Bacteria - Wikipedia

Bacteria - Wikipedia
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Domain of microorganisms
"Bacterium" redirects here. For the genus, see
Bacterium (genus)
For other uses, see
Bacteria (disambiguation)
Bacteria
Temporal range:
Paleoarchean
Present
3500–0 Ma
Pha.
Proterozoic
Archean
Had.
Scanning electron micrograph
of
Escherichia coli
rods
Scientific classification
Domain:
Bacteria
Woese
et al.
2024
Type genus
Bacillus
Cohn 1872 (Approved Lists 1980)
Kingdoms
Bacillati
Fusobacteriati
Pseudomonadati
Thermotogati
And see
text
Incertae sedis
genera and species
Ca.
Aegiribacteria
Aerosphaera
Anhaltia
Archaeoscillatoriopsis
Cyanotheca
Eoleptonema
Ferrimonilis
Ca.
Ferristratum
Hafniella
Hygrocrocis
Koukoulia
Magnoovum
Nonospora
Ca.
Ovibacter
Plutoneptunites
Primaevifilum
Proteusbacillus
Ramacia
Rappaport
Sphingoterrabacterium
Terrahaemophilus
Thiodendron
Microvibrio marinus
Pedodermatophilus halotolerans
Pelosigma cohnii
Synonyms
"Bacteria"
Cohn
1872)
Cavalier-Smith
1983
"Bacteria"
Haeckel
1894
"Bacteria"
Cavalier-Smith 2002
"Bacteriaceae"
Cohn 1872a
"Bacteriobionta"
Möhn 1984
"Bacteriophyta"
Schussnig 1925
"Eubacteria"
Woese and Fox 1977
"Neobacteria"
Möhn 1984
"Schizomycetaceae"
de Toni and Trevisan 1889
"Schizomycetes"
Nägeli 1857
Bacteria
are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one
biological cell
. They constitute a large
domain
of
prokaryotic
microorganisms
. Typically a few
micrometres
in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its
habitats
. Bacteria inhabit the air,
soil
, water,
acidic hot springs
radioactive waste
, and the
deep biosphere
of
Earth's crust
. Bacteria play a vital role in many stages of the
nutrient cycle
by recycling nutrients and the
fixation of nitrogen
from the
atmosphere
. The nutrient cycle includes the
decomposition
of
dead bodies
; bacteria are responsible for the
putrefaction
stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding
hydrothermal vents
and
cold seeps
extremophile
bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as
hydrogen sulphide
and
methane
, to energy. Bacteria also live in
mutualistic
commensal
and
parasitic
relationships with plants and animals. Most bacteria have not been characterised and there are many species that cannot be
grown
in the laboratory. The study of bacteria is known as
bacteriology
, a branch of
microbiology
Like all animals, humans carry vast numbers (approximately 10
13
to 10
14
) of bacteria.
Most are in the
gut
, though there are many on the
skin
. Most of the bacteria in and on the body are harmless or rendered so by the protective effects of the
immune system
, and many are
beneficial
particularly the ones in the gut. However, several species of bacteria are
pathogenic
and cause
infectious diseases
, including
cholera
syphilis
anthrax
leprosy
tuberculosis
tetanus
and
bubonic plague
. The most common fatal bacterial diseases are
respiratory infections
Antibiotics
are used to treat
bacterial infections
and are also used in farming, making
antibiotic resistance
a growing problem. Bacteria are important in
sewage treatment
and the breakdown of
oil spills
, the production of
cheese
and
yogurt
through
fermentation
, the recovery of
gold
palladium
copper
and other metals in the mining sector (
biomining
bioleaching
), as well as in
biotechnology
, and the manufacture of antibiotics and other chemicals.
Once regarded as
plants
constituting the class
Schizomycetes
("fission fungi"), bacteria are now classified as
prokaryotes
. Unlike cells of animals and other
eukaryotes
, bacterial cells contain circular chromosomes, do not contain a
nucleus
and rarely harbour
membrane
-bound
organelles
. Although the term
bacteria
traditionally included all prokaryotes, the
scientific classification
changed after the discovery in the 1990s that prokaryotes consist of two very different groups of organisms that
evolved
from an
ancient common ancestor
. These
evolutionary domains
are called Bacteria and
Archaea
10
Unlike
Archaea
, bacteria contain ester-linked lipids in the cell membrane,
11
possess elongation factors that are resistant to ADP-ribosylation by diphtheria toxin,
12
use formylmethionine in protein synthesis initiation,
13
and have numerous genetic differences, including a different
16S rRNA
14
Etymology
Rod-shaped
Bacillus subtilis
The word
bacteria
ɪər
sg.
bacterium
) is the plural of the
Neo-Latin
bacterium
, which is the
romanisation
of the
Ancient Greek
βακτήριον
baktḗrion
),
15
the
diminutive
of
βακτηρία
baktēría
), meaning 'staff' or 'cane',
16
because the first ones to be discovered were
rod-shaped
17
18
Knowledge of bacteria
Although an estimated 43,000 species of bacteria have been named, most of them have never been studied.
19
In fact, just 10 bacterial species account for half of all publications, whereas nearly 75% of all named bacteria have no academic research devoted to them.
19
The best-studied species,
Escherichia coli
, has more than 300,000 studies published on it,
19
but many of these papers likely use it only as a
cloning
vehicle to study other species, without providing any insight into its own biology. 90% of scientific studies on bacteria focus on less than 1% of species, mostly
pathogenic bacteria
relevant to human health.
19
20
While
E. coli
is probably the best-studied bacterium, a quarter of its 4000 genes are poorly studied or remain uncharacterized. Some bacteria with
minimal genomes
(< 600 genes, e.g.
Mycoplasma
) usually have a large fraction of their genes functionally characterized, given that most of them are
essential
and conserved in many other species.
21
Origin and early evolution
Main article:
Evolution of bacteria
Further information:
Earliest known life forms
Evolutionary history of life
, and
Timeline of evolution
Phylogenetic tree
of Bacteria,
Archaea
and
Eukarya
, with the
last universal common ancestor
(LUCA) at the root
22
The ancestors of bacteria were unicellular microorganisms that were the
first forms of life
to appear on Earth, about 4 billion years ago.
23
For about 3 billion years, most organisms were microscopic, and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life.
24
25
26
Although bacterial
fossils
exist, such as
stromatolites
, their lack of distinctive
morphology
prevents them from being used to examine the history of bacterial evolution, or to date the time of origin of a particular bacterial species. However, gene sequences can be used to reconstruct the bacterial
phylogeny
, and these studies indicate that bacteria diverged first from the archaeal/eukaryotic lineage.
27
The
most recent common ancestor
(MRCA) of bacteria and archaea was probably a
hyperthermophile
that lived about 2.5 billion–3.2 billion years ago.
28
29
30
The earliest life on land may have been bacteria some 3.22 billion years ago.
31
Bacteria were also involved in the second great evolutionary divergence, that of the archaea and eukaryotes.
32
33
Here, eukaryotes resulted from the entering of ancient bacteria into
endosymbiotic
associations with the ancestors of eukaryotic cells, which were themselves possibly related to the Archaea.
34
35
This involved the engulfment by proto-eukaryotic cells of
alphaproteobacterial
symbionts
to form either
mitochondria
or
hydrogenosomes
, which are still found in all known Eukarya (sometimes in highly
reduced form
, e.g. in species of amitochondrial protozoa).
36
37
Later, some eukaryotes that already contained mitochondria also engulfed
cyanobacteria
-like organisms, leading to the formation of
chloroplasts
in algae and plants. This is known as
primary endosymbiosis
38
Habitat
Bacteria are ubiquitous, living in every possible habitat on the planet including soil, underwater, deep in Earth's crust and even such extreme environments as acidic hot springs and radioactive waste.
39
40
There are thought to be approximately 2×10
30
bacteria on Earth,
41
forming a
biomass
that is only exceeded by plants.
42
They are abundant in lakes and oceans, in arctic ice, and
geothermal springs
43
where they provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as
hydrogen sulphide
and
methane
, to energy.
44
They live on and in plants and animals. Most do not cause diseases, are beneficial to their environments, and are essential for life.
45
The soil is a rich source of bacteria and a few grams contain around a thousand million of them. They are all essential to soil ecology, breaking down toxic waste and recycling nutrients. They are even found in the atmosphere and one cubic metre of air holds around one hundred million bacterial cells. The oceans and seas harbour around 3 × 10
26
bacteria which provide up to 50% of the oxygen humans breathe.
46
Only around 2% of bacterial species have been fully studied.
47
Extremophile
bacteria
Habitat
Species
References
Cold (minus 15 °C Antarctica)
Cryptoendoliths
48
Hot (70–121 °C):
geysers
Submarine hydrothermal vents
oceanic crust
Thermus aquaticus
49
47
50
Radiation, 5M
Rad
Deinococcus radiodurans
48
Saline, 47% salt (
Dead Sea
Great Salt Lake
several species
47
48
Acid
pH
several species
39
Alkaline pH 12.8
betaproteobacteria
48
Space (6 years on a
NASA
satellite)
Bacillus subtilis
48
3.2 km underground
several species
48
High pressure (
Mariana Trench
– 1200
atm
Moritella,
Shewanella
and others
48
Morphology
Further information:
Bacterial cell structure § Cell morphology
, and
Bacterial cellular morphologies
Bacteria display many cell
morphologies
and arrangements
18
Size
. Bacteria display a wide diversity of shapes and sizes. Bacterial cells are about one-tenth the size of eukaryotic cells and are typically 0.5–5.0
micrometres
in length. However, a few species are visible to the unaided eye—for example,
Thiomargarita namibiensis
is up to half a millimetre long,
51
Epulopiscium fishelsoni
reaches 0.7 mm,
52
and
Thiomargarita magnifica
can reach even 2 cm in length, which is 50 times larger than other known bacteria.
53
54
Among the smallest bacteria are members of the genus
Mycoplasma
, which measure only 0.3 micrometres, as small as the largest
viruses
55
Some bacteria may be even smaller, but these
ultramicrobacteria
are not well-studied.
56
Shape
. Most bacterial species are either spherical, called
cocci
singular coccus
, from Greek
kókkos
, grain, seed), or rod-shaped, called
bacilli
sing
. bacillus, from
Latin
baculus
, stick).
57
Some bacteria, called
vibrio
, are shaped like slightly curved rods or comma-shaped; others can be spiral-shaped, called
spirilla
, or tightly coiled, called
spirochaetes
. A small number of other unusual shapes have been described, such as star-shaped bacteria.
58
This wide variety of shapes is determined by the bacterial
cell wall
and
cytoskeleton
and is important because it can influence the ability of bacteria to acquire nutrients, attach to surfaces, swim through liquids and escape
predators
59
60
The range of sizes shown by
prokaryotes
(Bacteria), relative to those of other organisms and
biomolecules
61
Multicellularity
. Most bacterial species exist as single cells; others associate in characteristic patterns:
Neisseria
forms diploids (pairs),
streptococci
form chains, and
staphylococci
group together in "bunch of grapes" clusters. Bacteria can also group to form larger multicellular structures, such as the elongated
filaments
of
Actinomycetota
species, the aggregates of
Myxobacteria
species, and the complex hyphae of
Streptomyces
species.
62
These multicellular structures are often only seen in certain conditions. For example, when starved of amino acids, myxobacteria detect surrounding cells in a process known as
quorum sensing
, migrate towards each other, and aggregate to form fruiting bodies up to 500 micrometres long and containing approximately 100,000 bacterial cells.
63
In these fruiting bodies, the bacteria perform separate tasks; for example, about one in ten cells migrate to the top of a fruiting body and differentiate into a specialised dormant state called a myxospore, which is more resistant to drying and other adverse environmental conditions.
64
Biofilms
. Bacteria often attach to surfaces and form dense aggregations called
biofilms
65
and larger formations known as
microbial mats
66
These biofilms and mats can range from a few micrometres in thickness to up to half a metre in depth, and may contain multiple species of bacteria,
protists
and archaea. Bacteria living in biofilms display a complex arrangement of cells and extracellular components, forming secondary structures, such as
microcolonies
, through which there are networks of channels to enable better diffusion of nutrients.
67
68
In natural environments, such as soil or the surfaces of plants, the majority of bacteria are bound to surfaces in biofilms.
69
Biofilms are also important in medicine, as these structures are often present during chronic bacterial infections or in infections of
implanted
medical devices
, and bacteria protected within biofilms are much harder to kill than individual isolated bacteria.
70
Cellular structure
Further information:
Bacterial cell structure
Structure and contents of a typical
Gram-positive
bacterial cell (seen by the fact that only
one
cell membrane is present)
Intracellular structures
The bacterial cell is surrounded by a
cell membrane
, which is made primarily of
phospholipids
. This membrane encloses the contents of the cell and acts as a barrier to hold nutrients,
proteins
and other essential components within the cell.
71
Unlike
eukaryotic cells
, bacteria usually lack large membrane-bound structures in their cytoplasm such as a
nucleus
mitochondria
chloroplasts
and the other organelles present in eukaryotic cells.
72
However, some bacteria have protein-bound organelles in the cytoplasm which
compartmentalise
aspects of bacterial metabolism,
73
74
such as the
carboxysome
75
Additionally, bacteria have a multi-component
cytoskeleton
to control the localisation of proteins and nucleic acids within the cell, and to manage the process of
cell division
76
77
78
Many important
biochemical
reactions, such as energy generation, occur due to
differences in concentration
of molecules across membranes, creating a
electrochemical potential
analogous to a battery. The general lack of internal membranes in bacteria means these reactions, such as
electron transport
, occur across the cell membrane between the cytoplasm and the outside of the cell or
periplasm
79
However, in many photosynthetic bacteria, the plasma membrane is highly folded and fills most of the cell with layers of light-gathering membrane.
80
These light-gathering complexes may even form lipid-enclosed structures called
chlorosomes
in
green sulfur bacteria
81
An
electron micrograph
of
Halothiobacillus neapolitanus
cells with
carboxysomes
inside, with arrows highlighting visible carboxysomes. Scale bars indicate 100 nm
Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus, and their
genetic
material is typically a single
circular bacterial chromosome
of
DNA
located in the
cytoplasm
in an irregularly shaped body called the
nucleoid
82
The nucleoid contains the
chromosome
with its associated proteins and
RNA
. Like all other
organisms
, bacteria contain
ribosomes
for the
production of proteins
, but the structure of the bacterial ribosome is different from that of
eukaryotes
and archaea.
83
Its
translation
process is also different.
84
Some bacteria produce intracellular nutrient storage granules, such as
glycogen
85
polyphosphate
86
sulfur
87
or
polyhydroxyalkanoates
88
Bacteria such as the
photosynthetic
cyanobacteria
, produce internal
gas vacuoles
, which they use to regulate their buoyancy, allowing them to move up or down into water layers with different light intensities and nutrient levels.
89
Extracellular structures
Further information:
Cell envelope
Around the outside of the cell membrane is the
cell wall
. Bacterial cell walls are made of
peptidoglycan
(also called murein), which is made from
polysaccharide
chains cross-linked by
peptides
containing D-
amino acids
90
Bacterial cell walls are different from the cell walls of
plants
and
fungi
, which are made of
cellulose
and
chitin
, respectively.
91
The cell wall of bacteria is also distinct from that of archaea, which do not contain peptidoglycan. The cell wall is essential to the survival of many bacteria, and the antibiotic
penicillin
(produced by a fungus called
Penicillium
) is able to kill bacteria by inhibiting a step in the synthesis of peptidoglycan.
91
There are broadly speaking two different types of cell wall in bacteria, that classify bacteria into
Gram-positive bacteria
and
Gram-negative bacteria
. The names originate from the reaction of cells to the
Gram stain
, a long-standing test for the classification of bacterial species.
92
The exterior of
Pseudomonas
, a genus of
Gram-negative Bacteria.
Gram-positive bacteria possess a thick cell wall containing many layers of peptidoglycan and
teichoic acids
. In contrast, Gram-negative bacteria have a relatively thin cell wall consisting of a few layers of peptidoglycan surrounded by a second
lipid membrane
containing
lipopolysaccharides
and
lipoproteins
. Most bacteria have the Gram-negative cell wall, and only members of the
Bacillota
group and
actinomycetota
(previously known as the low G+C and high G+C Gram-positive bacteria, respectively) have the alternative Gram-positive arrangement.
93
These differences in structure can produce differences in antibiotic susceptibility; for instance,
vancomycin
can kill only Gram-positive bacteria and is ineffective against Gram-negative
pathogens
, such as
Haemophilus influenzae
or
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
94
Some bacteria have cell wall structures that are neither classically Gram-positive or Gram-negative. This includes clinically important bacteria such as
mycobacteria
which have a thick peptidoglycan cell wall like a Gram-positive bacterium, but also a second outer layer of lipids.
95
In many bacteria, an
S-layer
of rigidly arrayed protein molecules covers the outside of the cell.
