630 Microbiology for Teachers

Microbial Diversity

Bacterial Diversity

Proteobacteria (Kingdom I)

• Purple Sulfur Bacteria - Chromatium, Halorhodospira, Thiocapsa, Thiococcus, Thiopedia,Thiospirillum

   

• Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria - Rhodobacter, Rhodocyclus, Rhodobacter Rhodopseudomonas, Rhodophila

   

• Nitrifying Bacteria - Nitrobacter, Nitrosomonas

   

• Sulfur- and Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria - Thiobacillus, Beggiatoa, Thioploca, Thiothrix

   

• Hydrogen-Oxidizing Bacteria - Alcaligenes

   

• Methanotrophs and Methyltrophs - Methlyosinus, Methylcoccus

   

• Pseudomonas and the Pseudomonads - Pseudomonas, Agrobacterium, Rhizobium, Zymomonas

   

• Acetic Acid Bacteria (Acetobacteraceae) - Acetobacter, Gluconobacter

   

• Free-Living Aerobic Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria - Azotobacter, Azomonas

   

• Neisseria, Chromobacterium, and Relatives - Neisseria, Chromobacterium

   

• Enteric Bacteria - Escherichia, Salmonella, Proteus, Enterobacter

   

• Vibrio and Photobacterium - Vibrio, Photobacterium

   

• Rickettsias

   

• Spirilla - Spirilum, Bdellovibrio, Campylobacter

   

• Sheathed Proteobacteria - Sphaerotilus, Leptothrix

   

• Budding and Prosthecate/Stalked Bacteria - Hyphomicrobium, Caulobacter

   

• Gliding Myxoacteria - Myxococcus, Stigmatella

   

• Sulfate- and Sulfur-Reducing Proteobacteria - Desulfovibrio, Desulfobacter, Desulfuromonas

   

Gram-Positive Bacteria (Kingdom II)

• Nonsporulating, Low GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria (plus Lactic Acid Bacteria) - Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus

   

• Endospore-Forming, Low GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria (plus Homoacetogenic Bacteria and Heliobacteria) - Bacillus, Clostridium, Sporosarcina, Heliobacterium

   

• Cell Wall-Less, Low GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria: The Mycoplasmas - Mycoplasma, Spiroplasma

   

• High GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria: Coryneform and Propionic Acid Bacteria - Corynebacterium, Arthrobacter, Propionibacterium

   

• High GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria: Mycobacterium

   

• Filamentous, High GC, Gram-Positive Bacteria: The Actinomycetes
  • Nocardioforms

     

  • Actinomycetes with Multilocular Sporangia

     

  • Actinoplanetes

     

  • Streptomyces and Related Genera

     

  • Maduromycetes

     

  • Thermonospora and Related Genera

     

  • Thermoactinomycetes

     

  • Other Genera

     

Cyanobacteria, Prochlorophytes, and Chloroplasts (Kingdom III)

• Cyanobacteria - Synechococcus, Oscillatoria, Nostoc

   

• Prochlorophytes and Chloroplasts - Prochloron, Prochlorothrix

    

Chlamydia (Kingdom IV) - Chlamydia   

Planctomyces/Pirella (Kingdom V) - Planctomyces, Pirella

Bacteroides/Flavobacteria (Kingdom VI) - Bacteroides, Cytophaga

Green Sulfur Bacteria (Kingdom VII) - Chlorobium, Prosthechloris, Chlorochromatium

Tightly Coiled Bacteria: The Spirochetes (Kingdom VIII) - Spirochaeta, Treponema, Cristispira, Leptospira, Borrelia

Deinococcus (Kingdom IX) - Dienococcus, Thermus

Green Nonsulfur Bacteria (Kingdom X) - Chloroflexus, Thermomicrobium

Thermotoga (Kingdom XI)

Thermodesulfobacterium (Kingdom XII)

Aquifex and Relatives (Kingdom XIII)

---

Archaeal Diversity

Korarchaeota (Kingdom)

Crenarchaeota (Kingdom)

Euryarchaeota (Kingdom)

• Extreme Halophiles
  • G- rods, cocci, disks, cups, triangles, rectangles

     

  • Organotrophic aerobes that require very high salt and complex nutrients

     

  • Hypersaline alkaline aquatic environments

     

• Methanogens
  • G+ or G- rods, cocci, spirals, plates

     

  • Anaerobic, fastidious lithotrophs or organotrophs

     

  • Environments rich in organic matter

     

• Extreme Thermophiles
  • G- rods, discs, filaments, spheres

     

  • Anaerobic lithotrophs or organotrophs grow above 50C using oxidized sulfur as an electron acceptor

     

  • Solfatara - hot, acidic soil or water with sulfur

     

• Sulfate Reducers
  • Irregular, motile spheres

     

  • Anaerobic thermophilic (83C optimum for growth), organotrophic sulfur reducing methanogens

     

  • High-temperature, sulfur-containing environments

     

• Wall-Less Archaea
  • No cell wall, triple-layered membrane; spherical below 59C, irregular filaments at or above 59C very small genome; budding

     

  • Aerobic acidophilic thermophilic organotroph

     

  • Hot acidic coal refuse piles
    •  

   

---

Fungal Diversity (Kingdom)

• Chytridiomycota
  • Globe-shaped cells with rhizoids

     

  • Aerobic organotrophs reproduce by spore fusion to form zygotes (sexual) or mitosis (asexual)

     

  • Saprophytic decomposers or parasites

     

• Oomycota
  • Finely branched hyphae with cellulose cell walls

     

  • Aerobic organotrophs that reproduce via diploid zygotes (sexual) or zoospores (asexual)

     

  • Aquatic decomposers or parasites (plants, animals)

     

• Zygomycota
  • Mycelial aerobic organotrophs that reproduce via zygospores (sexual) or sporangiospores (asexual)

     

  • Saprophytic decomposers in soil; produce food, pharmaceuticals, alcohols, meat tenderizer, dyes

     

• Ascomycota
  • Dimorphic aerobic organotrophs reproduce via ascospores (sexual) or conidiospores (asexual)

     

  • Saprophytic decomposers in soil; parasites; some edible, some used to produce food

     

• Basidiomycota
  • Dimorphic with distinctive fruiting bodies

     

  • Aerobic organotrophs reproduce via basidiospores (sexual) or budding, fragmentation, spores (asexual)

     

  • Saprophytic decomposers in soil; some edible, some poisonous, some parasitic

     

• Deuteromycota
  • Mycelial aerobic organotrophs reproduce via conidiospores (asexual); sexual cycle not seen

     

  • Saprophytic decomposers in soil; some used in food or pharmaceuticals production; some toxic or parasitic