Types of Bacteria and

Archaebacteria
 Bacteria and Archaea
• Diverse, abundant, and ubiquitous
• Most of the microbes (microscopic
organisms) are bacteria or archaea
• Virtually all are unnamed and undescribed
• The total number of individual bacteria and
archaea alive today at ~5  1030
• As much carbon in these cells as there is
in all of the plants on Earth
 Bacteria and Archaea
• Bacteria and Archaea form two of the
three domains of the tree of life
 Bacteria
• Prokaryotic
• Cell walls made of
peptidoglycan
• Plasma membranes
• Distinct ribosomes
• RNA polymerase
• Can cause human
disease
 Archaebacteria
• Prokaryotic and unicellular
• Call walls made of
polysaccharides
• Unique plasma membranes
• Ribosomes and RNA
polymerase similar to those
of eukaryotes
• No Known to cause human
disease
 Extremophiles
• Bacteria or archaea that live in high-salt,
high-temperature, low-temperature, or
high-pressure habitats
• Archaea are abundant forms of life in hot
springs at the bottom of the ocean
– Water at 300°C emerges and mixes with 4°C
seawater
• Enzymes that function at low temperature
or high temperature are of commercial use
 Cyanobacteria
• No free molecular
oxygen existed for
the first 2.3 billion
years of Earth's
history
• Cyanobacteria,
were the first
organisms to
perform oxygenic
photosynthesis
 Cyanobacteria
• Responsible for a fundamental change in
Earth’s atmosphere
– From an atmosphere dominated by nitrogen
gas and carbon dioxide to one dominated by
nitrogen gas and oxygen
• Certain species of cyanobacteria can fix
nitrogen
• Form close association
with plant roots
– Symbiotic relationship
Classification and Study of
Bacteria
 Studying Bacteria and
Archaebacteria
• Biologists use several research
strategies to answer questions
about these species
• Nutrient enriched agar
• Based on establishing a
specific set of growing
conditions per bacteria
• Used to isolate new types of
bacteria and archaea
 Studying Bacteria and
Archaebacteria
• Direct sequencing - strategy for
documenting the presence of bacteria and
archaea that cannot be grown in culture
and studied in the laboratory
 Evaluating Molecular Phylogenies
• A tree of life based on morphology had
only two divisions: prokaryotes and
eukaryotes
 Evaluating Molecular Phylogenies
• The tree of life based on ribosomal RNA
sequences shows three domains—
Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya—and is
now accepted as correct
• The first lineage to diverge from the
common ancestor was the Bacteria
• Archaea and Eukarya are more closely
related to each other than to the Bacteria
Evaluating Molecular Phylogenies
Major Clades of Bacteria
Classifying Bacteria
 Diversity of Bacteria
• Bacteria and Archaea have diversified into
hundreds of thousands of distinct species
• Overall patterns and themes help
biologists make sense of the diversity
• The sizes, shapes, and motility of Bacteria
and Archaea can vary greatly
Diversity of Bacteria and Archaea
 Gram Staining
• Gram staining distinguishes bacteria by
the type of cell wall
 Bacterial Reproduction
• Bacteria and archaea reproduce by fission
– Splitting of cells
• Bacterial cells can transfer copies of
plasmids – extra-nuclear loops of DNA
• During conjugation, a copy of a plasmid
moves from one cell to a recipient cell
• Conjugation tube is a morphological trait
that is unique to bacteria and archaea
 F factor (plasmid)

