Bacteria live strange lives. In optimal conditions, they can reach maturity in 20 minutes. They can then reproduce… and one becomes two. Twenty minutes later, two becomes four. In another twenty minutes they become eight. After the first hour there are 8. After two hours there are 64. If the first bacterium fell into a … Read more
Bacteria cause disease. We all know this. But how? Most of these bacteria, like those listed, below make their presence felt immediately and may or may not result in death. Some people though, can be infected with a bacterium – that normally causes a disease – and not show any harmful effects at all. People … Read more
Many people may think of bacteria only as the causative agents of disease. However the disease causing species only represent a very small percentage of the total number of species of bacteria. It will come as a surprise then, to realize that we as human beings live in harmony with millions of bacteria all the … Read more
How Are Bacteria Helpful To Humans? Unknown to many people, bacteria play an important role in many aspects of daily life. They are helpful in mining, medicine, food culture, plastic synthesis and sewage control. The overall commercial worth of bacteria in these operations is immense. It is also fascinating to see how much of a … Read more
Fun Bacteria Facts and Bacterial Records Bacteria really are found everywhere, from the tops of the highest mountains to the bottom of the deepest oceans. In fact, some bacteria live way below the earth’s surface… With many species inhabiting coal measures and subterranean aquifers! But that’s only the beginning, so let’s take a look at … Read more
Cyanobacteria The cyanobacteria are morphologically a heterogeneous mixture of bacteria. They come in five different types. Firstly they are either unicellular or filamentous. Unicellular species come in two forms depending on whether they divide by binary fission or multiple fission, the latter tending to be colonial. The filamentous forms are either branching or non-branching. The … Read more
Proteobacteria Proteobacteria is the second largest group of bacteria. This phylum contains 1,534 species – or 32.3% of all known bacteria. Proteobacteria are all gram negative, but otherwise represent a diverse range of organisms such as the Purple Phototrophic, Nitrifying bacteria and Enteric bacteria – as well as the bacteria responsible for animal bioluminescence. Here … Read more
Firmicutes Firmicutes are the single largest grouping of bacteria. Though because it is dominated by a number of very successful genera, it contains somewhat less diversity than the proteobacteria. Of approximately 2,475 species in 255 genera, 40% of these species are aggregated in just 6 genera: Lactobacillus (100 species) Mycoplasma (110 species) Bacillus (114 species) … Read more
The Euryarchaeota are a diverse group of organisms that live in extremely saline or salty environments. I.e., originally salt lakes, but now also on the surfaces of highly salted foods such as fish and meats. These organisms are called extreme halophiles. This description means not only that they can live in highly saline environments, but … Read more
The Crenarchaeota are a smaller group than the Euryarchaeota which contains the majority of the known Archaea. Crenarchaeota are primarily found in extreme environments, either hot ones or cold ones. Little is known about the cold adapted species, except that they live in considerable numbers – 104 per ml. They are found in the Antarctic … Read more