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BACTERIA:

The

bacteria

singular

bacterium

) are a large group of unicellular microorganisms.Typically a fewmicrometresin length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging fromspheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in everyhabitaton Earth, growing in soil,acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, water, and deep in theEarth's crust, as well as in organic matter and the live bodies of plants and animals.Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, with many steps innutrient cyclesdepending on theseorganisms, such as thefixation of nitrogen from theatmosphereand putrefaction. However, most bacteria have not been characterized, and only about half of the phylaof bacteria have speciesthat can begrownin the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology,a branch of microbiology.

History of Bacteriology:

Bacteria were first observed byAntonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676, using a single-lens microscope of his own design. He called them "animalcules" and published his observations in aseries of letters to theRoyal Society.The name

bacterium

was introduced much later, byChristian Gottfried Ehrenbergin 1838.Louis Pasteur demonstrated in 1859 that thefermentationprocess is caused by the growth of microorganisms, and that this growth is not due tospontaneous generation. (Yeastsandmolds, commonly associated with fermentation, are not bacteria, but rather fungi.) Along with his contemporary,Robert Koch,Pasteur was an early advocate of thegerm theory of disease. Robert Koch was a pioneer in medical microbiology and worked oncholera, anthraxandtuberculosis. In his research into tuberculosis, Koch finally proved the germ theory, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prizein 1905. In

Koch's postulates

, he set out criteria to test if an organism is the cause of a disease; these postulates are still used today.

BACTERIA IN GENETICS:

Bacteria may also contain plasmids, which are small extra-chromosomal DNAs that may containgenes for antibiotic resistanceor virulence factors. Bacteria, as asexual organisms, inherit identical copies of their parent's genes (i.e., they areclonal

). However, all bacteria can evolve by selection on changes to their genetic material DNA caused bygenetic recombinationor mutations. Mutations come from errors made during the replication of DNA or from exposure tomutagens.Mutation rates vary widely among different species of bacteria and even among different clones of a single species of bacteria.

[109]

Geneticchanges in bacterial genomes come from either random mutation during replication or "stress-directed mutation", where genes involved in a particular growth-limiting process have anincreased mutation rate.Some bacteria also transfer genetic material between cells. This can occur in three main ways.Firstly, bacteria can take up exogenous DNA from their environment, in a process calledtransformation. Genes can also be transferred by the process of transduction, when the integration of a bacteriophage introduces foreign DNA into the chromosome. The third methodof gene transfer is bacterial conjugation,where DNA is transferred through direct cell contact. This gene acquisition from other bacteria or the environment is called horizontal gene transfer and may be common under natural conditions. Gene transfer is particularly important inantibiotic resistanceas it allows the rapid transfer of resistance genes between different pathogens.

CLASSIFICATION OF BACTERIA ACCORDING TO SHAPE:

SPHERICAL BACTERIA are called “COCCI”,ROD-SHAPED BACTERIA are called “BACILLI”, andSPIRAL BACTERIA are called “SPIRILLA”.

GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION:

Unlike multicellular organisms, increases in the size of bacteria (cell growth

) and their reproduction bycell division are tightly linked in unicellular organisms. Bacteria grow to a fixed size and then reproduce through binary fission, a form of asexual reproduction. Under optimal conditions, bacteria can grow and divide extremely rapidly, and bacterial populations can doubleas quickly as every 9.8 minutes. In cell division, two identicalclonedaughter cells are produced.Some bacteria, while still reproducing asexually, form more complex reproductive structures thathelp disperse the newly formed daughter cells.Examples include fruiting body formation by

Myxobacteria

and aerial hyphae formation by

Streptomyces

, or budding. Budding involves a cell forming a protrusion that breaks away and produces a daughter cell.

HOW THE BODY FIGHTS BACTERIAL DISEASE:

Our immune system is designed to protect us against harmful bacteria. It works to keep our normal microflora in check and also to eliminate invaders from outside the body. Someimmune-system defenses are built in: The skin acts as a barrier to bacterial invaders, andantimicrobial substances in body secretions such as saliva and mucus can kill or stop the growthof some disease-causing bacteria. We acquire another immune-system defense through exposureto disease-causing bacteria.After recovering from many bacterial infections, people have the ability to resist a second attack by the same bacteria. They can do so because their immune system forms disease-fighting proteins calledantibodiesdesigned to recognize specific bacteria. When next exposed to those bacteria, the antibodies bind to the surface of the bacteria and either kill them, prevent them frommultiplying, or neutralize their toxin.Vaccinesalso can stimulate the immune system to formdisease-fighting antibodies. Some vaccines contain strains of the bacterium that lack the abilityto cause infection; others contain only parts of bacterial cells.

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF BACTERIAL DISEASE:

Antibiotics

In many cases the immune system can wipe out a bacterial infection on its own. Butsometimes people become so sick from a bacterial disease that they require medical treatment.Antibioticsand other antibacterial drugs are the major weapons against disease-causing bacteria.Antibiotics act in a number of ways to kill bacteria or suppress their activity. Over time,however, bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics. As a result bacterial diseases have becomemore and more difficult to cure. In an effort to control antibiotic resistance, physicians have triedto limit the use of antibiotics. In addition, they have advocated more vigorous efforts to improvethe antibiotics we now have and to find new agents active against bacteria.

Vaccines

Immunization through vaccines is important in the prevention of infectious diseases caused by bacteria. Vaccines expose a human being or other animal to a disease-causing bacterium or itstoxins without causing the disease. As a result of this exposure, the body forms antibodies to thespecific bacterium. These antibodies remain ready to attack if they meet the bacteria in thefuture. Some immunizations last a lifetime, whereas others must be renewed with a booster shot.