Male (donor)
cell

Conjugation Bacterial
chromosome

F factor starts
replication and
transfer

Plasmids
Plasmid completes
transfer and
circularizes

Cell now male

Key Lineages of Bacteria and
Archaea
 Lineages of Bacteria
• There are at least 14
major lineages (phyla) of
bacteria
• Spirochetes have a
corkscrew shape and
unusual flagella
• Chlamydiales are
spherical and very tiny
– Live as parasites inside
animal cells
 Lineages of Bacteria
• High-GC (guanine and
cytosine) Gram-positive
bacteria have various
shapes
• Many soil-dwelling species
form mycelia (branched
filaments)
 Lineages of Bacteria
• Cyanobacteria are
autotrophic
• Produce an abundance
of oxygen and nitroge
• Also produce many
organic compounds, that
feed other organisms in
freshwater and marine
environments
 Lineages of Bacteria
• Low-GC Gram-positive
bacteria cause a variety
of diseases including
anthrax, botulism,
tetanus, gangrene, and
strep throat
• Lactobacillus is used to
make yogurt
 Lineages of Bacteria
• Proteobacteria
cause Legionnaire’s
disease, cholera,
dysentery, and
gonorrhea
• Certain species can
produce vinegars.
Rhizobium can fix
nitrogen
 Archaea Lineages
• Archaea live in virtually
every habitat, including
extreme environments
• Crenarchaeota are the
only life-forms present in
certain extreme
environments, such as
high-pressure, very hot,
very cold, or very acidic
environments
 Archaea Lineages
• Euryarchaeota live in
high-salt, high-pH, and
low-pH environments
• Include the
methanogens, which
contribute about 2
billion tons of methane
to the atmosphere
each year
 LECTURE 15
High GC
GRAM POSITIVE
BACTERIA
.
HIGH G+C GRAM POSITIVES

• Actinomycetes
• Corynebacteria
• Propionic acid bacteria
• Bifidobacteria
• Micrococci
 ACTINOMYCETES:
morphology & reproduction
ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY

Fig. 12.15. Growth of filamentous microbes

(fungus or actinomycetes). Growth is from the
hyphal tip.
ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY

An actinomycete colony growing on agar - note the

subterranean and aerial hyphae….
ACTINOMYCETES MORPHOLOGY

IN SUMMARY:

• have filamentous growth, like fungi

• on substrate, grow on and in it

• thallus -- tissuelike mass, grown in culture

• mycelium -- tangled mass of hyphae, found in nature

ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION
ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION

Fig. 11.19

Fig 11.19. Conidia of Streptomyces

ACTINOMYCETES REPRODUCTION

IN SUMMARY:

• actinomycetes (and fungi) reproduce via spores

• hyphal growth is followed by fragmentation and release of

spores

• conidia – spores produced asexually on aerial filaments

called sporophores

• shape and arrangement of sporophores help identification

of actinomycete taxa
ACTINOMYCETES:
ecology
ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY

• predominantly soil bacteria

• good at degrading recalcitrant compounds such as
chitin & cellulose

• often active at higher pH (contrast to fungi who may

dominate at lower pH)

• give soil the “earthy” smell

ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY

Genus Frankia –

--large genus that all form nodules on certain non-legume trees

--fixes nitrogen from the air and converts into forms useable by
plant host

--involved in “tripartite” relationship with plant and mycorrhizal

fungus.

e.g.
Myrica in the tropics (invasive in Hawaii)
Alnus in temperate climates (early succesional)
Ceanothus in USA (including gardens)
ACTINOMYCETES ECOLOGY

Frankia nodules on Ceanothus roots

ACTINOMYCETES:
antibiotics
ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

• most important genus is Streptomyces - over 500

described species!

• produce many important antibiotics, including

Streptomycin - originally from S. griseus.
ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

Other antibiotics produced by Streptomyces spp:

Antibiotic: affects:
Spectinomycin M. tuberculosis, N. gonorrhea
Neomycin Broad spectrum, topical
Tetracyclines Broad spectrum, Chlamydias,
Rickettsias etc.
Nystatin Fungi, esp. Candida
Erythromycin Gram + Bacteria and
Legionella
Chloramphenicol Broad spectrum, typhoid fever
ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

Inability of a test organism to grow in the presence of Streptomyces

suggests antibiotic production by the latter
ACTINOMYCETES ANTIBIOTICS

Fig. 04.18

Fig. 4.18. Secondary metabolites are produced at the end of the growth phase
and during stationary phase….
TUBERCULOSIS:
pathology & history
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

• tubercular decay found in spinal

columns of Egyptian mummies
(2400BCE)
• Hipocrates (460BCE) described
“phthisis” as most common disease of
his time
• in 19th century Europe 1/7 of all
deaths attributed to TB
• afflicted famous people such as:
Eleanor Roosevelt, Chopin, Checkov,
Kafka, Robert Louis Stevenson, the
entire Bronte family
• began a 19th century literary genre:
the “tragic lingering death by
consumption” trophe
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

Contraction: inhaling bacteria from

infected person

Primary stage: bacteria isolated by

granuloma in lungs called a
tubercule

Secondary stage: bacteria fail to be

isolated, lesions form in lungs
(coughing up blood)
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

tubercules (a type of granuloma) – small, hard

nodules formed when macrophages
surround and phagocytize M.
tuberculosis
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

