Lecture #12 Date ________

● Chapter 27~
Prokaryotes and the
Origins of Metabolic
Diversity
 Classification
● Kingdom: Monera?
● Domain: Bacteria
● Domain: Archaea

● Shape
•cocci (sphere)
•bacilli (rod)
•helical (spiral)
 Structural characteristics
● Cell wall~ peptidoglycan
(sugars & proteins);
√ Gram +: w/peptidoglycan
penicillin action
√ Gram -: little
peptidoglycan,
lipopolysaccharides; most
pathogens; impede drug action

● Capsule: adherence; protection

● Pili: adherence; conjugation
 Motility
● 1- Flagella
● 2- Helical shape
(spirochetes) QuickTimeª and a
Cinepak decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
● 3- Slime
● 4-Taxis
(movement away or
toward a
stimulus)
 Form & Function
● Nucleoid region (genophore:
non-eukaryotic chromosome)
● Plasmids
● Asexual reproduction:
binary fission (not mitosis)
● “Sexual” reproduction (not
meiosis):
transformation~ uptake of
genes from surrounding
environment
conjugation~ direct gene
transfer from 1 prokaryote to
another
transduction~ gene transfer by
viruses
● Endospore: resistant cells for
harsh conditions (250 million
years!)
 Nutrition & Metabolism
● Photoautotrophs: photosynthetic;
harness light to drive the synthesis of
organics (cyanobacteria)
● Chemoautotrophs: oxidation of
inorganics for energy; get carbon
from CO2
● Photoheterotrophs: use light to
generate ATP but get carbon in an
organic form
● Chemoheterotrophs: consume
organic molecules for both energy
and carbon
saprobes- dead organic matter
decomposers
parasites- absorb nutrients
from living hosts
● Nitrogen fixation: conversion of
atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to
ammonium (NH4+)
● Oxygen relationships: obligate
aerobes; facultative anaerobes;
obligate anaerobes
 Prokaryotic ecology
● Decomposers: unlock organics from
corpses and waste products
● Symbiosis~
•symbiont/host
•mutualism (+, +)
•parasitism (+, -)
•commensalism (+, 0)
● Disease
•opportunistic: normal residents of
host; cause illness when defenses are
weakened
•Koch’s postulates: criteria for
bacterial disease confirmation
•exotoxins: bacterial proteins that
can produce disease w/o the
prokaryote present (botulism)
•endotoxins: components of gram -
membranes (Salmonella)