96
This layer provides chemical and physical protection for the cell surface and can act as a
macromolecular
diffusion barrier
. S-layers have diverse functions and are known to act as virulence factors in
Campylobacter
species and contain surface
enzymes
in
Bacillus stearothermophilus
97
98
Electron micrograph
of
Helicobacter pylori
possessing multiple
flagella
negative staining
Flagella
are rigid protein structures, about 20 nanometres in diameter and up to 20 micrometres in length, that are used for
motility
. Flagella are driven by the energy released by the transfer of
ions
down an
electrochemical gradient
across the cell membrane.
99
Fimbriae
(sometimes called "
attachment pili
") are fine filaments of protein, usually 2–10 nanometres in diameter and up to several micrometres in length. They are distributed over the surface of the cell, and resemble fine hairs when seen under the
electron microscope
100
Fimbriae are believed to be involved in attachment to solid surfaces or to other cells, and are essential for the virulence of some bacterial pathogens.
101
Pili
sing
. pilus) are cellular appendages, slightly larger than fimbriae, that can transfer
genetic material
between bacterial cells in a process called
conjugation
where they are called
conjugation pili
or sex pili (see bacterial genetics, below).
102
They can also generate movement where they are called
type IV pili
103
Glycocalyx
is produced by many bacteria to surround their cells,
104
and varies in structural complexity: ranging from a disorganised
slime layer
of
extracellular polymeric substances
to a highly structured
capsule
. These structures can protect cells from engulfment by eukaryotic cells such as
macrophages
(part of the human
immune system
).
105
They can also act as
antigens
and be involved in cell recognition, as well as aiding attachment to surfaces and the formation of biofilms.
106
The assembly of these extracellular structures is dependent on
bacterial secretion systems
. These transfer proteins from the cytoplasm into the periplasm or into the environment around the cell. Many types of secretion systems are known and these structures are often essential for the
virulence
of pathogens, so are intensively studied.
106
Endospores
Further information:
Endospore
Bacillus anthracis
(stained purple) growing in
cerebrospinal fluid
107
Some
genera
of Gram-positive bacteria, such as
Bacillus
Clostridium
Sporohalobacter
Anaerobacter
, and
Heliobacterium
, can form highly resistant, dormant structures called
endospores
108
Endospores develop within the cytoplasm of the cell; generally, a single endospore develops in each cell.
109
Each endospore contains a core of
DNA
and
ribosomes
surrounded by a cortex layer and protected by a multilayer rigid coat composed of peptidoglycan and a variety of proteins.
109
Endospores show no detectable
metabolism
and can survive extreme physical and chemical stresses, such as high levels of
UV light
gamma radiation
detergents
disinfectants
, heat, freezing, pressure, and
desiccation
110
In this dormant state, these organisms may remain viable for millions of years.
111
112
113
Endospores even allow bacteria to survive exposure to the
vacuum
and radiation of
outer space
, leading to the possibility that bacteria could be distributed throughout the
universe
by
space dust
meteoroids
asteroids
comets
planetoids
, or
directed panspermia
114
115
Endospore-forming bacteria can cause disease; for example,
anthrax
can be contracted by the inhalation of
Bacillus anthracis
endospores, and contamination of deep puncture wounds with
Clostridium tetani
endospores causes
tetanus
, which, like
botulism
, is caused by a toxin released by the bacteria that grow from the spores.
116
Clostridioides difficile
infection
, a common problem in healthcare settings, is caused by spore-forming bacteria.
117
Metabolism
Further information:
Microbial metabolism
Bacteria exhibit an extremely wide variety of
metabolic
types.
118
The distribution of metabolic traits within a group of bacteria has traditionally been used to define their
taxonomy
, but these traits often do not correspond with modern genetic classifications.
119
Bacterial metabolism is classified into
nutritional groups
on the basis of three major criteria: the source of
energy
, the
electron donors
used, and the source of
carbon
used for growth.
120
Phototrophic
bacteria derive energy from light using
photosynthesis
, while
chemotrophic
bacteria breaking down chemical compounds through
oxidation
121
driving metabolism by transferring electrons from a given
electron donor
to a
terminal electron acceptor
in a
redox reaction
. Chemotrophs are further divided by the types of compounds they use to transfer electrons. Bacteria that derive electrons from inorganic compounds such as hydrogen,
carbon monoxide
, or
ammonia
are called
lithotrophs
, while those that use organic compounds are called
organotrophs
121
Still, more specifically,
aerobic organisms
use
oxygen
as the terminal electron acceptor, while
anaerobic organisms
use other compounds such as
nitrate
sulfate
, or carbon dioxide.
121
Many bacteria, called
heterotrophs
, derive their carbon from other
organic carbon
. Others, such as
cyanobacteria
and some
purple bacteria
, are
autotrophic
, meaning they obtain cellular carbon by
fixing
carbon dioxide
122
In unusual circumstances, the gas
methane
can be used by
methanotrophic
bacteria as both a source of
electrons
and a substrate for carbon
anabolism
123
Nutritional types in bacterial metabolism
Nutritional type
Source of energy
Source of carbon
Examples
Phototrophs
Sunlight
Organic compounds (photoheterotrophs) or carbon fixation (photoautotrophs)
Cyanobacteria
Green sulfur bacteria
Chloroflexota
Purple bacteria
Lithotrophs
Inorganic compounds
Organic compounds (lithoheterotrophs) or carbon fixation (lithoautotrophs)
Thermodesulfobacteriota
Hydrogenophilaceae
Nitrospirota
Organotrophs
Organic compounds
Organic compounds (chemoheterotrophs) or carbon fixation (chemoautotrophs)
Bacillus
Clostridium
Enterobacteriaceae
In many ways, bacterial metabolism provides traits that are useful for
ecological stability
and for human society. For example,
diazotrophs
have the ability to
fix nitrogen
gas using the enzyme
nitrogenase
124
This trait, which can be found in bacteria of most metabolic types listed above,
125
leads to the ecologically important processes of
denitrification
sulfate reduction
, and
acetogenesis
, respectively.
126
Bacterial metabolic processes are important drivers in biological responses to
pollution
; for example, sulfate-reducing bacteria are largely responsible for the production of the highly toxic forms of
mercury
methyl-
and
dimethylmercury
) in the environment.
127
Nonrespiratory anaerobes use
fermentation
to generate energy and reducing power, secreting metabolic by-products (such as
ethanol
in brewing) as waste.
Facultative anaerobes
can switch between fermentation and different
terminal electron acceptors
depending on the environmental conditions in which they find themselves.
128
Reproduction and growth
Further information:
Bacterial growth
Many bacteria reproduce through
binary fission
, which is compared to
mitosis
and
meiosis
in this image
Unlike in multicellular organisms, increases in cell size (
cell growth
) and reproduction by
cell division
are tightly linked in unicellular organisms. Bacteria grow to a fixed size and then reproduce through
binary fission
, a form of
asexual reproduction
129
Under optimal conditions, bacteria can grow and divide extremely rapidly, and some bacterial populations can double as quickly as every 17 minutes.
130
In cell division, two identical
clone
daughter cells are produced. Some bacteria, while still reproducing asexually, form more complex reproductive structures that help disperse the newly formed daughter cells. Examples include fruiting body formation by
myxobacteria
and aerial
hyphae
formation by
Streptomyces
species, or budding. Budding involves a cell forming a protrusion that breaks away and produces a daughter cell.
131
In the laboratory, bacteria are usually grown using solid or liquid media.
132
Solid
growth media
, such as
agar plates
, are used to
isolate
pure cultures of a bacterial strain. However, liquid growth media are used when the measurement of growth or large volumes of cells are required. Growth in stirred liquid media occurs as an even cell suspension, making the cultures easy to divide and transfer, although isolating single bacteria from liquid media is difficult. The use of selective media (media with specific nutrients added or deficient, or with antibiotics added) can help identify specific organisms.
133
Most laboratory techniques for growing bacteria use high levels of nutrients to produce large amounts of cells cheaply and quickly.
132
However, in natural environments, nutrients are limited, meaning that bacteria cannot continue to reproduce indefinitely. This nutrient limitation has led the evolution of different growth strategies (see
r/K selection theory
). Some organisms can grow extremely rapidly when nutrients become available, such as the formation of
algal
and
cyanobacterial
blooms that often occur in lakes during the summer.
134
Other organisms have adaptations to harsh environments, such as the production of multiple
antibiotics
by
Streptomyces
that inhibit the growth of competing microorganisms.
135
In nature, many organisms live in communities (e.g.,
biofilms
) that may allow for increased supply of nutrients and protection from environmental stresses.
69
These relationships can be essential for growth of a particular organism or group of organisms (
syntrophy
).
136
Bacterial growth curve
Bacterial growth
follows four phases. When a population of bacteria first enter a high-nutrient environment that allows growth, the cells need to adapt to their new environment. The first phase of growth is the
lag phase
, a period of slow growth when the cells are adapting to the high-nutrient environment and preparing for fast growth. The lag phase has high biosynthesis rates, as proteins necessary for rapid growth are produced.
137
138
The second phase of growth is the
logarithmic phase
, also known as the exponential phase. The log phase is marked by rapid
exponential growth
. The rate at which cells grow during this phase is known as the
growth rate
), and the time it takes the cells to double is known as the
generation time
). During log phase, nutrients are metabolised at maximum speed until one of the nutrients is depleted and starts limiting growth. The third phase of growth is the
stationary phase
and is caused by depleted nutrients. The cells reduce their metabolic activity and consume non-essential cellular proteins. The stationary phase is a transition from rapid growth to a stress response state and there is increased
expression of genes
involved in
DNA repair
antioxidant metabolism
and
nutrient transport
139
The final phase is the
death phase
where the bacteria run out of nutrients and die.
140
Genetics
Main article:
Bacterial genetics
Helium ion microscopy
image showing
T4 phage
infecting
E. coli
. Some of the attached phage have contracted tails indicating that they have injected their DNA into the host. The bacterial cells are ~ 0.5 μm wide
141
Most bacteria have a single circular
chromosome
that can range in size from only 160,000
base pairs
in the
endosymbiotic
bacteria
Carsonella ruddii
142
to 12,200,000 base pairs (12.2 Mbp) in the soil-dwelling bacteria
Sorangium cellulosum
143
to 16.0 Mbp in another soil-dwelling bacteria,
Minicystis rosea
144
There are many exceptions to this; for example, some
Streptomyces
and
Borrelia
species contain a single linear chromosome,
145
146
while some bacteria including species of
Vibrio
contain more than one chromosome.
147
148
Some bacteria contain
plasmids
, small extra-chromosomal molecules of DNA that may contain genes for various useful functions such as
antibiotic resistance
, metabolic capabilities, or various
virulence factors
149
Whether they have a single chromosome or more than one, almost all bacteria have a
haploid
genome
. This means that they have only one copy of each gene encoding proteins. This is in contrast to
eukaryotes
, which are diploid or polyploid, meaning they have two or more copies of each gene. This means that unlike humans, who may still be able to create a
protein
if the
gene
becomes mutated (since the human genome has an extra copy in each cell), a bacterium will be completely unable to create the protein if its gene incurs an
inactivating mutation
150
Bacterial genomes usually encode a few hundred to a few thousand genes. The genes in bacterial genomes are usually a single continuous stretch of DNA. Although several different types of
introns
do exist in bacteria, these are much rarer than in eukaryotes.
151
Bacteria, as asexual organisms, inherit an identical copy of the parent's genome and are
clonal
. However, all bacteria can evolve by selection on changes to their genetic material
DNA
caused by
genetic recombination
or
mutations
. Mutations arise from errors made during the replication of DNA or from exposure to
mutagens
. Mutation rates vary widely among different species of bacteria and even among different clones of a single species of bacteria.
152
Genetic changes in bacterial genomes emerge from either random mutation during replication or "stress-directed mutation", where genes involved in a particular growth-limiting process have an increased mutation rate.
153
Some bacteria transfer genetic material between cells. This can occur in three main ways. First, bacteria can take up exogenous DNA from their environment in a process called
transformation
154
Many bacteria can
naturally
take up DNA from the environment, while others must be chemically altered in order to induce them to take up DNA.
155
The development of competence in nature is usually associated with stressful environmental conditions and seems to be an adaptation for facilitating repair of DNA damage in recipient cells.
156
Second,
bacteriophages
can integrate into the bacterial chromosome, introducing foreign DNA in a process known as
transduction
. Many types of bacteriophage exist; some infect and
lyse
their
host
bacteria, while others insert into the bacterial chromosome.
157
Bacteria resist phage infection through
restriction modification systems
that degrade foreign DNA
158
and a system that uses
CRISPR
sequences to retain fragments of the genomes of phage that the bacteria have come into contact with in the past, which allows them to block virus replication through a form of
RNA interference
159
160
Third, bacteria can transfer genetic material through direct cell contact via
conjugation
161
In ordinary circumstances, transduction, conjugation, and transformation involve transfer of DNA between individual bacteria of the same species, but occasionally transfer may occur between individuals of different bacterial species, and this may have significant consequences, such as the transfer of antibiotic resistance.
162
163
In such cases, gene acquisition from other bacteria or the environment is called
horizontal gene transfer
and may be common under natural conditions.
164
Behaviour
Movement
Main article:
Bacterial motility
Transmission electron micrograph of
Desulfovibrio vulgaris
showing a single flagellum at one end of the cell. Scale bar is 0.5 micrometres long
Many bacteria are
motile
(able to move themselves) and do so using a variety of mechanisms. The best studied of these are
flagella
, long filaments that are turned by a motor at the base to generate propeller-like movement.
165
The bacterial flagellum is made of about 20 proteins, with approximately another 30 proteins required for its regulation and assembly.
165
The flagellum is a rotating structure driven by a reversible motor at the base that uses the
electrochemical gradient
across the membrane for power.
166
The different arrangements of bacterial flagella: A-Monotrichous; B-Lophotrichous; C-Amphitrichous; D-Peritrichous
Bacteria can use flagella in different ways to generate different kinds of movement. Many bacteria (such as
E. coli
) have two distinct modes of movement: forward movement (swimming) and
tumbling
. The tumbling allows them to
reorient
and makes their movement a three-
dimensional
random walk
167
Bacterial species differ in the number and arrangement of flagella on their surface; some have a single
flagellum
monotrichous
), a flagellum at each end (
amphitrichous
), clusters of flagella at the poles of the cell (
lophotrichous
), while others have flagella distributed over the entire surface of the cell (
peritrichous
). The flagella of a group of bacteria, the
spirochaetes
, are found between two membranes in the periplasmic space. They have a distinctive
helical
body that twists about as it moves.
165
Two other types of bacterial motion are called
twitching motility
that relies on a structure called the
type IV pilus
168
and
gliding motility
, that uses other mechanisms. In twitching motility, the rod-like pilus extends out from the cell, binds some substrate, and then retracts, pulling the cell forward.
169
Motile bacteria are attracted or repelled by certain
stimuli
in behaviours called
taxes
: these include
chemotaxis
phototaxis
energy taxis
, and
magnetotaxis
170
171
172
In one peculiar group, the myxobacteria, individual bacteria move together to form waves of cells that then differentiate to form fruiting bodies containing spores.
64
The myxobacteria move only when on solid surfaces, unlike
E. coli
, which is motile in liquid or solid media.
173
Several
Listeria
and
Shigella
species move inside host cells by usurping the
cytoskeleton
, which is normally used to move
organelles
inside the cell. By promoting
actin
polymerisation
at one pole of their cells, they can form a kind of tail that pushes them through the host cell's cytoplasm.
174
Communication
See also:
Prokaryote § Sociality
A few bacteria have chemical systems that generate light. This
bioluminescence
often occurs in bacteria that live in association with fish, and the light probably serves to attract fish or other large animals.
175
Bacteria often function as multicellular aggregates known as
biofilms
, exchanging a variety of molecular signals for
intercell communication
and engaging in coordinated multicellular behaviour.
176
177
The communal benefits of multicellular cooperation include a cellular
division of labour
, accessing resources that cannot effectively be used by single cells, collectively defending against antagonists, and optimising population survival by differentiating into distinct cell types.
176
For example, bacteria in biofilms can have more than five hundred times the increased resistance to
antibacterial
agents than individual "planktonic" bacteria of the same species.
177
One type of intercellular communication by a
molecular signal
is called
quorum sensing
178
179
180
Quorum sensing determines whether the local population is dense enough to support investment in processes that are only successful if large numbers of similar organisms behave similarly, such as excreting
digestive enzymes
or emitting light.
181
182
Quorum sensing enables bacteria to coordinate
gene expression
and to produce, release, and detect
autoinducers
or
pheromones
that accumulate with the growth in cell population.
183
Classification and identification
Main article:
Bacterial taxonomy
Further information:
Scientific classification
Systematics
Bacterial phyla
, and
Clinical pathology
Streptococcus mutans
visualised with a Gram stain
Phylogenetic tree
showing the diversity of bacteria, compared to other organisms. Here bacteria are represented by three main supergroups: the
CPR
ultramicrobacterias
Bacillati
and
Gracilicutes
according to 2019 genomic analyses
184
Classification
seeks to describe the diversity of bacterial species by naming and grouping organisms based on similarities. Bacteria can be classified on the basis of cell structure,
cellular metabolism
or on differences in cell components, such as
DNA
fatty acids
, pigments,
antigens
and
quinones
133
While these schemes allowed the identification and classification of
bacterial strains
, it was unclear whether these differences represented variation between distinct species or between strains of the same species. This uncertainty was due to the lack of distinctive structures in most bacteria, as well as
lateral gene transfer
between unrelated species.
