Bacterial Diversity Flashcards
Beneficial bacteria
microbiome – keep you healthy
– lactobacillus – make yoghurt
– lactococcus – make cheese
– cyanobacteria – make oxygen
Describe the process of asexual reproduction in bacteria
Two daughter chromosomes move to opposite poles of the cell. The cell elongates and membrane grows inwards to pinch apart to pinch apart two daughter cells and new cell walls are laid down
Detremental bacteria
Clostridium botulinum – serious food poisoning – Escherichia – UTI’s and blood stream –
Klebsiella pneumoniae – pneumonia and UTI’s – Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Cystic fibrosis
Transformation
Uptake of short fragments of naked DNA by naturally transformable bacteria
Transduction
Transfer of DNA from one bacterium into another via bacteriophage
Conjugation
Transfer of DNA material via sexual pilus, requires cell to cell contact
Three features of bacterial transcription and translation that differ from eukaryotes
No pre-mRNA processing
No movement from nucleus to cytosol
Coupled transcription and translation
How do bacteria reproduce
Binary fusion
What are three major routes of horizontal gene transfer
Transduction, transformation and conjugation
What is horizontal gene transfer and name a consequence
Obtaining genetic material by one bacterium from another bacterial strain
Detrimental to the fitness of the obtained strain
What are plasmids?
Small circular/linear fragments of DNA that are able to replicate independently.
How does horizontal gene transfer contribute to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria
Plasmids containing genes that confer resistance to certain antibiotic can be transferred between bacteria