Fig. 23.18

Fig. 23.18.
Inflammatory response
forming a Tubercle.
Note the lack of nuclei
in dead cells in center
of tubercle.
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY
Before antibiotics, the only treatment was rest (to avoid
secondary stage)… lead to many “Sanitaria” (Sanitariums)
especially in mountainous regions with clean dry air
(e.g. Boulder Mapleton Center, near
Mt. Sanitas).
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

• Robert Koch (remember him?) was

the first to isolate Mycobacterium
tuberculosis in 1882

• Streptomycin was the first effective

antibiotic against TB (late 1940s) a
little too late for WW2.
TUBERCULOSIS PATHOLOGY & HISTORY

Table 23.9
TUBERCULOSIS:
physiology
TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

• Mycobacteria all produce mycolic acids (mycosides)

- long-chain “fats” - very hydrophobic and wax-like

• “Slow growing” mycobacteria (such as M.

tuberculosis are so hydrophobic that nutrients can’t
easily diffuse in

• Mycolic acid is covalently bound to the

peptidoglycan layer of Mycobacteria
TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY
TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

Acid-alcohol fast test

binds to mycolic acid.
Good stain for bacteria
too waxy for gram stain

You saw carbolfuchsin in the

Dorner endospore stain!!
Fig. 23.17. M.
tuberculosis in
sputum sample. Acid-
fast stain is
diagnostic for
mycobacteria.
TUBERCULOSIS PHYSIOLOGY

Virulence in M. tuberculosis associated with

cord (tali/pengikat)factor

• 2 long chain alcohol groups hooked together by

a disaccharide (trehalose)
• Cause cultures in media to have characteristic
“corded” look
• Cord factor is implicated as causing severe
weight loss in TB patients
• Cord factor is also a virulence factor because
it binds cells of M. tuberculosis together so
that they are further resistant to our immune
system
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

• name comes from “club”: some are

club shaped

• are usually rod shaped (though stay

tuned) and arranged as Vs due to
snapping division
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

snapping division

• 2 thick peptidoglycan layers

• inner layer of cell wall grows inward to divide 2 new

cells. As it thickens, it puts tension on outer wall until it
ruptures. The snapping tears the outer wall apart except
at one point which holds the 2 cells together like a hinge.
Fig. 11.14. Gram stain of a Corynebacterium - note V
shapes
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

Some important genera of Coryneforms:

Arthrobacter spp. common soil inhabitants

rods when well fed and coccoid cells when hungry. The coccoid
cells are long-lived spore-like cells.

Corynebacterium spp. are common aerobic organisms of soil. One

species, C. diphtheriae causes diphtheria.
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

Arthrobacter has a rod-coccus growth cycle

In log phase, they are rods that replicate via snapping

division. In stationary phase, they are coccoid.
CORYNEFORM BACTERIA

diptheria

• Corynebacterium diptheriae usually

spread by inhalation
• actual invasibility of the bacteria is
minimal
• Produces powerful exotoxin that
damages organs and causes build up
of dead tissue in throat
• Exotoxin only produces if bacteria
are infected with a certain
bacteriophage (virus) and iron levels
to be low
• 1 of 10 diptheria patients die
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

Swiss cheese:

•other bacteria (e.g. lactobacilli) ferment milk’s lactose to

lactic acid, form curds

•Propionibacteria then multiply, producing acetate, CO2 &

propionic acid
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA
PROPIONIC ACID
BACTERIA

Fig. 06.23

Fig. 6.23
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

Propionibacteria acnes in skin:

• anaerobic bacteria found in hair follicles

(densities up to 107 per square cm of skin)

• growth enhanced by secretions of

sebaceous glands

• under normal conditions, P. acnes is

beneficial: creates low pH skin environment
hostile (memusuhi) to pathogens

• when sebaceous gland gets clogged, P.

acnes multiplies in trapped sebum: ACNE!
PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

happy hair follicle

BIFIDOBACTERIUM
BIFIDOBACTERIUM

Bifidobacterium bifidus
• anaerobic

• ferments a specific amino sugar and

lactulose (a disaccharide consisting of
fructose and galactose) found in breast milk

• breast milk also contains bifidus factor, an

oligosaccharide that specifically promotes
bifidus colonization

• one of the initial colonists of the intestines

of human babies

• also added to yogurt….

