Comparing
Microbes
BY MRS. LEONE
Timed slideshow (28 min) – Press F5 to play. W to pause/resume
Observe & Analyze the Work
How many microbes will we compare?
Why are some of the answers provided?
How are the microbes organized?
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
Fill in as many blanks in each row as you can.
The Six Kingdoms:
Select one for each microbe.
Archaea, Bacteria, Protista, Plantae, Animalia, Fungi
Typical size:
1000 nm (nanometer) / μm (micron)
1000 μm / mm (millimeter)
Structure & shape:
How many cells are there?
What do they look like?
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
Keep going!
External environment:
Most microbes are found in an aquatic environment.
Internal environment:
What does everything in the cell float in?
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
You’re doing great!
Energy source:
Which trophic system does the microbe use?
Preferred food:
Bigger microbes eat smaller microbes.
Digestion:
How does food get into the cell?
Let me give you some choices…
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
Digestion Methods:
 Photosynthesis –
Food is made right inside the cell in chloroplasts!
 Phagocytosis – fay-djoh-sy-TOE-sis
The cell membrane grabs the food particle
and pulls it inside the cytoplasm to be dissolved
 Hyphae – HIGH-fay
These tentacles stick into living tissue to suck out food.
 Oral groove & mouth pore –
This is an actual opening in the membrane for eating.
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
We’ll go over each microbe in a few minutes.
Inspiration:
Gases diffuse in & out across the cell membrane.
Replication:
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How does the microbe reproduce?
mitosis, binary fission = copy DNA and divide
meiosis = partial DNA from two parents
budding = mini versions grow directly on critter
spores = an inactive cell goes to find a new home
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
Do the best you can.
Excretion:
How do the cells get rid of waste materials?
Excretion Methods:
 exocytosis = moving the particle in a vacuole
toward the cell membrane and out
 contractile vacuole = pumping water out by
squeezing a vacuole
 anal pore = an actual opening in the cell
membrane for getting stuff out of the cell
 lysosome = the recycling & removal organelle
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
You are intelligent.
Energy storage:
Where do the cells keep the energy until needed?
Circulation:
How does stuff get moved around the cell?
 cytoplasm = it just floats around in the internal
environment
 hyphae = sucking tubules
 endoplasmic reticuli= hallways leading from the
nucleus to the Golgi and on into the cytoplasm
 radiating canals = a simple kind of ER
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
You are doing your best.
Cell protection:
How is the cell protected?
Most cell walls are made of cellulose, but fungi’s are
made of chitin, the same stuff found in a beetle’s shell!
Genetic material:
What kind of genetic material does the microbe have?
Genetic protection:
What protects the genetic material?
Complete Your Microbes Matrix
Keep on trucking!
Locomotion:
How does the critter move?
Speed:
The average human can walk 264 feet in a minute.
The average microbe? Waaaay less…
Sensory:
What can the critter detect?
What special organelles help with this function?
Okay. Now let’s check each microbe.
Ready?
Virus
 Kingdom – none
 Typical size – 20-400 nm
 Structure & shape – parasitic particle, many shapes
 External environment – water or land
 Internal environment – cytoplasm
 Energy source – none
 Preferred food – none
 Digestion – none
 Inspiration – none
 Replication – hijacks host cell
Virus
page 2
 Excretion – none
 Energy storage – none
 Circulation – none
 Cell protection – envelope (on some)
 Genetic material – DNA or RNA
 Genetic protection – capsid
 Locomotion – none
 Speed – none
 Sensory – can sense host
Bacterium
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Kingdom – Bacteria
Typical size – 200 nm – 2 μm
Structure & shape – unicellular; sphere, spiral or rod
External environment – water (but gliders need a solid
surface to glide on)
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source – some are autotrophs, some are
heterotrophs
Preferred food – heterotrophic ones often prefer decaying
matter
Digestion – phagocytosis
Inspiration – diffusion
Replication – binary fission
Bacterium
page 2
Excretion – exocytosis
Energy storage – none
Circulation – cytoplasm
Cell protection – cell wall (cellulose), cell membrane
Genetic material – DNA and RNA
Genetic protection – none (prokaryote)
Locomotion – flagellum or surfactants
Speed – rod w/flagella = 200 µm/s
spiral = 50 µm/s (7 in/h)
gliding = 2 µm/s (¼ in/h)
sphere = doesn't move
 Sensory – can sense prey or light
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Fungus cell
 Kingdom – Fungi
 Typical size – 3-10 µm wide and 50 µm long
 Structure & shape – cellular component,
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threadlike
External environment – water or land fungus
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source – heterotroph
Preferred food – decaying matter or living tissue
Digestion – phagocytosis, hyphae
Inspiration – diffusion
Replication – spores (most common), meiosis,
budding
Fungus cell
page 2
 Excretion – vacuoles
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – hyphae
 Cell protection – cell wall (chitin), cell
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membrane
Genetic material – DNA and RNA
Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
Locomotion – none (grows toward food!)
