterium from drying out, also protecting them from being engulfed by
larger microbes.
➢It provides the bacterial cell the ability to cause disease.
❑ Cell Wall
It is a rigid covering composed of Peptidoglycan, a polymer of protein
and sugar molecules that provides shape and structural support to the
cell.
Based on their staining properties and composition of cell wall, bacteria
can be classified into gram-positive and gram-negative group.
.
❑ Cytoplasmic Membrane
➢The cytoplasmic membrane carries out many necessary cellular
functions such as energy generation, protein secretion, cell division, and
transport of nutrients across the cell
❑ Cytoplasm
➢It is a gel-like matrix mainly composed of water along with dissolved
salts and minerals.
➢Along with some cellular parts and components such as
nucleoid, ribosomes, and inclusion bodies, the cytoplasm of a bacterial
cell also contains a circular (or sometimes linear) auxiliary
DNA molecule called a plasmid.
➢This extra-chromosomal piece of DNA participates in cell division and
confers the bacterial cell with properties such as antibiotic resistance
and the ability to infect other cells known as pathogenicity.
❑ Nucleoid
➢It is the region where the single, circular DNA of bacteria is found
➢The nucleoid is not membrane-bound but is simply an area of the
cytoplasm where the strands of DNA are located.
❑ Ribosomes
➢They are granular structures that are found scattered unevenly
throughout the cytoplasm, which helps bacteria to synthesize proteins
❑ Inclusion Bodies
➢They are non-living structures present in the cytoplasm. Based on
their nature, the inclusion bodies are of three types— gas vacuoles,
inorganic inclusions, and food reserve.
➢While the gas vacuoles allow bacteria to float in waters, the inorganic
inclusions serve to store certain hydrolytic enzymes capable of
destroying the host cell.
❑ Flagella
➢They are long hair-like structures attached to the cell surface that
helps in bacterial movement.
➢They can be found at either or both ends of a bacterial cell and
sometimes all over its surface.
➢The flagella beat in a propeller-like motion to help the bacterium
move toward nutrients and light, as well as away from toxic chemicals.
➢The presence of flagella, their number, and arrangement on their cell
surface also forms a basis of classification in bacteria.
Pili
➢They are short hair-like projections emerging from outside the cell.
➢These outgrowths assist the bacteria in attaching to other cells and
surfaces, such as teeth, intestines, and rocks.
Bacteria use specialized pili, called sex pili, for reproduction.
Mesosome
➢Prokaryotes have a specialized differentiated form of the cell
membrane which aid in respiration.
➢They are found in the membranes of bacterial cells.
➢They're invaginates structures made up of vesicles.
➢Flat vesicles form the lamellae, which are connected to the cell
membrane.
FUNCTION
➢They play a role in the formation of cell walls.
➢They are involved in the replication of DNA in prokaryotes.
➢They increase plasma membrane surface area and enzymatic content.
➢They aid in the transfer of chromosomes to daughter cells.
Mesosomes are analogous to cristae in the mitochondria in eukaryotic
cells.
Capsules and slime layers are both glycocalyx structures that protect bacteria
from environmental threats, but they differ in several ways:
•Attachment
•Capsules are tightly attached to the bacterial cell wall, while slime layers are
loosely associated with it.
•Organization
•Capsules are well-organized, while slime layers are less organized.
•Removal
•Capsules are difficult to remove, while slime layers can be easily washed off.
 Cyanobacteria ( blue green algae )
➢They are prokaryotes
➢Unicellular or may occur in colony form.
➢Cell wall is double layered
➢Protoplasm is differentiated into outer chromoplasm and inner colorless
centroplasm.
➢Chloroplasm contain chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin.
➢Most of them are found in freshwater but some are marine
➢Total absence of sexual reproduction
➢Asexual reproduction takes place by mean of hormogonia, zoospore,
akinetes and fragmentation.
Example: Nostoc
 Nostoc
➢Unicellular, freshwater prokaryote live in colony called filament.
➢Filaments are mixed in a gelatinous mass forming a ball like structure
called Coenobium.
➢Single filament is known as Trichome which floats in water.
➢Each cell has double layered wall outer thicker layer of cellulose and
pectin while inner thin of cellulose.
➢Chromoplasm contain different pigments like chlorophyll-a,
xanthophylls, carotene, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin.
➢At interval in filament there are found slightly oblong colorless cells
called Heterocyst.
➢Heterocyst is center of nitrogen fixation but specially concerned with
multiplication.
Reproduction
❑Hormogonia
➢Hormogonium is a portion of a
filament between two heterocyst.
➢During favorable condition filament
break at the junction of heterocyst.
➢Each hormogium divide and develop
into filament.

