when I first read this microorganism name the first thing that comes to mind was “vampire” blood sucking. Therefore, I chose this bacterium as my unusual microbe due to the unrealistic name. Vampirococcus is a predatory prokaryote that attack and consume their prey, as the name implies they attach themselves to other bacteria and ‘sucks’ their cytoplasm using enzymes. Vampirococcus is a gram-negative that has ovoid shape, they usually found in sulfur lakes northeastern Spain. However, it was found in 1983 by Esteve and was classified as one of few kinds predatory bacteria. The micro-organisms that feed on other micro-organisms are classified as predatory.
In term of classification, Vampirococcus phylogenetic has not yet been discovered. This bacterium has no effect on human, other than the role in explaining how the first organelles appeared in eukaryotes. However, the interesting aspect of
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Vampirococcus get their nutrients from a phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria called Chromatium. They also, are an opportunistic epibiont, which means that they attack extracellularly while other predator bacteria eat their prey from the inside. It attacks its prey when there are harsh environmental conditions for its prey. therefore, Vampirococcus is existing in higher numbers at the lower levels of the Chromatium layer in water where conditions are worse for the growth of Chromatium. Once Vampirococcus encounters a prey cell, an attachment structure forms to bind Vampirococcus to its prey. As it begins eating a break in the outer membrane of Vampirococcus appears and plaque develops around the attachment site. Vampirococcus then begins to degrade the cytoplasm of its prey. Vampirococcus begins to multiply, forming multicellular arrangements, while it degrades the victim’s cytoplasm. When Vampirococcus is finished feeding, all that remains of the victim is the cell wall, cell membrane and some intracytoplasmic
In this lab project, the microbiology students were given 2 unknown bacteria in a mixed broth each broth being numbered. The goal of this project is to determine the species of bacteria in the broth. They had to separate and isolate the bacteria from the mixed broth and ran numerous tests to identify the unknown bacteria. The significance of identifying an unknown bacteria is in a clinical setting. Determining the exact bacteria in order to prescribe the right treatment for the patient. This project is significant for a microbiology students because it gives necessary skills to them for future careers relating to clinical and research work.
Puchenkova, S. G. (1996). "Enterobacteria in areas of water along the Crimean coast". Mikrobiolohichnyi zhurnal (Kiev, Ukraine : 1993) 58 (2): 3–7
The purpose of this laboratory is to learn about cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics that are used in identifying bacterial isolates. Besides identifying the unknown culture, students also gain an understanding of the process of identification and the techniques and theory behind the process. Experiments such as gram stain, negative stain, endospore and other important tests in identifying unknown bacteria are performed. Various chemical tests were done and the results were carefully determined to identify the unknown bacteria. First session of lab started of by the selection of an unknown bacterium then inoculations of 2 tryptic soy gar (TSA) slants, 1 nutrient broth (TSB), 1 nutrient gelatin deep, 1 motility
The life cycle of Naegleria fowleri includes three different stages: amoeboid trophozoites, flagellates, and cysts; due to the transitory nature of the microbe and the specific forms that it can take, it is frequently referred to as an amoeboflagellate. Despite its abilities to take on various forms, the amoeboid trophozoite is the only infective stage of the microbe and it requires favorable environmental ...
In a world with ghosts, monsters, demons, and ghouls, there is one being that resonates in everyone’s mind. The idea of these creatures can be found in almost every culture on the planet in one form or another. They prey on the weak and they feast on the blood of their victims. They are compared to a fox for being quick and cunning, but also rather seductive in their nature. With their unholy existence one can only describe them as almost demonic. So what is this horrid creature? Well it is none other than the vampire, a creature as old as time itself. Throughout history there have been many different variations of the vampire, each with their own unique abilities. But one cannot help but mention
Bacteria play a large role in our health, the environment, and most aspects of life. They can be used in beneficial ways, such as decomposing wastes, enhancing fertilizer for crops, and breaking down of substances that our bodies cannot. However, many bacteria can also be very harmful by causing disease. Understanding how to identify bacteria has numerous applications and is incredibly important for anyone planning to enter the medical field or begin a career in research. Having the background knowledge of identifying an unknown bacteria may one day aid healthcare professionals diagnose their patient with a particular bacterial infection or help researchers determine various clinical, agricultural, and numerous other uses for bacteria.
