10 characteristics of BACTERIA

The bacteria are microorganisms on earth with unique characteristics. The external and internal characteristics of bacteria are a little different from the rest of the organisms on earth. They are prokaryotic in nature, which means that they are the first forms of cell without a nucleus. In this article the characteristics of bacteria will be seen in detail.

The bacteria useful for nature, man and life on earth, although some of them can cause diseases in humans.

Characteristics of bacteria

1. no core: unlike other eukaryotic cells, bacterial cells are the only ones that lack a prominent nucleus. This characteristic has led scientists to consider bacteria as primitive organisms, that is, the first forms of life on earth.
2. Presence of the cell wall: Bacteria have a cell wall that is different from other cells that have cell walls. The wall is made of different substances like glycoproteins, lipopolysaccharides, and lipoproteins.
3. Cellular membrane: is present immediately below the cell wall. This has little variation from that of plant and animal cell membranes. In plants and animals, it is mainly a single or double layer (bilayer) of lipids. But bacteria, especially gram negative ones, have an extra membrane, that is, an outer membrane called the periplasm that lies below the cell wall but above the cell membrane.
4. pilli: These are small, tube-shaped projections from the bacterial surface. They are the organelles of sexual reproduction and are involved in the exchange of genetic material as part of reproduction between two bacteria.
5. food dependency: all organisms live on their own or on other resources. But bacteria have different ways of obtaining food. Some of them synthesize their own food like plants by using sunlight.



6. resistance and tolerance: Some of the bacteria are highly resistant to harsh environments. They even gain tolerance for harsh chemicals and other things that destroy them. Hence the irrational use of antibiotics. This has become so serious that the World Health Organization is warning of the rampant prevalence of resistant bacteria that may be incurable with currently available drugs.
7. spore formation: When environmental conditions are harsh, the bacterium turns into a hard spore form. This spore is highly resistant to heat, chemicals, and drought conditions.
8. ribosomes: the protein manufacturing machinery has a 70S ribosome which is of two subunits like 50S and 30S. While in other animals and plants, it is 80S ribosome that consists of two subunits 60S and 40S.
9. Absence of cell organelles: Other cell organelles like mitochondria, golgi bodies, endoplasmic reticulum are absent in a bacterial cell.
10. Presence of flagella: some of the bacteria are motile. They, especially the type of bacilli have flagella. These are the organs of locomotion. They are long filamentous organs that originate from the cell membrane. You can learn more about the classification of flagella in bacteria. They are classified according to the number and arrangement of the flagella in the cell.

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