Micro Exam 2 - Organisms of the Week

What is different about Baellovibrio vaceriocorus?

it has multiple simultaneous divisions instead of binary fission, no min system

Explain the division of Baellovibrio vaceriocorus.

it first infects the periplasm, then elongates + solidifies the host membrane, host lysis + releases the bacterium, multiply simultaneous division occur once all nutrients has been taken in

What does Baellovibrio bacteriovorus pull itself into the periplasm with?

type IV pili

What does Baellovibrio bacteriovorus turn its prey into?

growth chamber?

The division mechanism of Baellovibrio bacteriovorus has no...

Min system

What is different about Caulobacter crescentus?

asymmetric division into stalked and swimmer cells, during nutrient starvation stalk elongates to increase SA

What two cell types does Caulobacter crescentus produce in cell division?

swimmer cell and stalked cell

Describe Caulobacter crescentus.

environmental bacterium, grows in extremely dilute water that leads to starvation, stalk elongates to increase surface area

What is a swimmer cell?

cell cycle arrested, cannot grow or divide

What is a stalked cell?

has holdfast + stalk, can grow and divide

What is different about Chlamydia trachomatis?

lacks FtsZ, cannot make own ATP, can’t be cultured, alternates between two cell types

What two cell types does Chlamydia trachomatis alternate between?

elementary body and reticulate body

What is an elementary body?

growth arrested, dormant

What is a reticulate body?

growing form, toxic

Describe the life cycle of Chlamydia trachomatis.

chlamydia eaten by host through phagocytosis, breaks into cytoplasm, spreads to other cells in host

Describe Chlamydia trachomatis.

causes most common STD in US, intracellular pathogen that grows inside human cells

What is different about Deinococcus radiodurans?

it is radiation and desiccation resistant

How is Deinococcus radiodurans radiation and desiccation resistant?

radiation creates water radicals that break down the chromosome into pieces, multiple chromosomes provides many copies for correct reassembly, toroidal nucleoid structure may preserve order of pieces for rapid reassembly

What shape is the nucleoid compacted into in Deinococcus radiodurans?

torus - donut shaped

Describe Deinococcus radiodurans.

isolated from irradiated can of meat, multiple chromosomes per cell (4-10)

What is different about Clostridium acetylbutylicum?

it has historical importance in WWI because it can ferment sugars to acetone and butanol which can produce acetone (gunpowder) and butanol (rubber/biofuel)

Describe Clostridium acetylbutylicum.

Gram positive bacteria forms endospores, anaerobic, flexible heterotroph (can eat unusual substrates), resource in WWI, ferments sugars to acetone and butanol

How can production be increased of acetone and butanol?

improve fermentation by heat-shocking to select for spore-formers (increase pasteurization)