185
Due to lateral gene transfer, some closely related bacteria can have very different morphologies and metabolisms. To overcome this uncertainty, modern bacterial classification emphasises
molecular systematics
, using genetic techniques such as
guanine
cytosine
ratio
determination, genome-genome hybridisation, as well as
sequencing
genes that have not undergone extensive lateral gene transfer, such as the
rRNA gene
186
Classification of bacteria is determined by publication in the International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, and Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology.
187
The
International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology
(ICSB) maintains international rules for the naming of bacteria and taxonomic categories and for the ranking of them in the
International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria
188
Historically, bacteria were considered a part of the
Plantae
, the plant kingdom, and were called "Schizomycetes" (fission-fungi).
189
For this reason, collective bacteria and other microorganisms in a host are often called "flora".
190
The term "bacteria" was traditionally applied to all microscopic, single-cell prokaryotes. However, molecular systematics showed prokaryotic life to consist of two separate
domains
, originally called Eubacteria and Archaebacteria, but now called Bacteria and Archaea that evolved independently from an ancient common ancestor.
10
The archaea and eukaryotes are more closely related to each other than either is to the bacteria. These two domains, along with Eukarya, are the basis of the
three-domain system
, which is currently the most widely used classification system in microbiology.
191
However, due to the relatively recent introduction of molecular systematics and a rapid increase in the number of genome sequences that are available, bacterial classification remains a changing and expanding field.
192
193
For example,
Cavalier-Smith
argued that the Archaea and Eukaryotes evolved from Gram-positive bacteria.
194
The identification of bacteria in the laboratory is particularly relevant in
medicine
, where the correct treatment is determined by the bacterial species causing an infection. Consequently, the need to identify human pathogens was a major impetus for the development of techniques to identify bacteria.
195
Once a pathogenic organism has been isolated, it can be further characterised by its morphology, growth patterns (such as
aerobic
or
anaerobic
growth),
patterns of hemolysis
, and staining.
196
Classification by staining
The
Gram stain
, developed in 1884 by
Hans Christian Gram
, characterises bacteria based on the structural characteristics of their cell walls.
197
92
The thick layers of peptidoglycan in the "Gram-positive" cell wall stain purple, while the thin "Gram-negative" cell wall appears pink.
197
By combining morphology and Gram-staining, most bacteria can be classified as belonging to one of four groups (Gram-positive cocci, Gram-positive bacilli, Gram-negative cocci and Gram-negative bacilli). Some organisms are best identified by stains other than the Gram stain, particularly mycobacteria or
Nocardia
, which show
acid fastness
on
Ziehl–Neelsen
or similar stains.
198
Classification by culturing
Culture
techniques are designed to promote the growth and identify particular bacteria while restricting the growth of the other bacteria in the sample.
199
Often these techniques are designed for specific specimens; for example, a
sputum
sample will be treated to identify organisms that cause
pneumonia
, while
stool
specimens are cultured on
selective media
to identify organisms that cause
diarrhea
while preventing growth of non-pathogenic bacteria. Specimens that are normally sterile, such as
blood
urine
or
spinal fluid
, are cultured under conditions designed to grow all possible organisms.
133
200
Other organisms may need to be identified by their growth in special media, or by other techniques, such as
serology
201
Molecular classification
As with bacterial classification, identification of bacteria is increasingly using molecular methods,
202
and
mass spectroscopy
203
Most bacteria have not been characterised and there are many species that cannot be
grown
in the laboratory.
204
Diagnostics using DNA-based tools, such as
polymerase chain reaction
, are increasingly popular due to their specificity and speed, compared to culture-based methods.
205
These methods also allow the detection and identification of "
viable but nonculturable
" cells that are metabolically active but non-dividing.
206
The main way to characterize and classify these bacteria is to isolate their DNA from environmental samples and mass-sequence them. This approach has identified thousands, if not millions of
candidate
species. Based on some estimates, more than 43,000 species of bacteria have been described,
19
but attempts to estimate the true number of bacterial diversity have ranged from 10
to 10
total species—and even these diverse estimates may be off by many orders of magnitude.
207
208
Phyla
See also:
Bacterial phyla
Valid phyla
The following phyla have been validly published according to the
Prokaryotic Code
; phyla that do not belong to any kingdom are shown in
bold
209
Abditibacteriota
Acidobacteriota
Actinomycetota
Aquificota
Armatimonadota
Atribacterota
Bacillota
Bacteroidota
Balneolota
Caldisericota
Calditrichota
Chlamydiota
Chlorobiota
Chloroflexota
Chrysiogenota
Coprothermobacterota
Cyanobacteriota
Deferribacterota
Deinococcota
Dictyoglomerota
Elusimicrobiota
Fibrobacterota
Fidelibacterota
Fusobacteriota
Gemmatimonadota
Kiritimatiellota
Lentisphaerota
Minisyncoccota
Mycoplasmatota
Nitrospinota
Nitrospirota
Planctomycetota
Pseudomonadota
Rhodothermota
Spirochaetota
Synergistota
Thermodesulfobacteriota
Thermomicrobiota
Thermotogota
Verrucomicrobiota
Vulcanimicrobiota
Candidate phyla
The following phyla have been proposed, but have not been validly published according to the Prokaryotic Code; phyla that do not belong to any kingdom are shown in
bold
210
Acetithermota
Aerophobota
Auribacterota
Babelota
Binatota
Bipolaricaulota
Caldipriscota
Calescibacteriota
Canglongiota
Cloacimonadota
Cosmopoliota
Cryosericota
Deferrimicrobiota
Dormiibacterota
Effluvivivacota
Electryoneota
Elulimicrobiota
Fermentibacterota
Fervidibacterota
Goldiibacteriota
Heilongiota
Hinthialibacterota
Hydrogenedentota
Hydrothermota
Kapaibacteriota
Krumholzibacteriota
Kryptoniota
Latescibacterota
Lernaellota
Lithacetigenota
Macinerneyibacteriota
Margulisiibacteriota
Methylomirabilota
Moduliflexota
Muiribacteriota
Nitrosediminicolota
Omnitrophota
Parcunitrobacterota
Peregrinibacteriota
Qinglongiota
Rifleibacteriota
Ryujiniota
Spongiamicota
Sumerlaeota
Sysuimicrobiota
Tangaroaeota
Tectimicrobiota
Tianyaibacteriota
Wirthibacterota
Zhuqueibacterota
Zhurongbacterota
Interactions with other organisms
Further information:
Microbes in human culture
Overview of bacterial infections and main species involved
211
Despite their apparent simplicity, bacteria can form complex associations with other organisms. These
symbiotic
associations can be divided into
parasitism
mutualism
and
commensalism
212
Commensals
The word "
commensalism
" is derived from the word "commensal", meaning "eating at the same table"
213
and all plants and animals are colonised by commensal bacteria. In humans and other animals, trillions of them live on the skin, the airways, the gut and other orifices.
214
215
Referred to as "normal flora",
216
or "commensals",
217
these bacteria usually cause no harm but may occasionally invade other sites of the body and cause infection.
Escherichia coli
is a commensal in the human gut but can cause urinary tract infections.
218
Similarly, streptococci, which are part of the normal flora of the human mouth, can cause
heart disease
219
Predators
Some species of bacteria kill and then consume other microorganisms; these species are called
predatory bacteria
220
These include organisms such as
Myxococcus xanthus
, which forms
swarms of cells
that kill and digest any bacteria they encounter.
221
Other bacterial predators either attach to their prey in order to digest them and absorb nutrients or invade another cell and multiply inside the cytosol.
222
These predatory bacteria are thought to have evolved from
saprophages
that consumed dead microorganisms, through adaptations that allowed them to entrap and kill other organisms.
223
Mutualists
Certain bacteria form close spatial associations that are essential for their survival. One such mutualistic association, called interspecies hydrogen transfer, occurs between clusters of
anaerobic bacteria
that consume
organic acids
, such as
butyric acid
or
propionic acid
, and produce
hydrogen
, and
methanogenic
archaea that consume hydrogen.
224
The bacteria in this association are unable to consume the organic acids as this reaction produces hydrogen that accumulates in their surroundings. Only the intimate association with the hydrogen-consuming archaea keeps the hydrogen concentration low enough to allow the bacteria to grow.
225
Mutualistic relationship between plants and nitrogen fixing bacteria found in the rhizosphere
In soil, microorganisms that reside in the
rhizosphere
(a zone that includes the
root
surface and the soil that adheres to the root after gentle shaking) carry out
nitrogen fixation
, converting nitrogen gas to nitrogenous compounds.
226
This serves to provide an easily absorbable form of nitrogen for many plants, which cannot fix nitrogen themselves. Many other bacteria are found as
symbionts
in humans
and other organisms. For example, the presence of over 1,000 bacterial species in the normal human
gut flora
of the
intestines
can contribute to gut immunity, synthesise
vitamins
, such as
folic acid
vitamin K
and
biotin
, convert
sugars
to
lactic acid
(see
Lactobacillus
), as well as fermenting complex undigestible
carbohydrates
227
228
229
The presence of this gut flora also inhibits the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria (usually through
competitive exclusion
) and these beneficial bacteria are consequently sold as
probiotic
dietary supplements
230
Nearly all
animal life
is dependent on bacteria for survival as only bacteria and some
archaea
possess the genes and enzymes necessary to synthesise
vitamin B
12
, also known as
cobalamin
, and provide it through the food chain. Vitamin B
12
is a water-soluble
vitamin
that is involved in the
metabolism
of every cell of the human body. It is a
cofactor
in
DNA synthesis
and in both
fatty acid
and
amino acid metabolism
. It is particularly important in the normal functioning of the
nervous system
via its role in the
synthesis of myelin
231
Pathogens
Main article:
Pathogenic bacteria
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
and pus cells from a penile discharge (
Gram stain
Colour-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing
Salmonella typhimurium
(red) invading cultured human cells
The body is continually exposed to many species of bacteria, including beneficial commensals, which grow on the skin and
mucous membranes
, and
saprophytes
, which grow mainly in the soil and in
decaying
matter. The blood and tissue fluids contain nutrients sufficient to sustain the growth of many bacteria. The body has defence mechanisms that enable it to resist microbial invasion of its tissues and give it a natural
immunity
or
innate resistance
against many
microorganisms
232
Unlike some
viruses
, bacteria evolve relatively slowly so many bacterial diseases also occur in other animals.
233
If bacteria form a parasitic association with other organisms, they are classed as pathogens.
234
Pathogenic bacteria are a major cause of human death and disease and cause infections such as
tetanus
(caused by
Clostridium tetani
),
typhoid fever
diphtheria
syphilis
cholera
foodborne illness
leprosy
(caused by
Mycobacterium leprae
) and
tuberculosis
(caused by
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
).
235
A pathogenic cause for a known medical disease may only be discovered many years later, as was the case with
Helicobacter pylori
and
peptic ulcer disease
236
Bacterial diseases are also important in
agriculture
, and bacteria cause
leaf spot
fire blight
and
wilts
in plants, as well as
Johne's disease
mastitis
salmonella
and
anthrax
in farm animals.
237
In
bacterial vaginosis
, beneficial bacteria in the vagina (top) are displaced by pathogens (bottom). Gram stain
Each species of pathogen has a characteristic spectrum of interactions with its human
hosts
. Some organisms, such as
Staphylococcus
or
Streptococcus
, can cause skin infections,
pneumonia
meningitis
and
sepsis
, a systemic
inflammatory response
producing
shock
, massive
vasodilation
and death.
238
Yet these organisms are also part of the normal human flora and usually exist on the skin or in the nose without causing any disease at all. Other organisms invariably cause disease in humans, such as
Rickettsia
, which are
obligate intracellular parasites
able to grow and reproduce only within the cells of other organisms. One species of
Rickettsia
causes
typhus
, while another causes
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Chlamydia
, another phylum of obligate intracellular parasites, contains species that can cause pneumonia or
urinary tract infection
and may be involved in
coronary heart disease
239
Some species, such as
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Burkholderia cenocepacia
, and
Mycobacterium avium
, are
opportunistic pathogens
and cause disease mainly in people who are
immunosuppressed
or have
cystic fibrosis
240
241
242
Some bacteria produce
toxins
, which cause diseases.
243
These are
endotoxins
, which come from broken bacterial cells, and
exotoxins
, which are produced by bacteria and released into the environment.
244
The bacterium
Clostridium botulinum
for example, produces a powerful exotoxin that cause respiratory paralysis, and
Salmonellae
produce an endotoxin that causes gastroenteritis.
244
Some exotoxins can be converted to
toxoids
, which are used as vaccines to prevent the disease.
245
Bacterial infections may be treated with
antibiotics
, which are classified as
bacteriocidal
if they kill bacteria or
bacteriostatic
if they just prevent bacterial growth. There are many types of antibiotics, and each class
inhibits
a process that is different in the pathogen from that found in the host. An example of how antibiotics produce selective toxicity are
chloramphenicol
and
puromycin
, which inhibit the bacterial
ribosome
, but not the structurally different eukaryotic ribosome.
246
Antibiotics are used both in treating human disease and in
intensive farming
to promote animal growth, where they may be contributing to the rapid development of
antibiotic resistance
in bacterial populations.
247
Infections can be prevented by
antiseptic
measures such as sterilising the skin prior to piercing it with the needle of a syringe, and by proper care of indwelling catheters. Surgical and dental instruments are also
sterilised
to prevent contamination by bacteria.
Disinfectants
such as
bleach
are used to kill bacteria or other pathogens on surfaces to prevent contamination and further reduce the risk of infection.
248
Significance in technology and industry
Bacteria, often
lactic acid bacteria
, such as
Lactobacillus
species and
Lactococcus
species, in combination with
yeasts
and
moulds
, have been used for thousands of years in the preparation of
fermented
foods, such as
cheese
pickles
soy sauce
sauerkraut
vinegar
wine
, and
yogurt
249
250
The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is remarkable and has been used in waste processing and
bioremediation
. Bacteria capable of digesting the
hydrocarbons
in
petroleum
are often used to clean up
oil spills
251
Fertiliser was added to some of the beaches in
Prince William Sound
in an attempt to promote the growth of these naturally occurring bacteria after the 1989
Exxon Valdez
oil spill
. These efforts were effective on beaches that were not too thickly covered in oil. Bacteria are also used for the
bioremediation
of industrial
toxic wastes
252
In the
chemical industry
, bacteria are most important in the production of
enantiomerically
pure chemicals for use as
pharmaceuticals
or
agrichemicals
253
Bacteria can also be used in place of
pesticides
in
biological pest control
. This commonly involves
Bacillus thuringiensis
(also called BT), a Gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium. Subspecies of this bacteria are used as
Lepidopteran
-specific
insecticides
under trade names such as Dipel and Thuricide.
254
Because of their specificity, these pesticides are regarded as
environmentally friendly
, with little or no effect on humans,
wildlife
pollinators
, and most other
beneficial insects
255
256
Because of their ability to quickly grow and the relative ease with which they can be manipulated, bacteria are the workhorses for the fields of
molecular biology
genetics
, and
biochemistry
. By making mutations in bacterial DNA and examining the resulting phenotypes, scientists can determine the function of genes,
enzymes
, and
metabolic pathways
in bacteria, then apply this knowledge to more complex organisms.
257
This aim of understanding the biochemistry of a cell reaches its most complex expression in the synthesis of huge amounts of
enzyme kinetic
and
gene expression
data into
mathematical models
of entire organisms. This is achievable in some well-studied bacteria, with models of
Escherichia coli
metabolism now being produced and tested.
258
259
This understanding of bacterial metabolism and genetics allows the use of biotechnology to
bioengineer
bacteria for the production of therapeutic proteins, such as
insulin
growth factors
, or
antibodies
260
261
Because of their importance for research in general, samples of bacterial strains are isolated and preserved in
Biological Resource Centres
. This ensures the availability of the strain to scientists worldwide.
262
History of bacteriology
For the history of microbiology, see
Microbiology
. For the history of bacterial classification, see
Monera § History
, and
Bacterial taxonomy
. For the natural history of Bacteria, see
Last universal common ancestor
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
(1632–1723), the first
microbiologist
and the first person to observe bacteria using a
microscope
in 1676
Bacteria were first observed by the Dutch microscopist
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
in 1676, using a single-lens
microscope
of his own design. Leeuwenhoek did not recognize bacteria as a distinct category of microorganisms, referring to all microorganisms that he observed, including bacteria,
protists
, and microscopic animals, as
animalcules
. He published his observations in a series of letters to the
Royal Society of London
263
Bacteria were Leeuwenhoek's most remarkable microscopic discovery. Their size was just at the limit of what his simple lenses could resolve, and, in one of the most striking hiatuses in the history of science, no one else would see them again for over a century.
264
His observations also included protozoans, and his findings were looked at again in the light of the more recent findings of
cell theory
265
Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg
introduced the word "bacterium" in 1828.
