9/21/2016 NPTEL::BiotechnologyMicrobiology

Twofundamentallydifferenttypesofcellsexist,Prokaryoticcellshavingasimplermorphologyandlackatruemembrane
delimitednucleus.Allbacteriaareprokaryotic.

Eukaryotic cells have a membranebound nucleus are more complex morphologically and larger than prokaryotes.
Algae,fungi,protozoa,higherplants,andanimalsareeukaryotes

FormanyyearsbiologistshavedividedorganismsintofivekingdomsMonera,Protists,Fungi,AnimaliaandPlantae.

Inthelastfewdecadesgreatprogressinthreeareashasbeenmadethataffectmicrobialclassification.

FirstdetailedstructureofmicrobialcellshasbeenstudiedusingEM

Second microbiologists have determined the biochemical and physiological characteristics of many different
microorganisms

Thirdsequencesofnucleicacidsandproteinsfromawidevarietyoforganismshavebeencompared.

ItisnowclearthattherearetwoquitedifferentgroupsofprokaryoticorganismsBacteriaandArchaea.

The differences between bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes seem so great that many microbiologists proposed that
organismsshouldbedividedamongthreedomainsBacteria(thetruebacteriaoreubacteria),ArchaeaandEucarya(all
eukaryoticorganisms).

Membersofmicrobialworld

There are five major members of microorganisms, Archaea, Bacteria, Algae, Protozoa , and Fungi .The Archaea and
Bacteriaareprokaryoticcells.Unicellularalgaeandprotozoaandfungiareeukaryoticcells.

Archaea

The Archaea are a group of singlecelled microorganisms. They have no cell nucleus or any other membranebound
organelleswithintheircells.Archaeaandbacteriaarequitesimilarinsizeandshape,althoughafewarchaeahavevery
unusual shapes, such as the flat and squareshaped cells. Similarity to bacteria, archaea possess genes and several
metabolicpathwaysthataremorecloselyrelatedtothoseofeukaryotes,notablytheenzymesinvolvedintranscription
andtranslation.Thearchaeabiochemistryareunique,suchaspresenceofetherlipidsintheircellmembranes.Archaea
use a much greater variety of sources of energy than eukaryotes: ranging from familiar organic compounds such as
sugars,toammonia,metalionsorevenhydrogengas.Archaeareproduceasexuallybybinaryfission,fragmentation,or
budding unlike bacteria and eukaryotes, no known species form spores. Initially archaea were seen as extremophiles
thatlivedinharshenvironments,suchashotspringsandsaltlakes,buttheyarenowfoundinabroadrangeofhabitats,
including soils, oceans, marshland. Archaea play roles in both the carbon cycle and the nitrogen cycle. No archaea
pathogens or parasites are known, but they are often mutualists or commensals. Methanogens are used in biogas
production and sewge treatmen, and enzymes from extremophile archaea that can endure high temperatures and
organicsolventsareexploitedinbiotechnology.

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