General Characters Of Bacteria

Bacteriology is a branch of science under which we study about bacteria, like its metabolism, reproduction etc.

The General Characters Of Bacteria Are As Follow

1. They are ubiquitous / omnipresent i.e. present in soil, air and water.
2. They are unicellular, prokaryotic microorganism.
3. The cell bears a thick rigid cell wall outside the plasma membrane (because of this character they are kept in plant kingdom).
4. They have great variation in the mode of nutrition i.e. may be autotrophic and heterotrophic. In heterotrophism mode of nutrition they may be parasite, saprophyte or symbiotic in nature.
5. They lack true chlorophyll but few photosynthetic bacteria have a special type of chlorophyll called bacteriochlorophyll.
6. Because of prokaryotic nature they lack true nucleus (lacking nuclear membrane and nucleolus), genetic material is in the form of composite structure known as genophore / nucleotide / incipient nucleus.
7. The cell wall of bacteria is made up of mucopeptide unlike the cell wall of plants (where it is made up of cellulose)
8. They lack mitochondria, golgi apparatus, plastid and endoplasmic reticulum.
9. They lack basic protein histone in their DNA.
10. Ribosomes are of 70s type.
11. At some places the plasma membrane invaginate in folds to form membrane.
12. All the enzymes required for respiration are found in the cell membrane.
13. Both DNA and RNA are present in the bacterial cell. DNA is in the form of single circular chromosome (therefore the cell is haploid).
14. Vegetative reproduction is generally by binary fission, cyst, budding and gonidia.
15. Asexual reproduction is by conidiophores, motile spores and endospore.
16. True sexual reproduction is absent in bacteria but there are examples of genetic recombination which may be of following types viz. conjugation, transduction and transformation.

Plants Like Character In Bacteria

1. In few bacteria cell wall is made up of cellulose.
2. They show filamentous growth like some plants.
3. Like plant autotrophic bacteria produces carbonic food by the use inorganic substances (CO2 and H2O).
4. Structure and some mode of reproduction of bacteria is similar to some members of thallophyta.
5. They absorb the nutritional substances in the soluble form through their cell wall (like plants).
6. Bacteria has the ability to convert inorganic nitrogen into all types of -NH2 acids.
7. Most of the transitional forms of bacteria and fungi are found in the nature.

Similarities Between Bacteria And Blue Green Algae

1. Both groups bears a prokaryotic nucleus.
2. Both are unicellular or colonial and the complicated structures are in filamentous form.
3. Both groups have similar cell wall structure and cell division.
4. Both lack the typical cellular organelles found in eukaryotic cells.
5. Genetic material is DNA without histone proteins.
6. Cells are surrounded by gelatinous sheath.
7. Both have similar cell forms viz. spherical, cylindrical and spiral.
8. No zoospores are formed during asexual reproduction in blue green algae and bacteria.
9. Members of both the groups can withstand desiccation and high temperatures.
10. Like saprophytic bacteria, blue green algae can live on dead organic matter in the absence of light.
11. Genetic recombination is present in both blue green algae and bacteria.

Dissimilarities Between Cyanobacteria And Bacteria

1. Cyanobacteria are always aflagellate while most of the bacteria are flagellate.
2. All cyanobacteria are aerobic while many bacteria are anaerobic.
3. All cyanobacteria have chlorophyll a for photosynthesis while bacteria bears bacteriochlorophyll.