266
In fact, his
Bacterium
was a genus that contained non-spore-forming rod-shaped bacteria,
267
as opposed to
Bacillus
, a genus of spore-forming rod-shaped bacteria defined by Ehrenberg in 1835.
268
Louis Pasteur
demonstrated in 1859 that the growth of microorganisms causes the
fermentation
process and that this growth is not due to
spontaneous generation
yeasts
and
molds
, commonly associated with fermentation, are not bacteria, but rather
fungi
). Along with his contemporary
Robert Koch
, Pasteur was an early advocate of the
germ theory of disease
269
Before them,
Ignaz Semmelweis
and
Joseph Lister
had realised the importance of sanitised hands in medical work. Semmelweis, who in the 1840s formulated his rules for handwashing in the hospital, prior to the advent of germ theory, attributed disease to "decomposing animal organic matter". His ideas were rejected and his book on the topic condemned by the medical community. After Lister, however, doctors started sanitising their hands in the 1870s.
270
Robert Koch, a pioneer in medical microbiology, worked on
cholera
anthrax
and
tuberculosis
. In his research into tuberculosis, Koch finally proved the germ theory, for which he received a
Nobel Prize
in 1905.
271
In
Koch's postulates
, he set out criteria to test if an organism is the cause of a
disease
, and these postulates are still used today.
272
Ferdinand Cohn
is said to be a founder of
bacteriology
, studying bacteria from 1870. Cohn was the first to classify bacteria based on their morphology.
273
274
Though it was known in the nineteenth century that bacteria are the cause of many diseases, no effective
antibacterial
treatments were available.
275
In 1910,
Paul Ehrlich
developed the first antibiotic, by changing dyes that selectively stained
Treponema pallidum
—the
spirochaete
that causes
syphilis
—into compounds that selectively killed the pathogen.
276
Ehrlich, who had been awarded a 1908 Nobel Prize for his work on
immunology
, pioneered the use of stains to detect and identify bacteria, with his work being the basis of the
Gram stain
and the
Ziehl–Neelsen stain
277
A major step forward in the study of bacteria came in 1977 when
Carl Woese
recognised that archaea have a separate line of evolutionary descent from bacteria.
278
This new
phylogenetic
taxonomy
depended on the
sequencing
of
16S ribosomal RNA
and divided prokaryotes into two evolutionary domains, as part of the
three-domain system
10
See also
Bacteriohopanepolyol
Genetically modified bacteria
Marine prokaryotes
References
"31. Ancient Life: Apex Chert Microfossils"
www.lpi.usra.edu
. Retrieved
12 March
2022
Göker M, Oren A (January 2024).
"Valid publication of names of two domains and seven kingdoms of prokaryotes"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
74
(1).
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.006242
PMID
38252124
– this article represents the valid publication of the name Bacteria. Although Woese proposed the separation from Archaea in 1990, the name was not valid until this article from 2024, hence the date.
Parte AC, Sardà Carbasse J, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Reimer LC, Göker M (1 November 2020).
"List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
70
(11):
5607–
5612.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
PMC
7723251
PMID
32701423
[Bacteria, not assigned to family]
in
LPSN
Parte AC, Sardà Carbasse J, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Reimer LC, Göker M (1 November 2020).
"List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
70
(11):
5607–
5612.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
[Microvibrio]
in
LPSN
Parte AC, Sardà Carbasse J, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Reimer LC, Göker M (1 November 2020).
"List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
70
(11):
5607–
5612.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
[Pedodermatophilus]
in
LPSN
Parte AC, Sardà Carbasse J, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Reimer LC, Göker M (1 November 2020).
"List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
70
(11):
5607–
5612.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
[Pelosigma]
in
LPSN
Parte AC, Sardà Carbasse J, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Reimer LC, Göker M (1 November 2020).
"List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) moves to the DSMZ"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
70
(11):
5607–
5612.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.004332
Sender R, Fuchs S, Milo R (19 August 2016).
"Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body"
PLOS Biology
14
(8) e1002533.
doi
10.1371/journal.pbio.1002533
PMC
4991899
PMID
27541692
McCutcheon JP (October 2021).
"The Genomics and Cell Biology of Host-Beneficial Intracellular Infections"
Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
37
(1):
115–
142.
doi
10.1146/annurev-cellbio-120219-024122
PMID
34242059
Hall 2008
, p. 145.
Santhosh PB, Genova J (10 January 2023).
"Archaeosomes: New Generation of Liposomes Based on Archaeal Lipids for Drug Delivery and Biomedical Applications"
ACS Omega
(1):
1–
9.
doi
10.1021/acsomega.2c06034
PMC
9835528
PMID
36643444
Kessel M, Klink F (September 1980). "Archaebacterial elongation factor is ADP-ribosylated by diphtheria toxin".
Nature
287
(5779):
250–
251.
Bibcode
1980Natur.287..250K
doi
10.1038/287250a0
PMID
6776409
Falb M, Aivaliotis M, Garcia-Rizo C, Bisle B, Tebbe A, Klein C, et al. (October 2006). "Archaeal N-terminal Protein Maturation Commonly Involves N-terminal Acetylation: A Large-scale Proteomics Survey".
Journal of Molecular Biology
362
(5):
915–
924.
doi
10.1016/j.jmb.2006.07.086
PMID
16950390
Pan P, Gu Y, Sun DL, Wu QL, Zhou NY (May 2023).
"Microbial Diversity Biased Estimation Caused by Intragenomic Heterogeneity and Interspecific Conservation of 16S rRNA Genes"
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
89
(5) e02108-22: e0210822.
doi
10.1128/aem.02108-22
PMC
10231250
PMID
37129483
βακτήριον
Liddell, Henry George
Scott, Robert
A Greek–English Lexicon
at the
Perseus Project
βακτηρία
in
Liddell
and
Scott
Harper D.
"bacteria"
Online Etymology Dictionary
Krasner 2014
, p. 74.
Jensen PA (4 January 2025). "Ten species comprise half of the bacteriology literature, leaving most species unstudied".
bioRxiv
10.1101/2025.01.04.631297
Callaway E (23 January 2025). "These are the 20 most-studied bacteria — the majority have been ignored".
Nature
637
(8047):
770–
771.
Bibcode
2025Natur.637..770C
doi
10.1038/d41586-025-00038-x
PMID
39794431
Médigue C, Moszer I (December 2007).
"Annotation, comparison and databases for hundreds of bacterial genomes"
Research in Microbiology
158
(10):
724–
736.
doi
10.1016/j.resmic.2007.09.009
PMID
18031997
Woese CR, Kandler O, Wheelis ML (June 1990).
"Towards a natural system of organisms: proposal for the domains Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
87
(12):
4576–
79.
Bibcode
1990PNAS...87.4576W
doi
10.1073/pnas.87.12.4576
PMC
54159
PMID
2112744
Hall 2008
, p. 84.
Godoy-Vitorino F (July 2019).
"Human microbial ecology and the rising new medicine"
Annals of Translational Medicine
(14): 342.
doi
10.21037/atm.2019.06.56
PMC
6694241
PMID
31475212
Schopf JW (July 1994).
"Disparate rates, differing fates: tempo and mode of evolution changed from the Precambrian to the Phanerozoic"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
91
(15):
6735–
42.
Bibcode
1994PNAS...91.6735S
doi
10.1073/pnas.91.15.6735
PMC
44277
PMID
8041691
DeLong EF, Pace NR (August 2001). "Environmental diversity of bacteria and archaea".
Systematic Biology
50
(4):
470–
78.
CiteSeerX
10.1.1.321.8828
doi
10.1080/106351501750435040
PMID
12116647
Brown JR, Doolittle WF (December 1997).
"Archaea and the prokaryote-to-eukaryote transition"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
61
(4):
456–
502.
doi
10.1128/mmbr.61.4.456-502.1997
PMC
232621
PMID
9409149
Daum B, Gold V (June 2018). "Twitch or swim: towards the understanding of prokaryotic motion based on the type IV pilus blueprint".
Biological Chemistry
399
(7):
799–
808.
doi
10.1515/hsz-2018-0157
hdl
10871/33366
PMID
29894297
Di Giulio M (December 2003). "The universal ancestor and the ancestor of bacteria were hyperthermophiles".
Journal of Molecular Evolution
57
(6):
721–
30.
Bibcode
2003JMolE..57..721D
doi
10.1007/s00239-003-2522-6
PMID
14745541
Battistuzzi FU, Feijao A, Hedges SB (November 2004).
"A genomic timescale of prokaryote evolution: insights into the origin of methanogenesis, phototrophy, and the colonization of land"
BMC Evolutionary Biology
44.
doi
10.1186/1471-2148-4-44
PMC
533871
PMID
15535883
Homann M, Sansjofre P, Van Zuilen M, Heubeck C, Gong J, Killingsworth B, et al. (23 July 2018).
"Microbial life and biogeochemical cycling on land 3,220 million years ago"
(PDF)
Nature Geoscience
11
(9):
665–
671.
Bibcode
2018NatGe..11..665H
doi
10.1038/s41561-018-0190-9
Gabaldón T (October 2021). "Origin and Early Evolution of the Eukaryotic Cell".
Annual Review of Microbiology
75
(1):
631–
647.
doi
10.1146/annurev-micro-090817-062213
PMID
34343017
Callier V (8 June 2022).
"Mitochondria and the origin of eukaryotes"
Knowable Magazine
doi
10.1146/knowable-060822-2
Poole AM, Penny D (January 2007). "Evaluating hypotheses for the origin of eukaryotes".
BioEssays
29
(1):
74–
84.
Bibcode
2007BiEss..29...74P
doi
10.1002/bies.20516
PMID
17187354
Dyall SD, Brown MT, Johnson PJ (April 2004). "Ancient invasions: from endosymbionts to organelles".
Science
304
(5668):
253–
257.
Bibcode
2004Sci...304..253D
doi
10.1126/science.1094884
PMID
15073369
Katiyar SK, Visvesvara GS, Edlind TD (January 1995). "Comparisons of ribosomal RNA sequences from amitochondrial protozoa: implications for processing, mRNA binding and paromomycin susceptibility".
Gene
152
(1):
27–
33.
doi
10.1016/0378-1119(94)00677-K
PMID
7828924
Tůmová P, Voleman L, Klingl A, Nohýnková E, Wanner G, Doležal P (December 2021).
"Inheritance of the reduced mitochondria of Giardia intestinalis is coupled to the flagellar maturation cycle"
BMC Biology
19
(1) 193.
doi
10.1186/s12915-021-01129-7
PMC
8422661
PMID
34493257
Stephens TG, Gabr A, Calatrava V, Grossman AR, Bhattacharya D (September 2021).
"Why is primary endosymbiosis so rare?"
The New Phytologist
231
(5):
1693–
1699.
Bibcode
2021NewPh.231.1693S
doi
10.1111/nph.17478
PMC
8711089
PMID
34018613
Baker-Austin C, Dopson M (April 2007). "Life in acid: pH homeostasis in acidophiles".
Trends in Microbiology
15
(4):
165–
171.
doi
10.1016/j.tim.2007.02.005
PMID
17331729
Jeong SW, Choi YJ (October 2020).
"Extremophilic Microorganisms for the Treatment of Toxic Pollutants in the Environment"
Molecules
25
(21): 4916.
Bibcode
2020Molec..25.4916J
doi
10.3390/molecules25214916
PMC
7660605
PMID
33114255
Flemming HC, Wuertz S (April 2019). "Bacteria and archaea on Earth and their abundance in biofilms".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
17
(4):
247–
260.
doi
10.1038/s41579-019-0158-9
PMID
30760902
Bar-On YM, Phillips R, Milo R (June 2018).
"The biomass distribution on Earth"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
115
(25):
6506–
6511.
Bibcode
2018PNAS..115.6506B
doi
10.1073/pnas.1711842115
PMC
6016768
PMID
29784790
Wheelis 2008
, p. 362.
Kushkevych I, Procházka J, Gajdács M, Rittmann SK, Vítězová M (June 2021).
"Molecular Physiology of Anaerobic Phototrophic Purple and Green Sulfur Bacteria"
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
22
(12): 6398.
doi
10.3390/ijms22126398
PMC
8232776
PMID
34203823
Wheelis 2008
, p. 6.
Pommerville 2014
, pp. 3–6.
Krasner 2014
, p. 38.
Pommerville 2014
, p. 134.
Marion GM, Fritsen CH, Eicken H, Payne MC (December 2003). "The search for life on Europa: limiting environmental factors, potential habitats, and Earth analogues".
Astrobiology
(4):
785–
811.
Bibcode
2003AsBio...3..785M
doi
10.1089/153110703322736105
PMID
14987483
Heuer VB, Inagaki F, Morono Y, Kubo Y, Spivack AJ, Viehweger B, et al. (December 2020).
"Temperature limits to deep subseafloor life in the Nankai Trough subduction zone"
Science
370
(6521):
1230–
1234.
Bibcode
2020Sci...370.1230H
doi
10.1126/science.abd7934
hdl
2164/15700
PMID
33273103
Schulz HN, Jorgensen BB (2001). "Big bacteria".
Annual Review of Microbiology
55
105–
137.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.105
PMID
11544351
Williams C (2011). "Who are you calling simple?".
New Scientist
211
(2821):
38–
41.
doi
10.1016/S0262-4079(11)61709-0
Volland J, Gonzalez-Rizzo S, Gros O, Tyml T, Ivanova N, Schulz F, et al. (2022). "A centimeter-long bacterium with DNA contained in metabolically active, membrane-bound organelles".
Science
376
(6600):
1453–
1458.
Bibcode
2022Sci...376.1453V
doi
10.1126/science.abb3634
PMID
35737788
Sanderson K (June 2022). "Largest bacterium ever found is surprisingly complex".
Nature
doi
10.1038/d41586-022-01757-1
PMID
35750919
Robertson J, Gomersall M, Gill P (November 1975).
"Mycoplasma hominis: growth, reproduction, and isolation of small viable cells"
Journal of Bacteriology
124
(2):
1007–
1018.
doi
10.1128/JB.124.2.1007-1018.1975
PMC
235991
PMID
1102522
Velimirov B (2001).
"Nanobacteria, Ultramicrobacteria and Starvation Forms: A Search for the Smallest Metabolizing Bacterium"
Microbes and Environments
16
(2):
67–
77.
doi
10.1264/jsme2.2001.67
Dusenbery DB (2009).
Living at Micro Scale
. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press
. pp.
20–
25.
ISBN
978-0-674-03116-6
Yang DC, Blair KM, Salama NR (March 2016).
"Staying in Shape: the Impact of Cell Shape on Bacterial Survival in Diverse Environments"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
80
(1):
187–
203.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.00031-15
PMC
4771367
PMID
26864431
Cabeen MT, Jacobs-Wagner C (August 2005). "Bacterial cell shape".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
(8):
601–
10.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro1205
PMID
16012516
Young KD (September 2006).
"The selective value of bacterial shape"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
70
(3):
660–
703.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.00001-06
PMC
1594593
PMID
16959965
Crawford 2007
, p. xi.
Claessen D, Rozen DE, Kuipers OP, Søgaard-Andersen L, van Wezel GP (February 2014).
"Bacterial solutions to multicellularity: a tale of biofilms, filaments and fruiting bodies"
(PDF)
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
12
(2):
115–
24.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro3178
hdl
11370/0db66a9c-72ef-4e11-a75d-9d1e5827573d
PMID
24384602
Shimkets LJ (1999). "Intercellular signaling during fruiting-body development of Myxococcus xanthus".
Annual Review of Microbiology
53
525–
49.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.53.1.525
PMID
10547700
Kaiser D (2004). "Signaling in myxobacteria".
Annual Review of Microbiology
58
75–
98.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123620
PMID
15487930
Wheelis 2008
, p. 75.
Mandal A, Dutta A, Das R, Mukherjee J (June 2021). "Role of intertidal microbial communities in carbon dioxide sequestration and pollutant removal: A review".
Marine Pollution Bulletin
170
112626.
Bibcode
2021MarPB.17012626M
doi
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112626
PMID
34153859
Donlan RM (September 2002).
"Biofilms: microbial life on surfaces"
Emerging Infectious Diseases
(9):
881–
90.
doi
10.3201/eid0809.020063
PMC
2732559
PMID
12194761
Branda SS, Vik S, Friedman L, Kolter R (January 2005). "Biofilms: the matrix revisited".
Trends in Microbiology
13
(1):
20–
26.
doi
10.1016/j.tim.2004.11.006
PMID
15639628
Davey ME, O'toole GA (December 2000).
"Microbial biofilms: from ecology to molecular genetics"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
64
(4):
847–
67.
Bibcode
2000MMBR...64..847D
doi
10.1128/MMBR.64.4.847-867.2000
PMC
99016
PMID
11104821
Donlan RM, Costerton JW (April 2002).
"Biofilms: survival mechanisms of clinically relevant microorganisms"
Clinical Microbiology Reviews
15
(2):
167–
93.
doi
10.1128/CMR.15.2.167-193.2002
PMC
118068
PMID
11932229
Slonczewski JL, Foster JW (2013).
