Bacteria and archaea

Question 1

What are some characteristics of bacteria?

Answer 1

1. unicellular prokaryotes; mesophiles (live in normal conditions)
2. Reproduce sexually or asexually

Question 2

How are bacteria and archaea helpful and harmful?

Answer 2

Helpful- decomposers, gut bacteria, nitrogen, fixers, vinegar, yogurt, butter, cheese
Harmful(pathogenic)- some cause diseases (strep throat, salmonella, food poisoning)

Question 3

What shapes can bacteria occur?

Answer 3

Cocci- spherical cells
Bacilli- rod shaped cells
Spirilli- spiral shaped cells

Question 4

Groups of Bacteria?

Answer 4

Mono- singular
Strepto- chains
Diplo- pairs
Staphylo- clusters

Question 5

What does the bacterial growth curve look like?

Answer 5

1. Lag phase- When # of bacteria and time are low
2. Exponential growth phase- When # of bacteria grows exponentially (and # of bacteria increases faster than time)
3. Stationary curve- # of bacteria stays the same as time increases/goes on
4. Death phase- # of bacteria begins to decrease as time increases.

Question 6

How do bacteria reproduce?

Answer 6

Asexually (binary fission)
Sexually (conjugation)

Question 7

Evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria?

Answer 7

Antibiotic resistant bacteria can developed by:
1. Not finishing antibiotic prescriptions
2. Taking antibiotics when unnecessary for a sample if you have a viral illness.

Question 8

How do bacteria cause human illness?

Answer 8

1. Gain entry into human body (via cut or nose/mouth/eyes)
2. Begin to produce toxins
3. Toxins travel through the host’s blood causing fever, chills, or other symptoms; some bacteria attack cells directly.

Question 9

How are bacteria treated by physicians?

Answer 9

Bacteria are treated by physicians, with antibiotics in order to kill or prevent bacteria from reproducing and spreading.

Question 10

What are characteristics of archaea?

Answer 10

Prokaryotic, unicellular, extremophiles (due to cell membrane lipids and enzymes)

Question 11

What are mathanogens?

Answer 11

Organisms that produce methane as a byproduct as a result of their metabolism

Question 12

What are halophiles?

Answer 12

Love salt. They thrive in salt concentrations as high as 37%.

Question 13

What are thermacidophiles?

Answer 13

Love heat. Can live in temperatures up to 120*C

Question 14

Acidophile

Answer 14

Love acid. Can live at a ph of 0.