Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge

Technologies, Nuzvid
Lecture
on
Classification of Microorganism
(Microbiology)
By
Ravi Gedela M.Tech IITG, (PhD IITG)
Associate Dean of students welfare (i/c)
Assistant professor
Department of Bio-Sciences
RGUKT Nuzvid
https://rguktn.ac.in/profile/120102N
This tree of life shows the different types of microorganisms.
 Microorganisms: Life form:
 Microorganisms or microbes are microscopic
organisms that exist as
I. unicellular,
II. multicellular,
III. or cell clusters.
 Microorganims are widespread in nature and are
beneficial to life, but some can cause serious harm.
 They can be divided into six major types: bacteria,
archaea bacteria, fungi, protozoa, algae, viruses, plants
and animals.
 Bacteria
• Bacteria are unicellular organisms.
• The cells are described as prokaryotic because
they lack a nucleus.
• They exist in four major shapes: bacillus (rod
shape), coccus (spherical shape), spirilla (spiral
shape), and vibrio (curved shape).
• Most bacteria have a peptidoglycan cell wall;
they divide by binary fission; and they may
possess flagella for motility.
• The difference in their cell wall structure is a
major feature used in classifying these organisms.
Conti..
• The three main shapes of bacteria are coccus, spiral, and bacillus.

• Cocci are bacteria that are spherical or ovoid in shape. Some cocci
remain attached after binary fission, even though separate cells
have been formed. For example, diplococci are cocci in pairs,
streptococci are chains, and staphylococci are clusters of multiple
cocci. Tetrads are square arrangements of four cocci, while sarcinae
are cubes of eight cocci.
• Spiral bacteria are, as the name suggests, spiral-shaped. Spirillums
are thick, tough spirals. Spirochetes are spirals that are thin and
flexible. Vibrios are comma-shaped rods with a small twist.
• Bacilli are rod-shaped bacteria. Like cocci, bacilli can be solitary or
arranged together. Diplobacilli are two bacilli arranged next to each
other, and streptobacilli are chains of bacilli.
conti,.
According to the way their cell wall structure stains,
bacteria can be classified as either Gram-positive or Gram-
negative when using the Gram staining.