 Fig. 11.12
MICROCOCCUS
MICROCOCCUS

•oligate aerobic cocci

•Have high %GC but morphologically dissimilar to the rest of
the high GC gram + bacteria
•usually yellow, orange, or red in color
 Low G+C Gram Positive
Bacteria
By: Shannon Nolan, Anne Burger,
Erin Gossart, Brittnee Griffith and
Jamie Moses
 Low G+C Gram Positive Bacteria
Firmicute Facts
• Low G+C Gram
Positive bacteria are
an ecologically and
industrially important
group of
microorganisms.
• Their name refers to a
phylum of Bacteria
known as the
Firmicutes.
 Important Genera
• The Firmicutes include important endospore-
forming bacteria such as the genera
Clostridium and Bacillus
• Also of extreme medical microbiology
importance are the genera Staphylococcus,
Enterococcus and Streptococcus
• In industrial microbiology the genus
Lactobacillus, which produce lactic acid.
• The Mycoplasma are also found in this
phylum
 Firmicute Facts
•Firmicutes share a common evolutionary history
and many have certain distinct cellular characteristics.
•Groups of Firmicutes have been classified based on
characteristics like type of cell envelope, endospore
formation and aerotolerance
•Gram-Positive organisms stain purple when using a
differential staining procedure, this procedure
identifies cells that have a thick cell wall of
peptidoglycan.
•While many Firmicutes stain Gram-positive, some do
not.

•In fact, some Firmicutes have no cell wall at all!

•Mycoplasma
 Firmicute Facts
• They are called “low G+C” because their DNA typically
has fewer G and C DNA bases than A and T bases as
compared to other bacteria.
• Exceptions have been identified and some Firmicutes
have G+C content as high as 55%
– Geobacillus thermocatenulatus
• Some Firmicutes reproduce through endospores, while
others can only reproduce through binary fission.
• Almost all Firmicutes use fermentation, and can be found
in a variety of different habitats.
• Firmicutes are as diverse as they are important.
 Structure
• A typical Firmicute cell envelope consists of a
layer of peptidoglycan
• Underneath the peptidoglycan there is a
phospholipid bilayer and its associated proteins
that act as a selective barrier.
• Many members of the Firmicutes have an
outermost envelope layer of protein called the S
layer.
• The function of the S layer is not known but it is
believed to prevent predation in the given
environment.
How do they differ from Gram- negative
Bacteria
• The Firmicutes and Gram-Negative Proteobacteria cell
envelopes differ most notably by the presence or absence of
an outer membrane.
• Some distinguishing features of these cell envelopes include
porins, S layers, teichoic and lipoteichoic acids, and
lipoproteins.
 Habitats That Firmicutes are found In
and their Importance
• Some staphylococci and micrococci are commonly found
on human skin and mucosal surfaces.
• Streptococcus is most famous for causing strep throat
but also many benign streptococci are normally found in
the mouth and throat (tenggorokan).
• Lactobacillus is common in the making of yogurt and
cheese products.
• Some Lactobacillus species are associated with mucosal
surfaces of humans. These resident Lactobacillus
species help maintain our health by preventing
colonization by disease-associated bacteria.
Dichotomy
 Streptococcus
• In the Bacillales genera
• Spherical
• Typically appears in chains.
• Very complex group responsible for causing a
greater variety of diseases than any other group.
• Basis for classification for the different streptococci
is their action on blood agar.
– Alpha hemolytic: reduces hemoglobin(red) to
methemoglobin(green). This causes a greenish “zone” to
surround the colony.
– Beta hemolytic :this forms a clear zone around the
hemolysis
– Nonhemolytic : no apparent affect on red blood cells.
 Diseases Caused by
Streptococcus
• Streptococcal
Pharyngitis: an
infection of the
pharynx
• Also Meningitis: an
inflammation of the
meninges
 Streptococcus Infects Host
• Produce enzymes that digest connective
tissue of the host causing extensive tissue
destruction
• Use a bacterial enzyme that “hijacks”
(membajak)blood clotting (pembekuan
darah)system
– Steptococcus secretes streptokinase which
activates human form of enzyme plasminogen
– Plasminogen dissolves blood clots by
degrading the protein, fibrin
 Treatments for Streptococcus
• Streptococcal Pharyngitis:
• Penicillin is the preferred medication for strep throat
– Other penicillin derivatives such as amoxicillin, amoxicillin-
calavulanate (Augmentin), cloxacillin (Cloxapen), and
dicloxacillin (Dynapen) are all adequate treatments for strep.
• It takes at least 24-48 hours to rid of any contagious bacteria.
• Treatment for Meningitis:
– Viral meningitis is often treated at home with
acetaminophen (Tylenol) and other pain medications.
Antibiotics are not helpful in treating viral meningitis.
– Bacterial meningitis is treated by being admited to a
hospital
• For observation, and an IV line is inserted and fluids are
given along with intravenous antibiotics.
 Clostridiales
• Colstridiales genera
• Obligate anaerobes
• Rod-shaped cells that contain endospores
Disease Caused by
Clostridiales
• Clostridum Botulinum
– Produces botulin toxin
which causes
botulism
– Botulism: an illness
that blocks nerve
function leading to
respiratory and
musculoskeletal
paralysis
 Clostridium botulinum Infects
Host
• Botulinum toxin is called neurotoxin
– 7 distinct neurotoxins (types A-G) but types A, B, and
E are the once that cause paralysis in humans
• 3 most common ways the disease is aquired
• Food-borne botulism – Eating foods with botulism
neurotoxin
• Wound botulism – neurotoxin produced from a wound
infected with Clostridium botulinum
• Infant botulism – infant consumes the spores of the
botulinum bacteria. Bacteria grows in intestines and
release neurotoxin.
 Treatments for Clostridium
Botulinum

