Chapter 27

Prokaryotes and the Origins

of Metabolic Diversity
 Prokaryotes
ex: bacteria, blue-green bacteria
characteristics:
-prokaryotic
-unicellular (some aggregates or simple multiforms)
-1st organisms (by ~ 2 billion yrs.)
-most numerous & pervasive of life forms
-most are benign & many are essential to all life
(decomposing & recycling)
The three domains of life
 Cell structure
• 3 common shapes:
1) coccus – sphere
2) bacillus – rod
3) spirillum – spiral

• monoploid genome which is circular & dsDNA

in nucleoid region
Bacterial shapes
 Cell structure
• genophore – prokaryotic chromosome
*very little protein associated with DNA

• plasmids – smaller DNA rings each made of a

few genes
-allow antibiotic resistance
 Cell structure
• Not compartmentalized by endomembranes;
plasma membrane may be invaginated to
create internal membrane surface for
specialized functions
Invaginations of cell membrane
 Cell structure
Cell wall present – protect, shape, prevent
osmotic bursting
-made of peptidoglycan (not cellulose) –
unique polymers of modified sugars cross-
linked with short polypeptides

Gram staining – used to ID bacteria

Gram + simpler walls w/ lots of peptidoglycan
Gram – less peptidoglycan, more complex
structure
Gram - vs. Gram + bacteria
 Cell structure
• Some have capsules which they secrete
(additional protection & adherence to
substrates)

• pili – surface appendages for adherence to

substrates, reproduction, & colony formation
Pili
 Locomotion
• axial filaments (bundles of fine fibrils) –
cause cells to spiral
• slime – secreted, then bacteria glide on it
• flagella – all over surface, or concentrated at
both ends

taxis – movement toward/away from stimulus

(directed movement)
Bacterial flagella
 Reproduction
• asexually: binary fission – splitting in 2

• sexually: conjugation – sex pili form to

exchange genetic info.

transduction (viral) – virus

carries part of bacterial NA to new
cell
Conjugation
 Growth limits
• exponential

• limits are due to lack of nutrients in

environment, too much waste created, etc.
 Metabolism & Nutrition
autotrophic –
chemotrophic
phototrophic

heterotrophic –
*chemoheterotrophic (*most organisms)
photoheterotrophic

aerobic
anaerobic – obligate or facultative
 Diversity
Eubacteria “true bacteria”
-contemporary prokaryotes
1) Cyanobacteria – photoautotrophs
(blue-green bacteria)
-may be filamentous
-motile forms glide
-freshwater (fw), saltwater (sw), damp soil
-chlorophyll a (as in plants) in thylakoids
-heterocysts in some useful for N2 fixation
Heterocysts
Heterocysts
 Diversity
2) Phototrophic bacteria – green & purple sulfur
-get electrons from H2S (not H2O)
-pigment is bacteriochlorophyll
*usu. anaerobic

3) Pseudomonads – soil, aquatic

-most versatile chemoheterotrophs
(may use pesticides or other synthetic cmpds.)
Cyanobacteria
 Diversity
4) Spirochetes – helical shaped; corkscrew
movement
-large cells
-saprophytic & parasitic
-ex: Treponema pallidum – cause syphilis
Borrelia burgdorferi – cause Lyme disease
Leptospira, a spirochete
 Diversity
5) Endospore-forming bacteria –
-produce spores – dehydrated cells with thick
walls; survive harsh conditions
-autoclave necessary to kill spores up to 120
degrees C
-ex: Clostridium botulinum

6) Enteric – inhabit intestinal tracts (may be

normal flora)
-ex: E. coli, Salmonella typhi (pathogenic
enteric)
Anthrax endospore
 Diversity

7) Rickettsias & Chlamydias – very small

(dependent parasites) (non-gonococcal urethritis –
most common STD in US)

8) Mycoplasmas – smaller than rickettsias; only

prokaryotes lacking cell walls
Chlamydias
Mycoplasmas
 Diversity
9) Actinomycetes – colonial; resembling fungal
bodies (once thought to be fungi)
-causes TB & leprosy
-“dirt” smell in soil
-Streptomyces – produce streptomycin, other
antibiotics
Streptomyces
 Diverstiy
10) Myxobacteria – gliding bacteria
-elaborate colonies; secrete slime
-erects bulbous stalk (fruiting body)
-spore producing; brightly colored
Myxobacteria fruiting bodies
 Diversity
Archaebacteria “ancient bacteria”
-cell walls lack peptidoglycan
-lipid cell membrane & unique enzymes
-live in extreme environments (as in early Earth)
-sewage decomposers (model systems for
solar energy conversion): methanogens – CO2
reduced to CH4, anaerobes; pink scum:
halophiles – saline environment (Dead Sea)
thermoacidophiles – hot, acidic 60 – 80C; pH 2-4
(Yellowstone)
Pink scum from extreme halophiles
 Importance
1) decomposers (along w/ fungi) recycle for
ecosystems

2) fix N2 & CO2, generate O2

 Importance
3) symbiotic relationships
(symbiont – smaller, inside host)
mutualism – both benefit (+,+)
ex: bacteria & legume roots for N2 fixation,
vaginal bacteria keep pH in check,
suppressing yeast
commensalism – symbiont benefits, host
unaffected (+, 0)
parasitism – symbiont benefits at host’s
expense (+, -)
 Importance
4) pathogens –

by:

opportunistic – when defense weakens

*responsible for ½ of human diseases
ex: Streptococcus pneumonia (in throats)
 Importance

Robert Koch (pronounced “coke”) – linked

disease to specific bacteria
“father of bacteriology”

-to ID pathogen to specific disease, use

Koch’s postulates
 Importance
Koch’s postulates:
1) find same pathogen in each diseased individual
2) isolate pathogen from diseased subject & grow in
pure culture
3) induce disease in experimental animal by
inoculation from culture
4) isolate same pathogen from exp. animal after
disease develops
*true for most pathogens, few exceptions
 Importance
or by:
exotoxins –proteins secreted by bacterial cells
(among most potent poisons known)
-produce specific symptoms

or
endotoxins – components of outer membranes
of Gram – bacteria
-produce aches, fever
Lyme disease transmitted by deer tick
 Importance
5) used in lab research, sewage treatment,
food/drug industry, recombinant DNA
technology
Sewage treatment
Bioremediation
 Evolution of metabolism
-1st prokaryotes were probably chemoheterotrophs
absorbing ATP
-glycolysis evolved to generate ATP anaerobically
-electron transport & chemiosmosis evolved from
transmembrane pumps once used to regulate
internal pH in an acidic env.
-photosynthetic proks. used light photosystems to
fix CO2
-1st cyanobacteria made org. cmpds. from H2O &
CO2, releasing O2
-accumulation of O2 caused extinction of many proks.