Microbiology: an Evolving Science
(Third ed.). New York: W W Norton. p. 82.
ISBN
978-0-393-12367-8
Feijoo-Siota L, Rama JL, Sánchez-Pérez A, Villa TG (July 2017). "Considerations on bacterial nucleoids".
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
101
(14):
5591–
602.
doi
10.1007/s00253-017-8381-7
PMID
28664324
Bobik TA (May 2006). "Polyhedral organelles compartmenting bacterial metabolic processes".
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
70
(5):
517–
25.
doi
10.1007/s00253-005-0295-0
PMID
16525780
Yeates TO, Kerfeld CA, Heinhorst S, Cannon GC, Shively JM (September 2008). "Protein-based organelles in bacteria: carboxysomes and related microcompartments".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
(9):
681–
91.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro1913
PMID
18679172
Kerfeld CA, Sawaya MR, Tanaka S, Nguyen CV, Phillips M, Beeby M, et al. (August 2005). "Protein structures forming the shell of primitive bacterial organelles".
Science
309
(5736):
936–
38.
Bibcode
2005Sci...309..936K
CiteSeerX
10.1.1.1026.896
doi
10.1126/science.1113397
PMID
16081736
Gitai Z (March 2005).
"The new bacterial cell biology: moving parts and subcellular architecture"
Cell
120
(5):
577–
86.
doi
10.1016/j.cell.2005.02.026
PMID
15766522
Shih YL, Rothfield L (September 2006).
"The bacterial cytoskeleton"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
70
(3):
729–
54.
Bibcode
2006MMBR...70..729S
doi
10.1128/MMBR.00017-06
PMC
1594594
PMID
16959967
Norris V, den Blaauwen T, Cabin-Flaman A, Doi RH, Harshey R, Janniere L, et al. (March 2007).
"Functional taxonomy of bacterial hyperstructures"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
71
(1):
230–
53.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.00035-06
PMC
1847379
PMID
17347523
Pommerville 2014
, pp. 120–121.
Bryant DA, Frigaard NU (November 2006). "Prokaryotic photosynthesis and phototrophy illuminated".
Trends in Microbiology
14
(11):
488–
96.
doi
10.1016/j.tim.2006.09.001
PMID
16997562
Psencík J, Ikonen TP, Laurinmäki P, Merckel MC, Butcher SJ, Serimaa RE, et al. (August 2004).
"Lamellar organization of pigments in chlorosomes, the light harvesting complexes of green photosynthetic bacteria"
Biophysical Journal
87
(2):
1165–
72.
Bibcode
2004BpJ....87.1165P
doi
10.1529/biophysj.104.040956
PMC
1304455
PMID
15298919
Thanbichler M, Wang SC, Shapiro L (October 2005).
"The bacterial nucleoid: a highly organized and dynamic structure"
Journal of Cellular Biochemistry
96
(3):
506–
21.
doi
10.1002/jcb.20519
PMID
15988757
Poehlsgaard J, Douthwaite S (November 2005). "The bacterial ribosome as a target for antibiotics".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
(11):
870–
81.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro1265
PMID
16261170
Prabhakar A, Choi J, Wang J, Petrov A, Puglisi JD (July 2017).
"Dynamic basis of fidelity and speed in translation: Coordinated multistep mechanisms of elongation and termination"
Protein Science : A Publication of the Protein Society
26
(7):
1352–
1362.
doi
10.1002/pro.3190
PMC
5477533
PMID
28480640
Yeo M, Chater K (March 2005).
"The interplay of glycogen metabolism and differentiation provides an insight into the developmental biology of Streptomyces coelicolor"
Microbiology
151
(Pt 3):
855–
61.
doi
10.1099/mic.0.27428-0
PMID
15758231
Shiba T, Tsutsumi K, Ishige K, Noguchi T (March 2000).
"Inorganic polyphosphate and polyphosphate kinase: their novel biological functions and applications"
Biochemistry. Biokhimiia
65
(3):
315–
23.
PMID
10739474
Archived
from the original on 25 September 2006.
Brune DC (June 1995). "Isolation and characterization of sulfur globule proteins from Chromatium vinosum and Thiocapsa roseopersicina".
Archives of Microbiology
163
(6):
391–
99.
Bibcode
1995ArMic.163..391B
doi
10.1007/BF00272127
PMID
7575095
Kadouri D, Jurkevitch E, Okon Y, Castro-Sowinski S (2005). "Ecological and agricultural significance of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates".
Critical Reviews in Microbiology
31
(2):
55–
67.
doi
10.1080/10408410590899228
PMID
15986831
Walsby AE (March 1994).
"Gas vesicles"
Microbiological Reviews
58
(1):
94–
144.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.58.1.94-144.1994
PMC
372955
PMID
8177173
van Heijenoort J (March 2001).
"Formation of the glycan chains in the synthesis of bacterial peptidoglycan"
Glycobiology
11
(3):
25R–
36R.
doi
10.1093/glycob/11.3.25R
PMID
11320055
Koch AL (October 2003).
"Bacterial wall as target for attack: past, present, and future research"
Clinical Microbiology Reviews
16
(4):
673–
87.
doi
10.1128/CMR.16.4.673-687.2003
PMC
207114
PMID
14557293
Gram HC
(1884). "Über die isolierte Färbung der Schizomyceten in Schnitt- und Trockenpräparaten".
Fortschr. Med
185–
89.
Hugenholtz P (2002).
"Exploring prokaryotic diversity in the genomic era"
Genome Biology
(2) REVIEWS0003.
doi
10.1186/gb-2002-3-2-reviews0003
PMC
139013
PMID
11864374
Walsh FM, Amyes SG (October 2004).
"Microbiology and drug resistance mechanisms of fully resistant pathogens"
(PDF)
Current Opinion in Microbiology
(5):
439–
44.
doi
10.1016/j.mib.2004.08.007
PMID
15451497
Alderwick LJ, Harrison J, Lloyd GS, Birch HL (March 2015).
"The Mycobacterial Cell Wall – Peptidoglycan and Arabinogalactan"
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
(8) a021113.
doi
10.1101/cshperspect.a021113
PMC
4526729
PMID
25818664
Fagan RP, Fairweather NF (March 2014).
"Biogenesis and functions of bacterial S-layers"
(PDF)
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
12
(3):
211–
22.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro3213
PMID
24509785
Thompson SA (December 2002).
"Campylobacter surface-layers (S-layers) and immune evasion"
Annals of Periodontology
(1):
43–
53.
doi
10.1902/annals.2002.7.1.43
PMC
2763180
PMID
16013216
Beveridge TJ, Pouwels PH, Sára M, Kotiranta A, Lounatmaa K, Kari K, et al. (June 1997). "Functions of S-layers".
FEMS Microbiology Reviews
20
1–
2):
99–
149.
Bibcode
1997FEMMR..20...99B
doi
10.1111/j.1574-6976.1997.tb00305.x
PMID
9276929
Kojima S, Blair DF (2004).
The Bacterial Flagellar Motor: Structure and Function of a Complex Molecular Machine
. International Review of Cytology. Vol. 233. pp.
93–
134.
doi
10.1016/S0074-7696(04)33003-2
ISBN
978-0-12-364637-8
PMID
15037363
Wheelis 2008
, p. 76.
Cheng RA, Wiedmann M (2020).
"Recent Advances in Our Understanding of the Diversity and Roles of Chaperone-Usher Fimbriae in Facilitating Salmonella Host and Tissue Tropism"
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
10
628043.
doi
10.3389/fcimb.2020.628043
PMC
7886704
PMID
33614531
Silverman PM (February 1997).
"Towards a structural biology of bacterial conjugation"
Molecular Microbiology
23
(3):
423–
29.
doi
10.1046/j.1365-2958.1997.2411604.x
PMID
9044277
Costa TR, Felisberto-Rodrigues C, Meir A, Prevost MS, Redzej A, Trokter M, et al. (June 2015). "Secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria: structural and mechanistic insights".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
13
(6):
343–
59.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro3456
PMID
25978706
Luong P, Dube DH (July 2021).
"Dismantling the bacterial glycocalyx: Chemical tools to probe, perturb, and image bacterial glycans"
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry
42
116268.
doi
10.1016/j.bmc.2021.116268
PMC
8276522
PMID
34130219
Stokes RW, Norris-Jones R, Brooks DE, Beveridge TJ, Doxsee D, Thorson LM (October 2004).
"The glycan-rich outer layer of the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis acts as an antiphagocytic capsule limiting the association of the bacterium with macrophages"
Infection and Immunity
72
(10):
5676–
86.
doi
10.1128/IAI.72.10.5676-5686.2004
PMC
517526
PMID
15385466
Kalscheuer R, Palacios A, Anso I, Cifuente J, Anguita J, Jacobs WR, et al. (July 2019).
"The Mycobacterium tuberculosis capsule: a cell structure with key implications in pathogenesis"
The Biochemical Journal
476
(14):
1995–
2016.
doi
10.1042/BCJ20190324
PMC
6698057
PMID
31320388
Jernigan JA, Stephens DS, Ashford DA, Omenaca C, Topiel MS, Galbraith M, et al. (2001).
"Bioterrorism-related inhalational anthrax: the first 10 cases reported in the United States"
Emerging Infectious Diseases
(6):
933–
44.
doi
10.3201/eid0706.010604
PMC
2631903
PMID
11747719
Nicholson WL, Munakata N, Horneck G, Melosh HJ, Setlow P (September 2000).
"Resistance of Bacillus endospores to extreme terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
64
(3):
548–
72.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.64.3.548-572.2000
PMC
99004
PMID
10974126
McKenney PT, Driks A, Eichenberger P (January 2013).
"The Bacillus subtilis endospore: assembly and functions of the multilayered coat"
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
11
(1):
33–
44.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro2921
PMC
9910062
PMID
23202530
Nicholson WL, Fajardo-Cavazos P, Rebeil R, Slieman TA, Riesenman PJ, Law JF, et al. (August 2002). "Bacterial endospores and their significance in stress resistance".
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
81
1–
4):
27–
32.
doi
10.1023/A:1020561122764
PMID
12448702
Vreeland RH, Rosenzweig WD, Powers DW (October 2000). "Isolation of a 250 million-year-old halotolerant bacterium from a primary salt crystal".
Nature
407
(6806):
897–
900.
Bibcode
2000Natur.407..897V
doi
10.1038/35038060
PMID
11057666
Cano RJ, Borucki MK (May 1995). "Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber".
Science
268
(5213):
1060–
64.
Bibcode
1995Sci...268.1060C
doi
10.1126/science.7538699
PMID
7538699
"Row over ancient bacteria"
BBC News
. 7 June 2001
. Retrieved
26 April
2020
Nicholson WL, Schuerger AC, Setlow P (April 2005). "The solar UV environment and bacterial spore UV resistance: considerations for Earth-to-Mars transport by natural processes and human spaceflight".
Mutation Research
571
1–
2):
249–
64.
Bibcode
2005MRFMM.571..249N
doi
10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2004.10.012
PMID
15748651
"Colonising the galaxy is hard. Why not send bacteria instead?"
The Economist
. 12 April 2018
. Retrieved
26 April
2020
Revitt-Mills SA, Vidor CJ, Watts TD, Lyras D, Rood JI, Adams V (May 2019).
"Virulence Plasmids of the Pathogenic Clostridia"
Microbiology Spectrum
(3) 7.3.7.
doi
10.1128/microbiolspec.GPP3-0034-2018
PMC
11257192
PMID
31111816
Reigadas E, van Prehn J, Falcone M, Fitzpatrick F, Vehreschild MJ, Kuijper EJ, et al. (July 2021).
"How to: prophylactic interventions for prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection"
Clinical Microbiology and Infection
27
(12):
1777–
1783.
doi
10.1016/j.cmi.2021.06.037
hdl
1887/3249077
PMID
34245901
Nealson KH (January 1999). "Post-Viking microbiology: new approaches, new data, new insights".
Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere
29
(1):
73–
93.
Bibcode
1999OLEB...29...73N
doi
10.1023/A:1006515817767
PMID
11536899
Xu J (June 2006).
"Microbial ecology in the age of genomics and metagenomics: concepts, tools, and recent advances"
Molecular Ecology
15
(7):
1713–
31.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02882.x
PMID
16689892
Zillig W (December 1991). "Comparative biochemistry of Archaea and Bacteria".
Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
(4):
544–
51.
doi
10.1016/S0959-437X(05)80206-0
PMID
1822288
Slonczewski JL, Foster JW.
Microbiology: An Evolving Science
(3 ed.). WW Norton & Company. pp.
491–
44.
Hellingwerf KJ, Crielaard W, Hoff WD, Matthijs HC, Mur LR, van Rotterdam BJ (1994).
"Photobiology of bacteria"
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
(Submitted manuscript).
65
(4):
331–
47.
doi
10.1007/BF00872217
PMID
7832590
Dalton H (June 2005).
"The Leeuwenhoek Lecture 2000 the natural and unnatural history of methane-oxidizing bacteria"
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
360
(1458):
1207–
22.
doi
10.1098/rstb.2005.1657
PMC
1569495
PMID
16147517
Imran A, Hakim S, Tariq M, Nawaz MS, Laraib I, Gulzar U, et al. (2021).
"Diazotrophs for Lowering Nitrogen Pollution Crises: Looking Deep Into the Roots"
Frontiers in Microbiology
12
637815.
doi
10.3389/fmicb.2021.637815
PMC
8180554
PMID
34108945
Zehr JP, Jenkins BD, Short SM, Steward GF (July 2003).
"Nitrogenase gene diversity and microbial community structure: a cross-system comparison"
Environmental Microbiology
(7):
539–
54.
Bibcode
2003EnvMi...5..539Z
doi
10.1046/j.1462-2920.2003.00451.x
PMID
12823187
Kosugi Y, Matsuura N, Liang Q, Yamamoto-Ikemoto R (October 2020). "Wastewater Treatment using the "Sulfate Reduction, DenitrificationAnammox and Partial Nitrification (SRDAPN)" Process".
Chemosphere
256
127092.
Bibcode
2020Chmsp.25627092K
doi
10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127092
PMID
32559887
Morel FM, Kraepiel AM, Amyot M (1998). "The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury".
Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics
29
(1):
543–
66.
Bibcode
1998AnRES..29..543M
doi
10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.543
Ślesak I, Kula M, Ślesak H, Miszalski Z, Strzałka K (August 2019).
"How to define obligatory anaerobiosis? An evolutionary view on the antioxidant response system and the early stages of the evolution of life on Earth"
Free Radical Biology & Medicine
140
61–
73.
doi
10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.03.004
PMID
30862543
Koch AL (2002). "Control of the bacterial cell cycle by cytoplasmic growth".
Critical Reviews in Microbiology
28
(1):
61–
77.
doi
10.1080/1040-840291046696
PMID
12003041
Pommerville 2014
, p. 138.
Pommerville 2014
, p. 557.
Wheelis 2008
, p. 42.
Thomson RB, Bertram H (December 2001). "Laboratory diagnosis of central nervous system infections".
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
15
(4):
1047–
71.
doi
10.1016/S0891-5520(05)70186-0
PMID
11780267
Paerl HW, Fulton RS, Moisander PH, Dyble J (April 2001).
"Harmful freshwater algal blooms, with an emphasis on cyanobacteria"
TheScientificWorldJournal
76–
113.
doi
10.1100/tsw.2001.16
PMC
6083932
PMID
12805693
Challis GL, Hopwood DA (November 2003).
"Synergy and contingency as driving forces for the evolution of multiple secondary metabolite production by Streptomyces species"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
100
(Suppl 2):
14555–
61.
Bibcode
2003PNAS..10014555C
doi
10.1073/pnas.1934677100
PMC
304118
PMID
12970466
Kooijman SA, Auger P, Poggiale JC, Kooi BW (August 2003). "Quantitative steps in symbiogenesis and the evolution of homeostasis".
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
78
(3):
435–
63.
doi
10.1017/S1464793102006127
PMID
14558592
Bertrand RL (2019).
"Lag Phase is a Dynamic, Organized, Adaptive, and Evolvable Period that Prepares Bacteria for Cell Division"
Journal of Bacteriology
201
(7): e00697-18.
Bibcode
2019JBact.20197.18B
doi
10.1128/JB.00697-18
PMC
6416914
PMID
30642990
Prats C, López D, Giró A, Ferrer J, Valls J (August 2006). "Individual-based modelling of bacterial cultures to study the microscopic causes of the lag phase".
Journal of Theoretical Biology
241
(4):
939–
53.
Bibcode
2006JThBi.241..939P
doi
10.1016/j.jtbi.2006.01.029
PMID
16524598
Hecker M, Völker U (2001).
General stress response of Bacillus subtilis and other bacteria
. Advances in Microbial Physiology. Vol. 44. pp.
35–
91.
doi
10.1016/S0065-2911(01)44011-2
ISBN
978-0-12-027744-5
PMID
11407115
Slonczewski JL, Foster JW.
Microbiology: An Evolving Science
(3 ed.). WW Norton & Company. p. 143.