❑Akinete
➢Non motile spores formed from certain
vegetative cells during unfavorable condition.
➢Akinetes are thick walled food containing
cells covered by exosporium and endosporium.
➢During favorable condition, akinetes
germinate by rupturing exospore and develop
into new filament by cell division
 Growth of Bacterial Population
In nature, bacteria do not experience perfect environmental conditions
for growth.
Under optimal growth conditions in a laboratory, the pattern of bacterial
growth can be represented in the form of a curve called the growth
curve.
It has the following four phases:
1. Lag Phase: This is the initial phase during which the cells acclimatize
to the new environment.
During this phase, the cells increase in size due to the accumulation of
proteins and other molecules necessary for cell division, without any
increase in cell number.
2. Log Phase:
➢ Also known as the exponential phase, this is when the metabolic
activity of the cell is high, and the cell undergoes cell division to rapidly
increase in number.
3. Stationary Phase:
➢ Eventually, the population growth declines due to the depletion of
available nutrients and the accumulation of waste products in culture.
➢During this phase, bacterial cell growth stops and reaches a plateau
since the number of dividing cells equals the number of dying cells.
4.Death Phase (Decline phase)
➢ As nutrients become less
available and waste products
start to accumulate, the
number of dying cells continues
to rise.
In the death phase, the number
of living cells decreases
exponentially, and population
growth experiences a sharp
decline.
 Endospore formation bacteria
➢When habitat conditions become harsh and nutrients are
exhausted, development of Endospore is initiated
➢Highly resistant from environmental stresses and survive for
long period
➢Develops in bacterial cell.
➢Cell undergo dehydration and surrounded by three layered
covering, cytoplasm and cell wall degenerated.
➢Occurs commonly in Clostridium and Bacillus.
➢Some bacteria develop exospores, cysts.
➢Some gram positive bacteria are forms spores and form long
tubules called filaments.
➢Filaments differentiate into thick walled round structure called
exospores.
➢These structures are part of production and formed outside of
cell wall. Actinomycetes
MODES OF NUTRITION IN BACTERIA
Mutation and genetic recombination in bacteria
1. Conjugation
A process by which a bacterium transfers genetic material
other bacterium through direct contact via pilus or
Cytoplasmic bridges.
2. Transformation
A process by which a bacterium takes in a DNA from its
Environment.
3. Transduction
A process in which genetic material is transferred by phage
between two bacteria.
Importance of bacteria

Useful bacteria
➢Beneficial uses of bacteria include production of yogurt, cheese
and vinegar.
➢Important in agriculture for fertilizer production
For example: Rhizobium leguminosarum perform nitrogen fixation
in roots of leguminous plants
➢Bacteria are used in genetic engineering.
Example: E. Coli for production of antibiotics (amoxicillin),
riboflavin (vitamin B2), Insulin, Vitamin K etc.
➢Also used for medical research in laboratory.
Harmful bacteria
These bacteria cause different diseases in animals and plants.
Animal diseases Bacteria
• Botulism clostridium botulinum
• Cholera Vibrio cholera
• Typhoid Salmonella typhi
• Tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Pneumonia Streptococcus pneumonae
Plant diseases
• Bacteria leaf spot pseudomonas (Xanthomonas)
• Blights in plants Xanthomonas oryzae
• Bacterial soft rots Ervinia carotovora
• Bacterial wilt disease Ervinia tracheiphila
 Normal flora
➢Microorganisms that live on another living organism or
inanimate objects without causing diseases.

➢They prevent colonization by pathogens by competing for

attachment and nutrients.

➢They acts as antigens and stimulate production of antibodies.

➢They also synthesize vitamin K and B12.

CONTROL OF HARMFUL BACTERIA
1. Sterilization
The process of destroying microorganism at high temperature.
2. Disinfection
A process of elimination of microorganisms with use of
disinfectant.

A disinfectant is a chemical substance or compound used to

inactivate or destroy microorganisms on inert surfaces.
Chemical used as disinfectant are
▪Phenol Halogens Heavy metals
▪Soap and detergent Aldehydes Ethylene oxides
▪Oxidizing agents Food preservatives
3. Antibiotics
Chemical substances which are used to destroy microorganisms
growing on living tissues.
Antibiotics work by inhibiting
✓Cell wall synthesis
✓Protein synthesis
✓DNA replication
✓Metabolic pathways.
4. Physical methods
1. Boiling 2. dry heat oven 3. incineration
4. Pasteurization 5. refrigeration 6. freezing
7. Lyophilization (rapid freezing under vacuum)
8. membrane filtration 9. desiccation
 Reproduction in bacteria
❖Bacteria reproduce through a process called binary fission.
During binary fission, the chromosome copies itself, forming two
genetically identical copies.

❖The cell enlarges and

Divides into two new
daughter cells.

❖The two daughter cells are

identical to the parent cell.
STRUCTURE OF BACTERIAL FLAGELLUM
➢The bacterial flagellum is a motile organelle composed of
thousands of protein subunits.
➢Flagellum is made up of flagellin protein.
Flagellum has three distinct regions
▪Basal body

▪Hook

▪Filament

➢Hook connect the filament with motor portion of called basal

body.
➢Basal body contain rotating motor which is powered by ATP and
C- ring.
MOVEMENT IN BACTERIA
1. Flagellar Movement
A type of movement which occurs with help of flagella.
Helical waves are produced from base to tip of flagellum.

1. Spirochaetial movement
Spinning and creeping type of movement
in spirochete.

3. Gliding movement
Cyanobacteria and mycoplasma show gliding movement when
come in contact with solid surface .
They secrete slime and attaches to substratum.