Speed – none
Sensory – can sense food
Euglena
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Kingdom – Protista
Typical size – 6-18 μm wide and 50 μm long
Structure & shape – unicellular
External environment – freshwater
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source – autotroph by day, and
heterotroph by night
Preferred food – glucose, or smaller microbes
Digestion – photosynthesis in light, phagocytosis
in darkness
Inspiration – diffusion
Replication – mitosis
Euglena
page 2
 Excretion – contractile vacuole
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – ER, vesicles
 Cell protection – cell membrane
 Genetic material – DNA and RNA
 Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
 Locomotion – flagellum
 Speed – 3.5 microns/second (about ½ inch/hr)
 Sensory – eyespot organelle detects light
Animal cell
 Kingdom – Animalia
 Typical size – 10-30 µm wide
 Structure & shape – cellular component
 External environment – water or land animal
 Internal environment – cytoplasm
 Energy source – heterotrophic
 Preferred food – glucose
 Digestion – phagocytosis
 Inspiration – diffusion
 Replication – mitosis
Animal cell
page 2
 Excretion – vacuoles
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – ER, vesicles
 Cell protection – cell membrane
 Genetic material – DNA and RNA
 Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
 Locomotion – none
 Speed – none
 Sensory – specialized cells can sense light, touch,
sound, taste, or smell
Plant cell
 Kingdom – Plantae
 Typical size –10-100 µm wide
 Structure & shape – cellular component
 External environment – water or land plant
 Internal environment – cytoplasm
 Energy source – autotrophic
 Preferred food – glucose
 Digestion – photosynthesis
 Inspiration – diffusion
 Replication – mitosis
Plant cell
page 2
 Excretion – vacuoles
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – ER, vesicles
 Cell protection – cell wall (cellulose), cell
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membrane
Genetic material – DNA and RNA
Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
Locomotion – none (grows toward light!)
Speed – none
Sensory – specialized cells can sense light
Paramecium
Kingdom – Protista (protozoan)
Typical size – 50-100 µm wide, 150-350 µm long
Structure & shape – unicellular
External environment – freshwater
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source – heterotroph
Preferred food – bacteria, yeasts, algae (smaller
microbes)
 Digestion – oral groove, mouth pore
 Inspiration – diffusion
 Replication – mitosis
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Paramecium
page 2
 Excretion – contractile vacuole
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – radiating canals
 Cell protection – pellicle (cell membrane)
 Genetic material – DNA and RNA
 Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
 Locomotion – cilia (moves in a spiral motion,
head first)
 Speed – 420 microns/second (about 5 feet/hour)
 Sensory – can sense light
Amoeba
 Kingdom – Protista (protozoan)
 Typical size – 220-740 µm
 Structure & shape – unicellular, no uniform
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shape
External environment – freshwater or soil
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source –heterotroph
Preferred food – plankton, diatoms (smaller
microbes)
Digestion – phagocytosis
Inspiration – diffusion
Replication – mitosis
Amoeba
page 2
 Excretion – contractile vacuole
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – ER, vesicles
 Cell protection –cell membrane
 Genetic material – DNA and RNA
 Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
 Locomotion – pseudopods
 Speed – 3 microns/sec (about 0.43 in/hour)
 Sensory – can sense prey
Volvox
 Kingdom – Protista (plant-like)
 Typical size – 350-1000 µm
 Structure & shape – unicellular, spherical cells form
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a hollow, spherical colony held together by mucilage
(a sticky gel)
External environment – freshwater that is rich in
nitrates (well fertilized)
Internal environment – cytoplasm
Energy source – autotroph
Preferred food – glucose
Digestion – photosynthesis
Inspiration – diffusion
Replication – daughter colonies (the darker spots)
Volvox
page 2
 Excretion – exocytosis
 Energy storage – mitochondria
 Circulation – ER, vesicles
 Cell protection –cell membrane
 Genetic material – DNA and RNA
 Genetic protection – nucleus (eukaryote)
 Locomotion – two flagella per cell, the colony
rotates
 Speed – the colony slowly tumbles
 Sensory – eyespot on specialized members can
detect light; colonies can also develop and detect
gender!
Summarize the Information
How do protista compare to modern animals,
plants and fungi?
What is the effect of size on speed?
What is the most common way microbes eat?
Which of these microbes is the coolest?
Any questions?