Biology - Bacteria


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Introduction

  • Bacteria normally comprises a large number of prokaryotic microorganisms.

  • Bacteria most probably were among the first life that formed to appear on the Earth.

  • Bacteria belong to Monera kingdom.

Bacteria
  • Bacteria usually inhabit in all range of environments, such as soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep portions of Earth's crust.

  • The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology.

  • Bacteria play an important role in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients including the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere.

  • Bacteria grow to a fixed size and after maturity reproduce through asexual reproduction i.e. basically binary fission.

  • Under favorable conditions, bacteria can grow and divide very swiftly, and the bacterial populations can double merely in every 9.8 minutes.

  • When viruses that infect bacteria is known as Bacteriophages.

  • In order to modify themselves (to survive in the adverse environment), Bacteria frequently secrete chemicals into their environment.

Advantages of Bacteria

  • Bacteria are advantageous in many ways, such as −

    • Bacteria help in atmospheric nitrogen fixation.

    • Bacteria decompose dead plants and animals and clean the environment.

    • Bacteria are the major element that convert milk into curd and wine into vinegar.

    • Some specific types of bacteria are used in making proteins.

    • Some types of bacteria are also used as pesticides.

Disadvantages of Bacteria

  • Bacteria cause many diseases and infection to living organisms.

Bacterial Diseases

  • Bacteria cause many diseases, significant of them are −

    • Anthrax - caused by Bacillus anthracis

    • Brucellosis - caused by Brucella abortus

    • Botulism - caused by Clostridium botulinum

    • Coliform diseases - caused by Escherichia coli

    • Leprosy - caused by Mycobacterium leprae

    • Plague - caused by Yersinia pestis

    • Typhoid fever - caused by Salmonella typhi

    • Trachoma - caused by Chlamydia trachomatis

    • Diphtheria - caused by Corynebacterium diphtheria

    • Tetanus - caused by Clostridium tetani

    • Tuberculosis - caused by Mycobacterium bovis

    • Cholera - caused by Vibrio cholera

    • Syphilis - caused by Treponema pallidum

    • Whooping cough - caused by Bordetella pertussis

    • Gonrhoea - caused by Gonococcus

    • Potato wilt - caused by Pseudomonas solanacearum

    • Blight of rice - caused by Xanthomonas orzae

    • Fire blight of apple - caused by Invenia

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