Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Microbes
– Microbes are single celled organisms
• Virus
• Fungi
Bacteria
– Obtain nutrients from their environments in order to live. In some cases that
environment is a human body
– Bacteria can reproduce outside of the body or within the body as they cause
infections
Balls or cocci
(Staphylococcus)
Rods
(Lactobacillus)
Spirals
(Campylobacter)
Viruses
– Viruses are even smaller than bacteria and can sometimes live INSIDE
bacteria
– Viruses cannot reproduce by themselves. They infect other cells and take
over their reproductive machinery in order to reproduce.
– They multiply inside the ‘host’ cell and when they have used all the cells
reproductive machinery, thousands viral cells burst out of the cell. The host
cell is completely destroyed.
Viral Structure
Envelope
• Double lipid layer holding the cells
Envelope
genetic material.
Nucleic acid
• Either DNA or RNA material, but
Complex virus cells rarely contain both. Most
(Bacteriophage – a virus viral cells contain RNA material.
which infects bacteria)
Viral Shapes
There are 3 different shapes of Virus
Icosahedral Helical
(Influenza) (Tobacco mosaic virus)
Complex
(Bacteriophage – a virus which infects
bacteria)
Fungi
– The largest and most versatile of all microbes
– They can also be harmful if they steal nutrients from another living
organism. Examples include, mould on bread and athletes foot
which is caused by a group of fungi known as dermatophytes
Sporangiophore
Rhizoids
Sporangia:
Spore producing body.
Sporangiophore:
Filamentous stalk on which the sporangium forms.
Rhizoids:
The sub-surface hyphae are specialized for food absorption.