What are micro-organisms?

Microbes
– Microbes are single celled organisms

– Too small to be seen with the naked eye

– They are found practically EVERYWHERE on earth

– Also commonly known as bugs, germs and microbes

– Generally divided into 3 different groups

• Bacteria

• Virus

• Fungi
 Bacteria
– Obtain nutrients from their environments in order to live. In some cases that
environment is a human body
– Most are helpful or harmless. But some cause disease

– Bacteria can reproduce outside of the body or within the body as they cause
infections
– Some bacteria are good for our bodies:
• Good bacteria live in our intestines and help us use the nutrients in the food we
eat and make waste from what's left over.

– They are found everywhere on earth, in the ocean, in rocks, in volcanoes, in

our bodies and in the soil
 Bacterial Structure
Cell Membrane
Chromosome

Cell wall Cytoplasm

Chromosome: DNA material of the cell

Cell wall: Composed of peptidoglycan the cell wall maintains the
overall shape of a bacterial cell
Cell membrane: Lining the inside of the cell wall it provides a boundary for
the contents of the cell and a barrier to substances entering
and leaving.
Cytoplasm: Describes the inside of the cell and the contents
 Bacterial Shapes
There are 3 different shapes of bacteria

Balls or cocci
(Staphylococcus)

Rods
(Lactobacillus)
Spirals
(Campylobacter)
 Viruses
– Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and can sometimes live INSIDE
bacteria
– Most viruses make us ill

– Diseases like CHICKENPOX and the FLU are caused by viruses.

– Viruses are easily spread from one person to another.

– Viruses cannot reproduce by themselves. They infect other cells and take
over their reproductive machinery in order to reproduce.

– They multiply inside the ‘host’ cell and when they have used all the cells
reproductive machinery, thousands viral cells burst out of the cell. The host

cell is completely destroyed.

 Viral Structure
Envelope
• Double lipid layer holding the cells
Envelope
genetic material.

Nucleic acid Glycoproteins

These serve 2 purposes
• Anchor the virus to the host cell.
Glycoproteins • Transport genetic material from the virus
to the host cell.
 
Nucleic acid
• Either DNA or RNA material, but virus
Complex cells rarely contain both. Most viral
(Bacteriophage – a virus cells contain RNA material.
which infects bacteria)
 Viral Shapes
There are 3 different shapes of Virus

Icosahedral Helical
(Influenza) (Tobacco mosaic virus)

Complex
(Bacteriophage – a virus which infects
bacteria)
 Fungi
– The largest and most versatile of all microbes

– Large plant like structures which lack chlorophyll

– Need to absorb nutrients from whatever they are growing on

– Fungi can be very helpful and humans have used them in

– The food industry - brewing beer, making bread rise

– Medicine – making antibiotics

– They can also be harmful if they steal nutrients from another living
organism. Examples include, mould on bread and athletes foot which is
caused by a group of fungi known as dermatophytes
– Fungi can be found in the air, on plants and in water
 Fungal Structure
Sporangia

Sporangiophore

Rhizoids

Sporangia:
Spore producing body. 
Sporangiophore:
Filamentous stalk on which the sporangium forms.
Rhizoids:
The sub-surface hyphae are specialized for food absorption.