Leppänen M, Sundberg LR, Laanto E, de Freitas Almeida GM, Papponen P, Maasilta IJ (August 2017).
"Imaging Bacterial Colonies and Phage-Bacterium Interaction at Sub-Nanometer Resolution Using Helium-Ion Microscopy"
Advanced Biosystems
(8) e1700070.
doi
10.1002/adbi.201700070
PMID
32646179
Nakabachi A, Yamashita A, Toh H, Ishikawa H, Dunbar HE, Moran NA, et al. (October 2006). "The 160-kilobase genome of the bacterial endosymbiont Carsonella".
Science
314
(5797): 267.
doi
10.1126/science.1134196
PMID
17038615
Pradella S, Hans A, Spröer C, Reichenbach H, Gerth K, Beyer S (December 2002). "Characterisation, genome size and genetic manipulation of the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum So ce56".
Archives of Microbiology
178
(6):
484–
92.
Bibcode
2002ArMic.178..484P
doi
10.1007/s00203-002-0479-2
PMID
12420170
Pal S, Sharma G, Subramanian S (September 2021).
"Complete genome sequence and identification of polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis genes of the myxobacterium Minicystis rosea DSM 24000T"
BMC Genomics
22
(1) 655.
doi
10.1186/s12864-021-07955-x
PMC
8436480
PMID
34511070
Hinnebusch J, Tilly K (December 1993).
"Linear plasmids and chromosomes in bacteria"
Molecular Microbiology
10
(5):
917–
22.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb00963.x
PMID
7934868
Lin YS, Kieser HM, Hopwood DA, Chen CW (December 1993). "The chromosomal DNA of Streptomyces lividans 66 is linear".
Molecular Microbiology
10
(5):
923–
33.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb00964.x
PMID
7934869
Val ME, Soler-Bistué A, Bland MJ, Mazel D (December 2014).
"Management of multipartite genomes: the Vibrio cholerae model"
Current Opinion in Microbiology
22
120–
26.
doi
10.1016/j.mib.2014.10.003
PMID
25460805
Jha JK, Baek JH, Venkova-Canova T, Chattoraj DK (July 2012).
"Chromosome dynamics in multichromosome bacteria"
Biochim Biophys Acta
1819
(7):
826–
9.
doi
10.1016/j.bbagrm.2012.01.012
PMC
3348396
PMID
22306663
Kado CI (October 2014). "Historical events that spawned the field of plasmid biology".
Microbiology Spectrum
(5) 2.5.30:
3–
11.
doi
10.1128/microbiolspec.PLAS-0019-2013
PMID
26104369
Chin-Hong P, Joyce EA, Karandikar M, Matloubian M, Rubio L, Schwartz BS, et al. (2024). "Chapter 4: Genetics".
Levinson's Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology: A Guide to Clinical Infectious Disease
(18th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Belfort M
, Reaban ME, Coetzee T, Dalgaard JZ (July 1995).
"Prokaryotic introns and inteins: a panoply of form and function"
Journal of Bacteriology
177
(14):
3897–
903.
doi
10.1128/jb.177.14.3897-3903.1995
PMC
177115
PMID
7608058
Denamur E, Matic I (May 2006).
"Evolution of mutation rates in bacteria"
Molecular Microbiology
60
(4):
820–
27.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05150.x
PMID
16677295
Wright BE (May 2004).
"Stress-directed adaptive mutations and evolution"
Molecular Microbiology
52
(3):
643–
50.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2004.04012.x
PMID
15101972
Chen I, Dubnau D (March 2004). "DNA uptake during bacterial transformation".
Nature Reviews. Microbiology
(3):
241–
49.
doi
10.1038/nrmicro844
PMID
15083159
Johnsborg O, Eldholm V, Håvarstein LS (December 2007). "Natural genetic transformation: prevalence, mechanisms and function".
Research in Microbiology
158
(10):
767–
78.
doi
10.1016/j.resmic.2007.09.004
PMID
17997281
Bernstein H, Bernstein C, Michod RE (2012). "DNA repair as the primary adaptive function of sex in bacteria and eukaryotes". Chapter 1: pp. 1–49 in:
DNA Repair: New Research
, Sakura Kimura and Sora Shimizu (eds.). Nova Sci. Publ., Hauppauge, NY
ISBN
978-1-62100-808-8
Brüssow H, Canchaya C, Hardt WD (September 2004).
"Phages and the evolution of bacterial pathogens: from genomic rearrangements to lysogenic conversion"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
68
(3):
560–
602, table of contents.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.68.3.560-602.2004
PMC
515249
PMID
15353570
Bickle TA, Krüger DH (June 1993).
"Biology of DNA restriction"
Microbiological Reviews
57
(2):
434–
50.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.57.2.434-450.1993
PMC
372918
PMID
8336674
Barrangou R, Fremaux C, Deveau H, Richards M, Boyaval P, Moineau S, et al. (March 2007). "CRISPR provides acquired resistance against viruses in prokaryotes".
Science
315
(5819):
1709–
12.
Bibcode
2007Sci...315.1709B
doi
10.1126/science.1138140
hdl
20.500.11794/38902
PMID
17379808
Brouns SJ, Jore MM, Lundgren M, Westra ER, Slijkhuis RJ, Snijders AP, et al. (August 2008).
"Small CRISPR RNAs guide antiviral defense in prokaryotes"
Science
321
(5891):
960–
64.
Bibcode
2008Sci...321..960B
doi
10.1126/science.1159689
PMC
5898235
PMID
18703739
Cabezón E, Ripoll-Rozada J, Peña A, de la Cruz F, Arechaga I (January 2015).
"Towards an integrated model of bacterial conjugation"
FEMS Microbiology Reviews
39
(1):
81–
95.
doi
10.1111/1574-6976.12085
PMID
25154632
Michod RE, Bernstein H, Nedelcu AM (May 2008).
"Adaptive value of sex in microbial pathogens"
(PDF)
Infection, Genetics and Evolution
(3):
267–
85.
Bibcode
2008InfGE...8..267M
doi
10.1016/j.meegid.2008.01.002
PMID
18295550
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 30 December 2016.
Hastings PJ, Rosenberg SM, Slack A (September 2004). "Antibiotic-induced lateral transfer of antibiotic resistance".
Trends in Microbiology
12
(9):
401–
14.
Bibcode
2004TrMic..12..401H
doi
10.1016/j.tim.2004.07.003
PMID
15337159
Davison J (September 1999). "Genetic exchange between bacteria in the environment".
Plasmid
42
(2):
73–
91.
doi
10.1006/plas.1999.1421
PMID
10489325
Kim KW (December 2017). "Electron microscopic observations of prokaryotic surface appendages".
Journal of Microbiology
55
(12):
919–
26.
doi
10.1007/s12275-017-7369-4
PMID
29214488
Macnab RM (December 1999).
"The bacterial flagellum: reversible rotary propellor and type III export apparatus"
Journal of Bacteriology
181
(23):
7149–
53.
doi
10.1128/JB.181.23.7149-7153.1999
PMC
103673
PMID
10572114
Wu M, Roberts JW, Kim S, Koch DL, DeLisa MP (July 2006).
"Collective bacterial dynamics revealed using a three-dimensional population-scale defocused particle tracking technique"
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
72
(7):
4987–
94.
Bibcode
2006ApEnM..72.4987W
doi
10.1128/AEM.00158-06
PMC
1489374
PMID
16820497
Mattick JS (2002). "Type IV pili and twitching motility".
Annual Review of Microbiology
56
289–
314.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.56.012302.160938
PMID
12142488
Merz AJ, So M, Sheetz MP (September 2000). "Pilus retraction powers bacterial twitching motility".
Nature
407
(6800):
98–
102.
Bibcode
2000Natur.407...98M
doi
10.1038/35024105
PMID
10993081
Lux R, Shi W (July 2004). "Chemotaxis-guided movements in bacteria".
Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine
15
(4):
207–
20.
doi
10.1177/154411130401500404
PMID
15284186
Schweinitzer T, Josenhans C (July 2010).
"Bacterial energy taxis: a global strategy?"
Archives of Microbiology
192
(7):
507–
20.
Bibcode
2010ArMic.192..507S
doi
10.1007/s00203-010-0575-7
PMC
2886117
PMID
20411245
Frankel RB, Bazylinski DA, Johnson MS, Taylor BL (August 1997).
"Magneto-aerotaxis in marine coccoid bacteria"
Biophysical Journal
73
(2):
994–
1000.
Bibcode
1997BpJ....73..994F
doi
10.1016/S0006-3495(97)78132-3
PMC
1180996
PMID
9251816
Nan B, Zusman DR (2011).
"Uncovering the mystery of gliding motility in the myxobacteria"
Annual Review of Genetics
45
21–
39.
doi
10.1146/annurev-genet-110410-132547
PMC
3397683
PMID
21910630
Goldberg MB (December 2001).
"Actin-based motility of intracellular microbial pathogens"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
65
(4):
595–
626, table of contents.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.65.4.595-626.2001
PMC
99042
PMID
11729265
Calcagnile M, Tredici SM, Talà A, Alifano P (December 2019).
"Bacterial Semiochemicals and Transkingdom Interactions with Insects and Plants"
Insects
10
(12): 441.
doi
10.3390/insects10120441
PMC
6955855
PMID
31817999
Shapiro JA (1998).
"Thinking about bacterial populations as multicellular organisms"
(PDF)
Annual Review of Microbiology
52
81–
104.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.52.1.81
PMID
9891794
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 17 July 2011.
Costerton JW, Lewandowski Z, Caldwell DE, Korber DR, Lappin-Scott HM (1995). "Microbial biofilms".
Annual Review of Microbiology
49
711–
45.
doi
10.1146/annurev.mi.49.100195.003431
PMID
8561477
Soto-Aceves MP, Diggle SP, Greenberg EP (2023).
"Microbial Primer: LuxR-LuxI Quorum Sensing"
Microbiology
169
(9): 001343.
doi
10.1099/mic.0.001343
ISSN
1465-2080
PMC
10569067
PMID
37655474
Whiteley M, Diggle SP, Greenberg EP (2017).
"Progress in and promise of bacterial quorum sensing research"
Nature
551
(7680):
313–
320.
Bibcode
2017Natur.551..313W
doi
10.1038/nature24624
ISSN
1476-4687
PMC
5870893
PMID
29144467
Azimi S, Klementiev AD, Whiteley M, Diggle SP (8 September 2020). "Bacterial Quorum Sensing During Infection".
Annual Review of Microbiology
74
201–
219.
doi
10.1146/annurev-micro-032020-093845
ISSN
1545-3251
PMID
32660382
Miller DP, Lamont RJ (2019). "Signaling Systems in Oral Bacteria".
Oral Mucosal Immunity and Microbiome
. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Vol. 1197. pp.
27–
43.
doi
10.1007/978-3-030-28524-1_3
ISBN
978-3-030-28523-4
PMID
31732932
Abisado RG, Benomar S, Klaus JR, Dandekar AA, Chandler JR (May 2018).
"Bacterial Quorum sensing and microbial community interactions"
mBio
(3) e02331-17.
Bibcode
2018mBio....931.17A
doi
10.1128/mBio.02331-17
PMC
5964356
PMID
29789364
Miller MB, Bassler BL (2001). "Quorum sensing in bacteria".
Annual Review of Microbiology
55
165–
99.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.165
PMID
11544353
Zhu Q, Mai U, Pfeiffer W, Janssen S, Asnicar F, Sanders JG, et al. (December 2019).
"Phylogenomics of 10,575 genomes reveals evolutionary proximity between domains Bacteria and Archaea"
Nature Communications
10
(1) 5477.
Bibcode
2019NatCo..10.5477Z
doi
10.1038/s41467-019-13443-4
PMC
6889312
PMID
31792218
Boucher Y, Douady CJ, Papke RT, Walsh DA, Boudreau ME, Nesbø CL, et al. (2003). "Lateral gene transfer and the origins of prokaryotic groups".
Annual Review of Genetics
37
283–
328.
doi
10.1146/annurev.genet.37.050503.084247
PMID
14616063
Olsen GJ, Woese CR, Overbeek R (January 1994).
"The winds of (evolutionary) change: breathing new life into microbiology"
Journal of Bacteriology
176
(1):
1–
6.
doi
10.2172/205047
PMC
205007
PMID
8282683
Garrity GM, Lilburn TG, Cole JR, Harrison SH, Euzeby J, Tindall BJ (2007). Lilburn T, Harrison S, Euzéby J, Tindall B (eds.).
Taxonomic Outline of the Bacteria and Archaea, Release 7.7
. Michigan State University Board of Trustees.
doi
10.1601/TOBA7.7
Hedlund BP, Dodsworth JA, Staley JT (June 2015). "The changing landscape of microbial biodiversity exploration and its implications for systematics".
Systematic and Applied Microbiology
38
(4):
231–
36.
Bibcode
2015SyApM..38..231H
doi
10.1016/j.syapm.2015.03.003
PMID
25921438
Schizomycetes
". Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. Accessed 3 August 2021.
Brown MM, Horswill AR (November 2020).
"Staphylococcus epidermidis-Skin friend or foe?"
PLOS Pathogens
16
(11) e1009026.
doi
10.1371/journal.ppat.1009026
PMC
7660545
PMID
33180890
Gupta RS (2000). "The natural evolutionary relationships among prokaryotes".
Critical Reviews in Microbiology
26
(2):
111–
31.
CiteSeerX
10.1.1.496.1356
doi
10.1080/10408410091154219
PMID
10890353
Rappé MS, Giovannoni SJ (2003). "The uncultured microbial majority".
Annual Review of Microbiology
57
369–
94.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.57.030502.090759
PMID
14527284
Doolittle RF (June 2005). "Evolutionary aspects of whole-genome biology".
Current Opinion in Structural Biology
15
(3):
248–
53.
doi
10.1016/j.sbi.2005.04.001
PMID
15963888
Cavalier-Smith T (January 2002). "The neomuran origin of archaebacteria, the negibacterial root of the universal tree and bacterial megaclassification".
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
52
(Pt 1):
7–
76.
Bibcode
2002IJSEM..52....7C
doi
10.1099/00207713-52-1-7
PMID
11837318
Pommerville 2014
, p. 15−31.
Riley LW (November 2018).
"Laboratory Methods in Molecular Epidemiology: Bacterial Infections"
Microbiology Spectrum
(6) 6.6.04.
doi
10.1128/microbiolspec.AME-0004-2018
PMC
11633637
PMID
30387415
Krasner 2014
, p. 77.
Woods GL, Walker DH (July 1996).
"Detection of infection or infectious agents by use of cytologic and histologic stains"
Clinical Microbiology Reviews
(3):
382–
404.
doi
10.1128/CMR.9.3.382
PMC
172900
PMID
8809467
Krasner 2014
, pp. 87–89.
Weinstein MP (March 1994). "Clinical importance of blood cultures".
Clinics in Laboratory Medicine
14
(1):
9–
16.
doi
10.1016/S0272-2712(18)30390-1
PMID
8181237
Tang S, Orsi RH, Luo H, Ge C, Zhang G, Baker RC, et al. (2019).
"Assessment and Comparison of Molecular Subtyping and Characterization Methods for Salmonella"
Frontiers in Microbiology
10
1591.
doi
10.3389/fmicb.2019.01591
PMC
6639432
PMID
31354679
Lenkowski M, Nijakowski K, Kaczmarek M, Surdacka A (March 2021).
"The Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Technique in Periodontal Diagnostics: A Systematic Review"
Journal of Clinical Medicine
10
(6): 1189.
doi
10.3390/jcm10061189
PMC
8000232
PMID
33809163
Alizadeh M, Yousefi L, Pakdel F, Ghotaslou R, Rezaee MA, Khodadadi E, et al. (2021).
"MALDI-TOF Mass Spectroscopy Applications in Clinical Microbiology"
Advances in Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences
2021
9928238.
doi
10.1155/2021/9928238
PMC
8121603
PMID
34041492
Dudek NK, Sun CL, Burstein D (2017).
"Novel Microbial Diversity and Functional Potential in the Marine Mammal Oral Microbiome"
Current Biology
27
(24):
3752–
62.
Bibcode
2017CBio...27E3752D
doi
10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.040
OSTI
1479361
PMID
29153320
Louie M, Louie L, Simor AE (August 2000).
"The role of DNA amplification technology in the diagnosis of infectious diseases"
CMAJ
163
(3):
301–
09.
doi
10.1016/s1381-1169(00)00220-x
PMC
80298
PMID
10951731
Oliver JD (February 2005).
"The viable but nonculturable state in bacteria"
Journal of Microbiology
. 43 Spec No:
93–
100.
PMID
15765062
. Archived from
the original
on 28 September 2007.
Curtis TP, Sloan WT, Scannell JW (August 2002).
"Estimating prokaryotic diversity and its limits"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
99
(16):
10494–
99.
Bibcode
2002PNAS...9910494C
doi
10.1073/pnas.142680199
PMC
124953
PMID
12097644
Schloss PD, Handelsman J (December 2004).
