Bacteria and Archaea

Bacteria and ArchaeaThe prokarotes

What do we already know about bacteria

and archaea?

What do we already know about bacteria

and archaea?Found in two of the three domains of life: Domain Bacteria and Domain ArchaeaUnicellular and prokaryoticFound everywhere!

Mini-lab: prokaryotes in the classroom

Each table will receive four cups to culture some bacteria/archaeaChoose two places in the room where you think there will be the most bacteria and two places where you think there will be the least bacteriaLabel your cup with your initials, class period, and what you swabbedSwab according to instructions and observe what happens!

What do they eat?

What do they eat?Everything (almost)! Can be autotrophs or heterotrophsThree primary ways of making energy: using sunlight, using inorganic compounds, and using organic compounds

What do they eat?

How are they classified?

How are they classified?Three main considerations: cell wall structure, what they eat, what shape they are (morphology)

Cell Wall StructureDepending on different substances in the bacteria’s cell wall, they act in different ways

It determines what environment they can live in

Some bacteria can form an endospore

Some can form biofilms

Bacterial ShapesThree main shapes: sphere, rod, and spiralOften determines how/what a bacterium eats, how it moves, etc.

Bacterial ReproductionBinary fission: divide into two identical bacterial cells

some bacteria can divide every 10 minutes!this is a form of asexual reproduction (only one parent organism)

Bacterial MutationBacteria and Archaea can change their genetic code sequence fairly easily

structures called plasmids are traded between bacteriathis allows them to adapt to changing environments

Importance of BacteriaDecomposers: release important chemicals from dead organismsFood: used to produce yogurt, cheese, pickles, sauerkraut, wine, and moreIndustry: we use plasmids to produce large quantities of medicines, chemicals, etc.Research: used to study gene/protein function, among many other things