– Food-borne C. botulism treatment includes

administration of botulin antitoxin and intensive
respiratory care.
– Infant botulism treatment includes expelling the
contaminated food by inducing vomiting.
– Wound botulism treatment includes the administration
of antitoxins to neutralize the exotoxin. When
botulism develops following a wound infection,
antibiotic therapy and meticulous debridement of the
wound are essential. The common antibiotic used is
penicillin.
 Listeria
• Lactobacillales genera
• Pathogenic species
• Contaminates food, especially dairy
products
• It can survive within phagocytic cells
• Capable of growth at refrigeration
temperatures.
• If this causes an infection in a pregant
woman it can cause a stillbirth or harm the
Disease Caused by Listeria
• Listeria Monocytogenesis
– Causes Listeriosis
– A foodbourne pathogen
– 20% of infections result in
death
– Occurs primarily in infants,
the elderly, and
immunocompromised
patients
 Listeria Monocytogenesis Infects
Host
• Surface protein, internalin, enables
bacteria to bind and invade epithelial cells
by direct invasion or phagocytosis
• After invasion: lyses the phagosome,
replicates in cytoplasma, and becomes
coated with F-actin which polarizes and
propels bacterium from first infected cell
into adjacent (didekatnya) cells
 Treatments for Listeria
Monocytogenesis

• It can be treated with several

antibiotics. The antibiotics that have the
most activity are: ampicillin, gentamicin,
and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxizole
 Bacillus
• Bacillales genera
• Rods that produce
endospores
• Commonly found in soil
• Some species produce
antibiotics
 Disease Caused by Bacillus
• Bacillus Anthracis
– Causative agent of anthrax
– 3 types of anthrax:
• Cutaneous anthrax
• Pulmonary anthrax
• Gastrointestinal anthrax
 Bacillus Anthracis Infects Host
• Spores enter an animal, they germinate,
grow and divide becoming vegetative form
• Vegetative cells form capsules of poly D-
glutamis after they enter their host
• Capsule has a negative charge which
inhibits macrophages from destroying
vegetative cells
• This impedes hosts immune response
• Thus allowing the anthrax bacilli to grow
unaffected by host
 References
• Angert Lab, Low G+C Gram-Positive Bacteria. © 2007, Department of Microbiology, Cornell University
• Davis, Charles. "Botulism". 2009. Medicine Net. <http://www.medicinenet.com/botulism/article.htm>
• Divisions of Foodbourne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. "Listeriosis". 2008. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. <http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/listeriosis_gi.html>.
• Fishbein, Michael C. "Anthrax". 2009. Medicine Net. <http://www.medicinenet.com/anthrax/article.htm>
• Nabili, Siamak. "Strep Throat". 2009. Medicine Net. < http://www.medicinenet.com/strep_throat/page5.htm>
• Tortora, Gerard Funke, Berdell and Case, Christine; Microbiology: An Introduction, Page 320. © 2005, Pearson
Education, Inc