"Status of the microbial census"
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
68
(4):
686–
91.
doi
10.1128/MMBR.68.4.686-691.2004
PMC
539005
PMID
15590780
Oren A, Garrity GM (2021). "Valid publication of the names of forty-two phyla of prokaryotes".
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol
71
(10): 5056.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.005056
PMID
34694987
Katayama T, Nobu MK, Kamagata Y, Tamaki H (2024).
"Fidelibacter multiformis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from a deep subsurface aquifer and proposal of Fidelibacterota phyl. nov., formerly called Marine Group A, SAR406 or Candidatus Marinimicrobia"
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
74
(10): 006558.
doi
10.1099/ijsem.0.006558
PMC
11652737
PMID
39465541
Fisher B, Harvey RP, Champe PC (2007). "Chapter 33".
Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews: Microbiology (Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews Series)
. Hagerstwon, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp.
367–
92.
ISBN
978-0-7817-8215-9
Mushegian AA, Ebert D (January 2016). "Rethinking "mutualism" in diverse host-symbiont communities".
BioEssays
38
(1):
100–
8.
Bibcode
2016BiEss..38..100M
doi
10.1002/bies.201500074
PMID
26568407
Harper D.
"commensalism"
Online Etymology Dictionary
Sears CL (October 2005). "A dynamic partnership: celebrating our gut flora".
Anaerobe
11
(5):
247–
51.
Bibcode
2005Anaer..11..247S
doi
10.1016/j.anaerobe.2005.05.001
PMID
16701579
Khan R, Petersen FC, Shekhar S (2019).
"Commensal Bacteria: An Emerging Player in Defense Against Respiratory Pathogens"
Frontiers in Immunology
10
1203.
doi
10.3389/fimmu.2019.01203
PMC
6554327
PMID
31214175
Roscoe DL, Chow AW (March 1988). "Normal flora and mucosal immunity of the head and neck".
Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
(1):
1–
19.
doi
10.1016/S0891-5520(20)30163-X
PMID
3074102
Shiao SL, Kershaw KM, Limon JJ, You S, Yoon J, Ko EY, et al. (July 2021).
"Commensal bacteria and fungi differentially regulate tumor responses to radiation therapy"
Cancer Cell
39
(9): 1202–1213.e6.
doi
10.1016/j.ccell.2021.07.002
PMC
8830498
PMID
34329585
Lyapichev KA, Ivashkevich Y, Chernov Y, Chinenov D, Shpot E, Bessonov AA, et al. (2021).
"MALT Lymphoma of the Urinary Bladder Shows a Dramatic Female Predominance, Uneven Geographic Distribution, and Possible Infectious Etiology"
Research and Reports in Urology
13
49–
62.
doi
10.2147/RRU.S283366
PMC
7873029
PMID
33575225
Eleyan L, Khan AA, Musollari G, Chandiramani AS, Shaikh S, Salha A, et al. (April 2021). "Infective endocarditis in paediatric population".
European Journal of Pediatrics
180
(10):
3089–
3100.
doi
10.1007/s00431-021-04062-7
PMID
33852085
Martin MO (September 2002). "Predatory prokaryotes: an emerging research opportunity".
Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology
(5):
467–
77.
PMID
12432957
Velicer GJ, Stredwick KL (August 2002). "Experimental social evolution with Myxococcus xanthus".
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
81
1–
4):
155–
64.
doi
10.1023/A:1020546130033
PMID
12448714
Bauer A, Forchhammer K (May 2021).
"Bacterial Predation on Cyanobacteria"
Microbial Physiology
31
(2):
99–
108.
doi
10.1159/000516427
PMID
34010833
Velicer GJ, Mendes-Soares H (January 2009).
"Bacterial predators"
Current Biology
19
(2): R55–56.
Bibcode
2009CBio...19..R55V
doi
10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.043
PMID
19174136
Stams AJ, de Bok FA, Plugge CM, van Eekert MH, Dolfing J, Schraa G (March 2006). "Exocellular electron transfer in anaerobic microbial communities".
Environmental Microbiology
(3):
371–
82.
Bibcode
2006EnvMi...8..371S
doi
10.1111/j.1462-2920.2006.00989.x
PMID
16478444
Zinser ER (August 2018). "Cross-protection from hydrogen peroxide by helper microbes: the impacts on the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus and other beneficiaries in marine communities".
Environmental Microbiology Reports
10
(4):
399–
411.
Bibcode
2018EnvMR..10..399Z
doi
10.1111/1758-2229.12625
PMID
29411546
Barea JM, Pozo MJ, Azcón R, Azcón-Aguilar C (July 2005).
"Microbial co-operation in the rhizosphere"
Journal of Experimental Botany
56
(417):
1761–
78.
doi
10.1093/jxb/eri197
PMID
15911555
O'Hara AM, Shanahan F (July 2006).
"The gut flora as a forgotten organ"
EMBO Reports
(7):
688–
93.
doi
10.1038/sj.embor.7400731
PMC
1500832
PMID
16819463
Zoetendal EG, Vaughan EE, de Vos WM (March 2006).
"A microbial world within us"
Molecular Microbiology
59
(6):
1639–
50.
doi
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05056.x
PMID
16553872
Gorbach SL
(February 1990). "Lactic acid bacteria and human health".
Annals of Medicine
22
(1):
37–
41.
doi
10.3109/07853899009147239
PMID
2109988
Salminen SJ, Gueimonde M, Isolauri E (May 2005). "Probiotics that modify disease risk".
The Journal of Nutrition
135
(5):
1294–
98.
doi
10.1093/jn/135.5.1294
PMID
15867327
Watanabe F, Bito T (January 2018).
"Vitamin B12 sources and microbial interaction"
Experimental Biology and Medicine
243
(2):
148–
58.
Bibcode
2018ExpBM.243..148W
doi
10.1177/1535370217746612
PMC
5788147
PMID
29216732
Pommerville 2014
, pp. 16–21.
Clark 2010
, p. 215.
Wheelis 2008
, p. 44.
Clark 2010
, pp. 30, 195, 233, 236.
Miller AK, Williams SM (July 2021).
"Helicobacter pylori infection causes both protective and deleterious effects in human health and disease"
Genes and Immunity
22
(4):
218–
226.
doi
10.1038/s41435-021-00146-4
PMC
8390445
PMID
34244666
Schwarz S, Enne VI, van Duijkeren E (October 2016).
"40 years of veterinary papers in JAC – what have we learnt?"
The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
71
(10):
2681–
90.
doi
10.1093/jac/dkw363
PMID
27660260
Fish DN (February 2002).
"Optimal antimicrobial therapy for sepsis"
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
59
(Suppl 1): S13–19.
doi
10.1093/ajhp/59.suppl_1.S13
PMID
11885408
Belland RJ, Ouellette SP, Gieffers J, Byrne GI (February 2004). "Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis".
Cellular Microbiology
(2):
117–
27.
doi
10.1046/j.1462-5822.2003.00352.x
PMID
14706098
Letizia M, Diggle SP, Whiteley M (2025).
"Pseudomonas aeruginosa: ecology, evolution, pathogenesis and antimicrobial susceptibility"
Nature Reviews Microbiology
23
(11):
701–
717.
doi
10.1038/s41579-025-01193-8
ISSN
1740-1534
PMID
40442328
Heise ER (February 1982).
"Diseases associated with immunosuppression"
Environmental Health Perspectives
43
9–
19.
JSTOR
3429162
PMC
1568899
PMID
7037390
Saiman L (2004). "Microbiology of early CF lung disease".
Paediatric Respiratory Reviews
(Suppl A): S367–69.
doi
10.1016/S1526-0542(04)90065-6
PMID
14980298
Pommerville 2014
, p. 118.
Pommerville 2014
, pp. 646–47.
Krasner 2014
, pp. 165, 369.
Yonath A, Bashan A (2004). "Ribosomal crystallography: initiation, peptide bond formation, and amino acid polymerization are hampered by antibiotics".
Annual Review of Microbiology
58
233–
51.
doi
10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123822
PMID
15487937
Khachatourians GG (November 1998).
"Agricultural use of antibiotics and the evolution and transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria"
CMAJ
159
(9):
1129–
36.
PMC
1229782
PMID
9835883
Kuo J (October 2017).
"Disinfection Processes"
Water Environment Research
89
(10):
1206–
44.
Bibcode
2017WaEnR..89.1206K
doi
10.2175/106143017X15023776270278
PMID
28954657
Johnson ME, Lucey JA (April 2006).
"Major technological advances and trends in cheese"
Journal of Dairy Science
89
(4):
1174–
78.
doi
10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(06)72186-5
PMID
16537950
Krasner 2014
, pp. 25–26.
Cohen Y (December 2002).
"Bioremediation of oil by marine microbial mats"
International Microbiology
(4):
189–
93.
doi
10.1007/s10123-002-0089-5
PMID
12497184
Neves LC, Miyamura TT, Moraes DA, Penna TC, Converti A (2006). "Biofiltration methods for the removal of phenolic residues".
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology
129–
132 (
1–
3):
130–
52.
doi
10.1385/ABAB:129:1:130
PMID
16915636
Liese A, Filho MV (December 1999). "Production of fine chemicals using biocatalysis".
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
10
(6):
595–
603.
doi
10.1016/S0958-1669(99)00040-3
PMID
10600695
Aronson AI, Shai Y (February 2001).
"Why Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal toxins are so effective: unique features of their mode of action"
FEMS Microbiology Letters
195
(1):
1–
8.
Bibcode
2001FEMML.195....1A
doi
10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10489.x
PMID
11166987
Bozsik A (July 2006). "Susceptibility of adult Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to insecticides with different modes of action".
Pest Management Science
62
(7):
651–
54.
Bibcode
2006PMSci..62..651B
doi
10.1002/ps.1221
PMID
16649191
Chattopadhyay A, Bhatnagar NB, Bhatnagar R (2004). "Bacterial insecticidal toxins".
Critical Reviews in Microbiology
30
(1):
33–
54.
doi
10.1080/10408410490270712
PMID
15116762
Serres MH, Gopal S, Nahum LA, Liang P, Gaasterland T, Riley M (2001).
"A functional update of the Escherichia coli K-12 genome"
Genome Biology
(9) research0035.1.
doi
10.1186/gb-2001-2-9-research0035
PMC
56896
PMID
11574054
Almaas E, Kovács B, Vicsek T, Oltvai ZN, Barabási AL (February 2004). "Global organization of metabolic fluxes in the bacterium Escherichia coli".
Nature
427
(6977):
839–
43.
arXiv
q-bio/0403001
Bibcode
2004Natur.427..839A
doi
10.1038/nature02289
PMID
14985762
Reed JL, Vo TD, Schilling CH, Palsson BO (2003).
"An expanded genome-scale model of Escherichia coli K-12 (iJR904 GSM/GPR)"
Genome Biology
(9) R54.
Bibcode
2003GenBi...4..R54R
doi
10.1186/gb-2003-4-9-r54
PMC
193654
PMID
12952533
Walsh G (April 2005). "Therapeutic insulins and their large-scale manufacture".
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
67
(2):
151–
59.
doi
10.1007/s00253-004-1809-x
PMID
15580495
Graumann K, Premstaller A (February 2006). "Manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins in microbial systems".
Biotechnology Journal
(2):
164–
86.
doi
10.1002/biot.200500051
PMID
16892246
Rabsch W, Helm RA, Eisenstark A (February 2004).
"Diversity of phage types among archived cultures of the Demerec collection of
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium strains"
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
70
(2):
664–
69.
Bibcode
2004ApEnM..70..664R
doi
10.1128/aem.70.2.664-669.2004
PMC
348941
PMID
14766539
Wheelis 2008
Asimov I
(1982).
Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
(2nd ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company. p. 143.
Pommerville 2014
, p. 7.
Ehrenberg CG (1828).
Symbolae Physioe. Animalia evertebrata
. Berlin: Decas prima.
Breed RS, Conn HJ (May 1936).
"The Status of the Generic Term Bacterium Ehrenberg 1828"
Journal of Bacteriology
31
(5):
517–
18.
doi
10.1128/jb.31.5.517-518.1936
PMC
543738
PMID
16559906
Ehrenberg CG (1835).
Dritter Beitrag zur Erkenntniss grosser Organisation in der Richtung des kleinsten Raumes
Third contribution to the knowledge of great organization in the direction of the smallest space
] (in German). Berlin: Physikalische Abhandlungen der Koeniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp.
143–
336.
OCLC
183145833
"Pasteur's Papers on the Germ Theory"
. LSU Law Center's Medical and Public Health Law Site, Historic Public Health Articles.
Archived
from the original on 18 December 2006
. Retrieved
23 November
2006
Strochlic N (6 March 2020).
'Wash your hands' was once controversial medical advice"
History
. Archived from
the original
on 11 August 2023.
"The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1905"
. Nobelprize.org.
Archived
from the original on 10 December 2006
. Retrieved
22 November
2006
O'Brien SJ, Goedert JJ (October 1996).
"HIV causes AIDS: Koch's postulates fulfilled"
Current Opinion in Immunology
(5):
613–
18.
doi
10.1016/S0952-7915(96)80075-6
PMID
8902385
Chung KT.
"Ferdinand Julius Cohn (1828–1898): Pioneer of Bacteriology"
(PDF)
. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Sciences, The University of Memphis.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 27 July 2011.
Drews, Gerhart (1999).
"Ferdinand Cohn, a founder of modern microbiology"
(PDF)
ASM News
65
(8):
547–
52. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 13 July 2017.
Thurston AJ (December 2000).
"Of blood, inflammation and gunshot wounds: the history of the control of sepsis"
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery
70
(12):
855–
61.
doi
10.1046/j.1440-1622.2000.01983.x
PMID
11167573
Schwartz RS (March 2004). "Paul Ehrlich's magic bullets".
The New England Journal of Medicine
350
(11):
1079–
80.
doi
10.1056/NEJMp048021
PMID
15014180
"Biography of Paul Ehrlich"
. Nobelprize.org.
Archived
from the original on 28 November 2006
. Retrieved
26 November
2006
Woese CR, Fox GE (November 1977).
"Phylogenetic structure of the prokaryotic domain: the primary kingdoms"
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
74
(11):
5088–
90.
Bibcode
1977PNAS...74.5088W
doi
10.1073/pnas.74.11.5088
PMC
432104
PMID
270744
Bibliography
Clark D (2010).
Germs, Genes, & Civilization: how epidemics shaped who we are today
. Upper Saddle River, N.J: FT Press.
ISBN
978-0-13-701996-0
OCLC
473120711
Crawford D (2007).
Deadly Companions: how microbes shaped our history
. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-956144-5
OCLC
183198723
Hall B (2008).
Strickberger's Evolution: the integration of genes, organisms and populations
. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
ISBN
978-0-7637-0066-9
OCLC
85814089
Krasner R (2014).
The Microbial Challenge: a public health perspective
. Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
ISBN
978-1-4496-7375-8
OCLC
794228026
Pommerville JC (2014).
Fundamentals of Microbiology
(10th ed.). Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
ISBN
978-1-284-03968-9
Wheelis M (2008).
