Bacteria

• Bacteria

  • smallest known living organism
  • found in: air,soil,water
  • optimal temperature for growth between 30-37 degrees
  • can survive extreme temperatures (-18 to 70)
  • Some aerobic; some anaerobic (anaerobic=don’t need to respire)
  • Asexual reproduction by means of binary fission (mitosis)
• Basic structure of Bacteria

  • Unicellular
  • DNA is in the form of an irregular loop in an area called a Nucleoid - no nuclear membrane (prokaryotes)
  • A plasmid, small, circular, double - stranded DNA molecule is also found in the cytoplasm of bacteria.
  • Some with whip-like flagellum which they can use to move.
  • Slime capsule to protect them from drying out.
  • Four shapes: coccus, bacillus, spirillum, vibrio.