Ecosystems
  • Home
  • The Rainforest
    • Microorganisms
    • Symbiotic Relationships
  • The Benthic Zone
    • Microorganisms
    • Symbiotic Relationships
  • Rainforest VS Benthic Zone

MICROBES

MICROBES MICROBES MICROBES OH MY

THE RAINFOREST
MICROBES IN THE RAINFOREST
Picture
Agrobacterium tumefaciens or A. tumefaciens
A. Tumefaciens is a tumor in a plant! Pathogenic strains of A. tumefaciens may live saprophytically in soil for up to two years. When a nearby host plant is wounded near the soil line by insect feeding, transplant injury or any other means the bacterium  moves into the wound site and between host cells. These bacteria then stimulate the surrounding host cells to rapidly and irregularly divide. A. Tumefaciens has parasitic relationship with the plants because it is only benefiting the microbe and killing the plant with the tumor it induces.

A TUMOR FOR A PLANT Oh MY!!!

Reproduction
A conjugation tube forms between the donor cell and the recipient cell. A single strand from the plasmid DNA is transferred throught the tube from the donor to the recipient cells. In order to be harmful to the plant , the bacterium must contain a tumour-inducing plasmid (Ti plasmid or pTi) which contains the T-DNA and all the genes necessary to transfer it to the plant cell in order to make a tumor. Many strains of A. tumefaciens do not contain a pTi. Since the Ti plasmid is essential to cause disease, many of the cells do nothing.

Picture
Phases
Lag Phase
Bacteria do not grow during the lag phase. They begin making copies of their DNA, and if the environment supplies plenty of nutrients, the lag phase may be very short. 
 
Log or Exponential Phase
During the log or exponential phase, bacteria multiply rapidly. The time it takes for a culture to double is called "generation time," and under the best conditions, the fastest bacteria can double in about 15 minutes. 
 


What does is eat? 
Agrobacterium tumefaciens "eats" nutrients that leak from the root tissue this is also one of the adoptions it has made in the ecosystem.

Morphology 
ROD SHAPED, BACILLUS, RAISED, CURVED, CIRCULAR :)
Picture
Picture
Picture
Micromonospora equina or M. equina
M.equina found in the soil of the rain forest and is aerobic bacteria. It has a polyhedral head, a flexible tail and has a small genome with double-stranded DNA and cohesive ends.  M. equina is HETEROTROPIC.
 
Adaptation: feeds on dead pant material and has a flagella.

* This is a relatively new bacteria so there was not munch information on it.

Reproduction
With this bacterium, the DNA copy drifts to the opposite side of the membrane. The bacterium then pulls apart, creating two identical "daughter cells," which begin dividing again. This process is called binary fission.
Picture
Phases
It has 3 stages of life which includes differentiation into substrate mycelia, aerial hyphae, and spores
What does it eat?It feeds on dead or decomposing  plant material!

Morphology
CIRCULAR, FLAT, ENTIRE

WORD BANK
Conjugation : the transfer of conjugative or mobilizable plasmids from one bacterium to another by cell-to-cell contact. 

Pathogenic: a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.

Bacillus: rod-shaped bacteria

Plasmid: a genetic structure in a cell that can replicate independently of the chromosomes


Aerobic: relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen


Polyhedral: a solid figure with many plane faces, typically more than six

Genome: the haploid set of chromosomes in a gamete or microorganism, or in each cell of a multicellular organism.


Cohesive: characterized by or causing cohesion

Binary fission:  two separate cells, populations, species, etc., whereas multiple fission produces more than two cells
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.