Principles of modern microbiology
. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
ISBN
978-0-7637-1075-0
OCLC
67392796
External links
On-line text book on bacteriology (2015)
Archived
13 September 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
Prokaryotes
Bacteria
classification
Domain
Archaea
Bacteria
Eukaryota
(major groups
Metamonada
Discoba
Diaphoretickes
Hacrobia
Cryptista
Rhizaria
Alveolata
Stramenopiles
Plants
Amorphea
Amoebozoa
Opisthokonta
Animalia
Fungi
Mesomycetozoea
Candidate Phyla
Radiation
Elulimicrobiota
"Elulimicrobia"
Minisyncoccota
"Absconditibacteria"
"Andersenbacteria"
"Berkelbacteria"
"Baikalibacteria"
"Dojkabacteriia"
"Doudnabacteria"
"Gracilibacteriia"
"Howlettbacteria"
"Katanibacteriia"
"Kazanbacteria"
"Microgenomatia"
Minisyncoccia
"Patescibacteriia"
Saccharimonadia
"Torokbacteria"
"Wirthbacteria"
Thermotogati
Bipolaricaulota
Acetithermia
"Bipolaricaulia"
Deinococcota
Deinococcia
"Synergistetes"
Atribacterota
Atribacteria
"Phoenicimicrobiia"
Synergistota
Synergistia
"Thermocalda"
Caldisericota
Caldisericia
Coprothermobacterota
Coprothermobacteria
Dictyoglomerota
Dictyoglomeria
Lithacetigenota
"Lithacetigenia"
Thermodesulfobiota
"Thermodesulfobiia"
Thermotogota
"Thermotogia"
Zhurongbacterota
Bacillati
Actinomycetota
Acidimicrobiia
Actinomycetes
"Aquicultoria"
Coriobacteriia
"Geothermincolia"
"Humimicrobiia"
Nitriliruptoria
Rubrobacteria
Thermoleophilia
Armatimonadota
"Abditibacteriia"
Armatimonadia
Chthonomonadia
"Fervidibacteria"
Fimbriimonadia
"Heboniibacteriia"
"Zipacnadia"
Chloroflexota
"Caldilineia"
Chloroflexia
Dehalococcoidia
"Dormibacteria"
Ktedonobacteria
"Limnocylindria"
"Martimicrobiia"
"Poriflexia"
"Spiritibacteria"
"Tarhunnaeia"
"Uliximicrobiia"
Sysuimicrobiota
"Sysuimicrobiia"
Vulcanimicrobiota
Vulcanimicrobiia
Xenobiia
"Cyanoprokaryota"
Cyanobacteriota
Cyanophyceae
"Sericytochromatia"
Vampirovibrionophyceae
Margulisiibacteriota
"Marinamargulisbacteria"
"Riflemargulisbacteria"
"Saganbacteria"
"Termititenacia"
"Firmicutes"
Bacillota
Bacillia
Bacillota D
"Dethiobacteria"
Natranaerobiia
"Proteinivoracia"
Bacillota E
"Fermentithermobacillia"
Sulfobacillia
Symbiobacteriia
Thermaerobacteria
Bacillota G
"Hydrogenisporia"
Limnochordia
"Clostridiota"
Clostridiia
"Thermoanaerobacteria"
Thermosediminibacteria
Desulfotomaculota
"Carboxydocellia"
"Carboxydothermia"
"Dehalobacteriia"
Desulfitobacteriia
Desulfotomaculia
"Moorellia"
Peptococcia
Syntrophomonadia
"Thermacetogeniia"
Thermincolia
"Halanaerobiaeota"
Halanaerobiia
"Selenobacteria"
Selenomonadia
Pseudomonadati
Sphingobacteria
Bacteroidota
Bacteroidia
Chlorobiia
Ignavibacteriia
"Kapaibacteria"
"Kryptoniia"
Rhodothermia
Calditrichota
Calditrichia
Cloacimonadota
"Cloacimonadia"
Cosmopoliota
"Cosmopolitia"
Delongiibacteriota
Edwardsiibacteriota
Effluvivivacota
Eiseniibacteriota
Electryoneota
"Electryoneia"
"Tariuqbacteria"
Fermentibacterota
"Fermentibacteria"
Fibrobacterota
Chitinivibrionia
Fibrobacteria
"Raymondbacteriia"
Gemmatimonadota
Gemmatimonadia
"Glassbacteria"
Hydrothermota
"Hydrothermia"
"Stahlbacteria"
Krumholzibacteriota
"Krumholzibacteriia"
Heilongiota
"Heilongiia"
Latescibacterota
"Handelsmanbacteria"
"Latescibacteria"
Marinisomatota
"Marinisomatia"
Zixiibacteriota
Zhuqueibacterota
"Zhuqueibacteria"
Planctobacteria
Abyssobacterota
Aerophobota
"Aerophobia"
Auribacterota
"Ancaeobacteria"
"Auribacteria"
"Erginobacteria"
"Tritonobacteria"
Chlamydiota
Chlamydiia
Desantisiibacteriota
Elusimicrobiota
Elusimicrobiia
Endomicrobiia
Fidelibacterota
Fidelibacteria
Firestoneibacteriota
Goldiibacteriota
Heilongiota
Hinthialibacterota
"Hinthialibacteria"
Hydrogenedentota
"Hydrogenedentia"
Omnitrophota
"Omnitrophia"
"Velamenicoccia"
Planctomycetota
"Brocadiia"
Phycisphaeria
Planctomycetia
"Uabimicrobiia"
Poribacteriota
Ratteibacteriota
Saltatorellota
"Saltatorellae"
Sumerlaeota
"Sumerlaeia"
Tangaroaeota
Tianyaibacteriota
Verrucomicrobiota
Kiritimatiellia
Lentisphaeria
Verrucomicrobiia
Proteobacteria
Acidobacteriota
Acidobacteriia
"Aminicenantia"
Blastocatellia
"Fischerbacteria"
"Guanabaribacteriia"
Holophagia
Polarisedimenticolia
Thermoanaerobaculia
Vicinamibacteria
Acidulidesulfobacteriota
"Acidulodesulfobacteriia"
Aquificota
Aquificia
Bdellovibrionota
Bacteriovoracia
Bdellovibrionia
Binatota
"Binatia"
Calescibacteriota
"Calescibacteriia"
Campylobacterota
"Campylobacteria"
Desulfurellia
Canglongiota
"Canglongiia"
Chrysiogenota
Chrysiogenia
Dadaibacteriota
"Dadabacteria"
Deferribacterota
"Deferribacteria"
Deferrimicrobiota
"Deferrimicrobiia"
Deferrisomatota
Deferrisomatia
Leptospirillaeota
"Leptospirillia"
Lernaellota
"Lernaellia"
Methylomirabilota
"Methylomirabilia"
Moduliflexota
"Moduliflexia"
Myxococcota
"Bradymonadia"
"Kuafubacteriia"
Myxococcia
Polyangiia
Nitrosediminicolota
Nitrospinota
Nitrospinia
Nitrospirota
Nitrospiria
Thermodesulfovibrionia
Oligoflexaeota
Oligoflexia
Pseudomonadota
"Anaeropigmentatia"
Caulobacteria
Magnetococcia
Mariprofundia
"Pseudomonadia"
Schekmaniibacteriota
Desulfobacterota G
Syntrophorhabdia
Tectimicrobiota
"Entotheonellia"
Thermosulfidibacterota
Thermosulfidibacteria
Thermodesulfobacteriota
"Anaeroferrophilia"
Desulfarculia
"Desulfatiglandia"
Desulfobaccia
Desulfobacteria
Desulfobulbia
"Desulfofervidia"
Desulfomonilia
Desulfovibrionia
Desulfuromonadia
Dissulfuribacteria
Syntrophobacteria
Syntrophia
Thermodesulfobacteriia
"Zymogenia"
Incertae sedis
Babelota
"Babeliae"
Fusobacteriota
Fusobacteriia
Lindowiibacteriota
Macinerneyibacteriota
"Macinerneyibacteriia"
Muiribacteriota
"Muiribacteriia"
"Ozemibacteria"
"Wallbacteriia"
Spirochaetota
"Brevinematia"
"Brachyspirae"
"Exilispiria"
"Leptospiria"
Spirochaetia
Incertae sedis
Qinglongiota
"Qinglongiia"
Salinosulfoleibacteria
Teskebacteria
GTDB
10-RS226;
LTP
_10_2024
Microbiology
Bacteria
Medical
microbiology
Infection
Exotoxin
Lysogenic cycle
Pathogenic bacteria
Resistance
Biochemistry
and
ecology
Oxygen
preference
Aerobic
Obligate
Facultative
Anaerobic
Facultative
Obligate
Microaerophile
Nanaerobe
Aerotolerant
Other
Extremophile
Human microbiome
Gut
Lung
Mouth
Skin
Vaginal
in pregnancy
Placental
Uterine
Salivary
Microbial metabolism
Nitrogen fixation
Microbial ecology
Primary nutritional groups
Substrate preference
Lipophilic
Saccharophilic
Shape
Bacterial cellular morphologies
cell structure
plasticity
Cocci
Bacilli
Coccobacilli
Spiral
Structure
Cell
envelope
Cell membrane
Cell wall
Peptidoglycan
NAM
NAG
DAP
Gram-positive bacteria
only:
Teichoic acid
Lipoteichoic acid
Endospore
Gram-negative bacteria
only:
Bacterial outer membrane
Porin
Lipopolysaccharide
Periplasmic space
Mycobacteria
only:
Arabinogalactan
Mycolic acid
Outside
envelope
Bacterial capsule
Slime layer
S-layer
Glycocalyx
Pilus
Fimbria
Non-motile bacteria
Composite
Biofilm
Taxonomy
and
evolution
Bacteria (classifications)
Bacterial phyla
Former groupings
Schizomycetes
Monera
Prokaryota
Gracilicutes
Firmicutes
Mollicutes
Mendosicutes
Category
Commons
Microorganisms
Groups
Archaea
Bacteria
Cyanobacteria
Fungi
Nanobacterium
Prokaryote
Protist
Protozoa
Virus
Microbiology
Microbial biogeography
Microbial genetics
Microbial intelligence
Microbial metabolism
Microbial phylogenetics
Microbial population biology
Mycology
Virology
Motion
Bacterial motility
run-and-tumble
twitching
gliding
Protist locomotion
amoeboids
Bacteria collective motion
Ecology
Biofilm
Biological pump
Kill the Winner hypothesis
Microbial consortium
Microbial cooperation
Microbial biodegradation
Microbial ecology
Microbial cyst
Microbial food web
microbial loop
viral shunt
Microbial mat
Microbial synergy
Microbiome
microbiota
holobiont
Quorum sensing
Host microbe interactions in
Caenorhabditis elegans
Plants
Plant microbiome
Root microbiome
Seagrass microbiome
Soil microbiology
Spermosphere
Marine
Marine microorganisms
Marine viruses
Marine prokaryotes
Marine protists
Microalgae
Antarctic microorganism
Coral microbiome
Hydrothermal vent microbial communities
Marine microbial symbiosis
Microbial oxidation of sulfur
Phycosphere
Picoeukaryote
International Census of Marine Microbes
Human related
Microbes in human culture
Microbiomes of the built environment
Food microbiology
Microbial oil
Microbial symbiosis and immunity
Nylon-eating
Human microbiome
asthma
dysbiosis
fecal
gut
lung
mouth
skin
vagina
in pregnancy
placenta
uterus
Human Microbiome Project
Protein production
Synthetic microbial consortia
Techniques
Dark-field microscopy
DNA sequencing
Impedance microbiology
Microbial cytology
Microbial DNA barcoding
Microbiological culture
Staining
Other
Bioremediation
Deep biosphere
Microbial dark matter
Microswimmer
biohybrid
Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes
Microbially induced sedimentary structure
Omics
Physical factors affecting microbial life
Siderophore
Category
Extant
life
phyla/divisions by domain
Bacteria
Abditibacteriota
Acidobacteriota
Actinomycetota
Aquificota
Armatimonadota
Atribacterota
Bacillota
Bacteroidota
Balneolota
Caldisericota
Calditrichota
Chlamydiota
Chlorobiota
Chloroflexota
Chrysiogenota
Coprothermobacterota
Cyanobacteriota
Deferribacterota
Deinococcota
Dictyoglomerota
Elusimicrobiota
Fibrobacterota
Fidelibacterota
Fusobacteriota
Gemmatimonadota
Kiritimatiellota
Lentisphaerota
Minisyncoccota
Mycoplasmatota
Nitrospinota
Nitrospirota
Planctomycetota
Pseudomonadota
Rhodothermota
Spirochaetota
Synergistota
Thermodesulfobacteriota
Thermomicrobiota
Thermotogota
Verrucomicrobiota
Vulcanimicrobiota
Acetithermota
Aerophobota
Auribacterota
Babelota
Binatota
Bipolaricaulota
Caldipriscota
Calescibacteriota
Canglongiota
Cloacimonadota
Cosmopoliota
Cryosericota
Deferrimicrobiota
Dormiibacterota
Effluvivivacota
Electryoneota
Elulimicrobiota
Fermentibacterota
Fervidibacterota
Goldiibacteriota
Heilongiota
Hinthialibacterota
Hydrogenedentota
Hydrothermota
Kapaibacteriota
Krumholzibacteriota
Kryptoniota
Latescibacterota
Lernaellota
Lithacetigenota
Macinerneyibacteriota
Margulisiibacteriota
Methylomirabilota
Moduliflexota
Muiribacteriota
Nitrosediminicolota
Omnitrophota
Parcunitrobacterota
Peregrinibacteriota
Qinglongiota
Rifleibacteriota
Ryujiniota
Spongiamicota
Sumerlaeota
Sysuimicrobiota
Tangaroaeota
Tectimicrobiota
Tianyaibacteriota
Wirthibacterota
Zhuqueibacterota
Zhurongbacterota
Archaea
Methanobacteriota
Microcaldota
Nanobdellota
Promethearchaeota
Thermoproteota
Aenigmatarchaeota
Altarchaeota
Augarchaeota
Geoarchaeota
Hadarchaeota
Hadesarchaeota
Huberarchaeota
Hydrothermarchaeota
Iainarchaeota
Micrarchaeota
Nanohalarchaeota
Nezhaarchaeota
Parvarchaeota
Poseidoniota
Undinarchaeota
Eukaryote
Protist
Amoebozoa
Anaeramoebae
Apicomplexa
Bigyra
Bigyromonadea
Caelestes
Cercozoa
Charophyta
Chlorophyta
Chromerida
Ciliophora
Cryptista
Dinoflagellata
Endomyxa
Euglenozoa
Fornicata
Glaucophyta
Haptophyta
Hemimastigophora
Malawimonada
Nebulidia
Nibbleridia
Ochrophyta
Preaxostyla
Heterolobosea
Hyphochytriomycota
Oomycota
Parabasalia
Perkinsozoa
Picozoa
Retaria
Rhodelphidia
Rhodophyta
Telonemia
Fungi
Chytridiomycota
Blastocladiomycota
Neocallimastigomycota
Glomeromycota
Zygomycota
Ascomycota
Basidiomycota
Land plant
Bryophyta
Marchantiophyta
Anthocerotophyta
Lycopodiophyta
Pteridophyta
Cycadophyta
Ginkgophyta
Pinophyta
Gnetophyta
Animal
Porifera
Ctenophora
Placozoa
Cnidaria
Xenacoelomorpha
Chordata
Hemichordata
Echinodermata
Chaetognatha
Kinorhyncha
Loricifera
Priapulida
Nematoda
Nematomorpha
Onychophora
Tardigrada
Arthropoda
Platyhelminthes
Gastrotricha
Orthonectida
Dicyemida
Rotifera
Acanthocephala
Gnathostomulida
Micrognathozoa
Cycliophora
Nemertea
Phoronida
Bryozoa
Entoprocta
Brachiopoda
Mollusca
Annelida
Incertae sedis
Parakaryon
Relate:
Extraterrestrial life
Life
non-cellular life
, and comparable structures
Cellular life
Prokaryota
Archaea
Bacteria
Synthia
LUCA
Eukaryota
Animalia
Vendobionta
Fungi
Plantae
Protista
Gabonionta
Incertae sedis
Parakaryon
Microbes with highly unusual DNA
(?)
Non-cellular life
Virus
Viroid
Satellite
Viriform
Realms
Adnaviria
Duplodnaviria
Efunaviria
Floreoviria
Pleomoviria
Riboviria
Ribozyviria
Singelaviria
Varidnaviria
Volvereviria
Unassigned
Classes
Naldaviricetes
Families
Alphasatellitidae
Ampullaviridae
Avsunviroidae
Bartogtaviriformidae
Basaltiviridae
Bicaudaviridae
Brachygtaviriformidae
Clavaviridae
Eurekaviridae
Fuselloviridae
Globuloviridae
Guttaviridae
Halspiviridae
Huangdiviridae
Itzamnaviridae
Lomiviridae
Nipumfusiviridae
Obscuriviridae
Ovaliviridae
Plasmaviridae
Polydnaviriformidae
Portogloboviridae
Pospiviroidae
Rhodogtaviriformidae
Spiraviridae
Thaspiviridae
Tolecusatellitidae
Xigoviridae
Yamazakiviridae
Genera
Dinodnavirus
Rhizidiovirus
Other
Nanobe
(?)
Obelisk
Retroviroid
Comparable
structures
Bio-like structure
Cancer cell
HeLa
Clonally transmissible cancer
Cell body
Cosmid
Defective interfering particle
Endogenous viral element
Endosymbiotic
organelles
Mitochondrion
Plastid
Nitroplast
Fosmid
Integrative and conjugative element
Jeewanu
Nanobacterium
Phagemid
Plasmid
Episome
Prion
Fungal prion
Proteinoid
microsphere
Retroelements not elsewhere classified
Retron
Diversity-generating retroelement
Telomerase reverse transcriptase
Reverse transcriptase-related cellular gene
Retrosequence
Ribozyme
Spiegelman's Monster
shorter form
Tandem repeat
Transposable element
Transpoviron
Xenobot
Taxon identifiers
Bacteria
Wikidata
Q10876
Wikispecies
Bacteria
BioLib:
14778
CoL
EoL
288
EPPO
1BACTK
GBIF
iNaturalist
67333
ITIS
50
LPSN
bacteria
MycoBank
562108
NCBI
NZOR:
50966b34-a83a-4324-9136-d64696ca3d52
Open Tree of Life
844192
PPE:
bacteria
SeqCode Registry:
753
TaiCOL
t0000005
Tree of Life
Bacteria
WoRMS
Authority control databases
International
GND
National
United States
Japan
Czech Republic
Spain
Israel
Other
Yale LUX
Retrieved from "
Categories
Bacteria
Bacteriology
Domains (biology)
Biology terminology
Hidden categories:
Pages using the Phonos extension
Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text
CS1: long volume value
CS1 German-language sources (de)
Articles with short description
Short description is different from Wikidata
Featured articles
Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages
Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages
Use British English from September 2016
All Wikipedia articles written in British English
Use dmy dates from March 2022
Articles with 'species' microformats
Pages including recorded pronunciations
Webarchive template wayback links
Bacteria
Add topic