Gram Stain: This is a microscopic image of a Gram stain of mixed Gram-positive cocci
(Staphylococcus aureus, purple) and Gram-negative bacilli (Escherichia coli, red).
Conti..
 Bacteria can be further divided based on their response to
gaseous oxygen into the following groups:
 aerobic (living in the presence of oxygen),
 anaerobic (living without oxygen), and facultative
anaerobes (can live in both environments).
 According to the way they obtain energy, bacteria are
classified as heterotrophs or autotrophs.
 Autotrophs make their own food by using the energy of
sunlight or chemical reactions, in which case they are called
chemoautotrophs.
 Heterotrophs obtain their energy by consuming other
organisms. Bacteria that use decaying life forms as a source
of energy are called saprophytes.
 Archaea Bacteria
• Archaea or Archaebacteria differ from true bacteria
in their cell wall structure and lack peptidoglycans.
• They are prokaryotic cells with avidity to extreme
environmental conditions.
• Based on their habitat, all Archaeans can be divided
into the following groups: methanogens (methane-
producing organisms), halophiles (archaeans that live
in salty environments), thermophiles (archaeans that
live at extremely hot temperatures), and
psychrophiles (cold-temperature Archaeans).
Conti..
• Archaeans use different energy sources like
hydrogen gas, carbon dioxide, and sulphur.
• Some of them use sunlight to make energy,
but not the same way plants do.
• They absorb sunlight using their membrane
pigment, bacteriorhodopsin. This reacts with
light, leading to the formation of the energy
molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
 Fungi
• Fungi (mushroom, molds, and yeasts) are eukaryotic cells
(with a true nucleus).
• Most fungi are multicellular and their cell wall is composed
composed of their own unique polymers, called glucan,
mannan, and chitin.
• They obtain nutrients by absorbing organic material from
their environment (decomposers), through symbiotic
relationships with plants (symbionts), or harmful relationships
with a host (parasites).
• They form characteristic filamentous tubes called hyphae that
help absorb material. The collection of hyphae is called
mycelium.
• Fungi reproduce by releasing spores.
Conti..
• The smallest of yeasts are similar in size to bacteria, but
most are larger (2 to 40 µm) and multiply by budding.
• Their genome may exist in a diploid or haploid state and
replicate by meiosis or simple mitosis.
• Most fungi are free-living and widely distributed in nature.
• Generally, fungi grow more slowly than bacteria, although
their growth rates sometimes overlap.
• The major subdivisions (phyla) of fungi are: Chytridiomycota,
Zygomycota (the zygomycetes), Ascomycota (the
ascomycetes), Basidiomycota (the basidiomycetes), and the
"deuteromycetes" (or imperfect fungi).
 Algae
• Algae, also called cyanobacteria or blue-green
algae, are unicellular or multicellular
eukaryotes that obtain nourishment by
photosynthesis.
• They live in water, damp soil, and rocks and
produce oxygen and carbohydrates used by
other organisms.
• It is believed that cyanobacteria are the
origins of green land plants.
Conti..
• All algae contain chlorophyll in the photosynthetic
membrane of their subcellular chloroplast.
• Many algal species are unicellular microorganisms.
• Other algae may form extremely large multicellular
structures.
• A number of algae produce toxins that are poisonous to
humans and other animals.
• Dinoflagellates, a unicellular algae, cause algal blooms, or
red tides, in the ocean.
• Red tides caused by the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax species
are serious as this organism produces neurotoxins such as
saxitoxin and gonyautoxins, poisoning and can lead to
death.
 Protozoa
• Protozoa are unicellular nonphotosynthetic protists.
• The most primitive protozoa appear to be flagellated forms
that in many respects resemble representatives of the algae.
• It seems likely that the ancestors of these protozoa were algae
that became heterotrophs—the nutritional requirements of
such organisms are met by organic compounds.
• From flagellated protozoa appear to have evolved the
ameboid and the ciliated types; intermediate forms are
known that have flagella at one stage in the life cycle and
pseudopodia (characteristic of the ameba) at another stage.
• A fourth major group of protozoa, the sporozoa, are strict
parasites that are usually immobile; most of which reproduce
sexually and asexually in alternate generations by means of
spores.
Conti..
• They have a nucleus, complex organelles, and
obtain nourishment by absorption or
ingestion through specialized structures.
• They make up the largest group of organisms
in the world in terms of numbers, biomass,
and diversity.
• Their cell walls are made up of cellulose.
Conti..
• Protozoa have been traditionally divided based
on their mode of locomotion: flagellates produce
their own food and use their whip-like structure
to propel forward, ciliates have tiny hair that beat
to produce movement, amoeboids have false feet
or pseudopodia used for feeding and locomotion,
and sporozoans are non-motile.
• They also have different means of nutrition,
which groups them as autotrophs or
heterotrophs.
 Viruses
• Viruses are non-cellular entities that consist of a
nucleic acid core (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a
protein coat.
• Although viruses are classified as
microorganisms, they are not considered living
organisms.
• Viruses cannot reproduce outside a host cell and
cannot metabolize on their own.
• Viruses often infest prokaryotic and eukaryotic
cells causing diseases.
Conti..
• Viruses are strict intracellular parasites of other living cells,
not only of mammalian and plant cells, but also of simple
unicellular organisms, including bacteria (the
bacteriophages).
• Viruses are simple forms of replicating, biologically active
particles that carry genetic information in either DNA or
RNA molecules enclosed in a protein coat or capsid.
• Proteins—frequently glycoproteins—in the capsid
determine the specificity of interaction of a virus with its
host cell.
• The capsid protects the nucleic acid and facilitates
attachment and penetration of the host cell by the virus.
Conti..
• Inside the cell, viral nucleic acid redirects the hosts
enzymatic machinery to functions associated with
replication of the virus.
• In some cases, genetic information from the virus can
be incorporated as DNA into a host chromosome.
• In other instances, the viral genetic information can
serve as a basis for cellular manufacture and release of
copies of the virus.
• This process calls for replication of the viral nucleic acid
and production of specific viral proteins.
 Animal cell
• Animals are all multicellular, meaning
multiple cells work together to form the
whole organism.
• In complex organisms, such as humans, these
cells can be highly specialized to perform
different functions.
• As such, they often look and function very
differently from one another, even though
they are all human cells.
Conti..
• Each cell can be thought of as a large factory
with many departments, like manufacturing,
packaging, shipping, and accounting.
• Different organelles represent each of these
departments.
Animal cell
 Plant Cell
• Plant cells are the basic unit of life in organisms of
the kingdom Plantae.
• They are eukaryotic cells, which have a true
nucleus along with specialized structures called
organelles that carry out different functions.
• Plant cells have special organelles called
chloroplasts, which create sugars
via photosynthesis.
• They also have a cell wall that provides structural
support.
Conti..
• Chloroplasts are organelles that are crucial for plant
cell function.
• These are the structures that carry out photosynthesis,
using the energy from the sun to produce glucose.
• In doing so, the cells use carbon dioxide, and they
release oxygen.
• Other organisms, such as animals, rely on this oxygen
and glucose to survive.
• Plants are considered autotrophic because they
produce their own food and do not have to consume
any other organisms.
Conti..
• Specifically, plant cells are photoautotrophic because
they use light energy from the sun to produce
glucose. Organisms that eat plants and other animals are
considered heterotrophic.
• The other components of a plant cell, the cell wall, and
central vacuole, work together to give the cell rigidity.
• The plant cell will store water in the central vacuole, which
expands the vacuole into the sides of the cell.
• The cell wall then pushes against the walls of other cells,
creating a force known as turgor pressure.
• While animals rely on a skeleton for structure, turgor
pressure in plant cells allows plants to grow tall and reach
more sunlight
 Plant Cells vs. Animal Cells
• Plant and animal cells are both eukaryotic cells,
meaning they possess a defined nucleus and
membrane-bound organelles.
• They share many common features, such as a cell
membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, Golgi
apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, and
more.
• However, they have some apparent differences. Firstly,
plant cells have a cell wall that surrounds the cell
membrane, whereas animal cells do not.
• Plant cells also possess two organelles that animal cells
lack: chloroplasts and a large central vacuole., and also
allow them to produce their own food through
photosynthesis (chloroplasts)
Thank You