Bloodborne Pathogens are pathogenic microorganisms that can eventually cause disease. They are found in human blood and other bodily fluids such as synovial fluid, semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid and any other fluid that mixes or has contact with blood. The bloodborne pathogens are pathogenic, which means they are disease causing, and they are also microorganisms, which means that they are very small so the human eye cannot see them.
N fowleri has three stages of their cycle. In the amoeboid trophozoite stage, they are infectious and measure 10-35 µm long. The trophozoite transforms to a non-feeding flagellate when food sources are limited. Flagellates are motile and measure 10-20 µm in length. The amoeba or flagellate will form a cyst, the dormant stage, if the environment is too cold and not conducive to continued feeding and growth. When the organism is in the cyst stage, it has a single layered wall and only one nucleus. The cyst measures 7-1...
Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria ) from an essay by Katrina Tram Duong, edited by S.N. Carson M.D.
In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.
Colony isolates initially were assessed by morphology and Gram staining. DNA harvested from overnight cultures was amplified by PCR using two sets of 16s rDNA primers to detect a broad range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species. We found that oral bacterial diversity varied among individuals and species. Furthermore, we identified four bacterial species previously unassociated with the oral cavity of V. komodoensis. With the assistance of Dr. Joseph Mendelson, director of herpetological research at Zoo Atlanta, our work was published in a peer-reviewed journal Herpetological Review. Seeing the acknowledgment of my undergraduate research reaffirmed my professional goal to investigate the host-pathogen interactions that mediate human
Bacterial cells, like plant cells, are surrounded by a cell wall. However, bacterial cell walls are made up of polysaccharide chains linked to amino acids, while plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, which contains no amino acids. Many bacteria secrete a slimy capsule around the outside of the cell wall. The capsule provides additional protection for the cell. Many of the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are surrounded by a capsule. The capsule prevents the white blood cells and antibodies from destroying the invading bacterium. Inside the capsule and the cell wall is the cell membrane. In aerobic bacteria, the reactions of cellular respiration take place on fingerlike infoldings of the cell membrane. Ribosomes are scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and the DNA is generally found in the center of the cell. Many bacilli and spirilla have flagella, which are used for locomotion in water. A few types of bacteria that lack flagella move by gliding on a surface. However, the mechanism of this gliding motion is unknown. Most bacteria are aerobic, they require free oxygen to carry on cellular respiration. Some bacteria, called facultatibe anaerobes can live in either the presence or absence of free oxygen. They obtain energy either by aerobic respiration when oxygen is present or by fermentation when oxygen is absent. Still other bacteria cannot live in the presence of oxygen. These are called obligate anaerobes. Such bacteria obtain energy only fermentation. Through fermentation, different groups of bacteria produce a wide variety of organic compounds. Besides ethyl alcohol and lactic acid, bacterial fermentation can produce acetic acid, acetone, butyl alcohol, glycol, butyric acid, propionic acid, and methane, the main component of natural gas. Most bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria are either saprophytes or parasites. Saprophytes feed on the remains of dead plants and animals, and ordinarily do not cause disease. They release digestive enzymes onto the organic matter. The enzymes breakdown the large food molecules into smaller molecules, which are absorbed by the bacterial cells. Parasites live on or in living organisms, and may cause disease. A few types of bacteria are Autotrophic, they can synthesize the organic nutrients they require from inorganic substances. Autotrophic bacteria are either photosynthetic or Chemosynthetic. The photosynthetic bacteria contain chlorophyll that are different from the plant chlorophyll. In bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen is obtained by the splitting of compounds other than water.
Some real vampires called “sanguinarians,” seem to prefer feeding by consuming small amounts of human blood or animal blood, while “Hybrid” vampires report feeding from more than one form - psychically or from blood. Unlike lifestyle vampires, real vampires believe that they do not choose their vampiric condition; they are born with it. Researchers thus argue that real vampirism should be approached as an alternative identity, rather than a subculture or lifestyle.
This may sound like the beginning of a horror movie, but it isn’t. It is actually a very basic description of a very broad subject: microbiology.
In the 1920’s, the discovery that bacteria had a completely different cell structure from other organisms was established. Edouard Chatton recognized that the bacterial cell only...