DEFINITION
Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microbes that lack a nuclear membrane, are metabolically active and divided by binary fission.
When you think of microorganisms, what is the first thing that comes across you mind? I’m pretty sure you’d picture an image of tiny round, or rod-shaped, or spiral and wiggly shaped things that cause diseases. Well then, what you were imagining is most probably a bacterium! Among all the microorganisms in the Microbe Dimension, bacteria are the most popular and deemed as the most successful organisms (in the world, even!).
But also, they cause the most problems in terms of disease in humans! Not all bacteria are bad, however, in fact only relatively few bacteria are considered dangerous, and these bad bacteria are called “pathogenic bacteria”. The truth is, most bacteria are actually really useful, and you literally can’t live without them. There are far more bacteria in the environment and even in your body compared to the total number of humans in existence, and each of them play their own role in maintaining the ecosystem.
Let’s find out more about these awesome microscopic creatures!
Check Out
This video about bacteria by the Amoeba Sisters
Well-known Examples of Bacteria
So far in the Microbe Dimension, you’ve encountered so many bacteria. As you may already know, bacteria are so diverse, and not all of them are well known. However, some bacteria are more studied than others due to their significant contribution in fields such medical, environmental, and food industry. Let’s get to know these celebrity bacteria (the good and bad).
Good Bacteria
Tetragenococcus halophilu
– soy sauce.
Azotobacter
– biofertilizers, nitrogen fixing bacteria in Nitrogen cycle.
Lactic acid
bacteria
– yogurt, cheese,
meat processing
Actinomycetes
– antibiotic, bioremediation, biodegradation.
Bad Bacteria
Salmonella typhimurium
– typhoid
Clostridium botulinum
– botulism.
Neisseria meningitidis
– meningitis.
Yersinia
pestis
– black death
Staphylococcus aureus
– pimples, pneumonia, sepsis.
Neisseria
gonorrhea
– gonorrhea.