Eubacteria (true bacteria)

The true bacteria are very different from the archea. They are quite comfortable living in the world we are used to. All bacteria reproduce primarily through asexual means. Simply put, if they want a buddy, they divide and make a clone. Check out this stellar video on bacteria division.

While they may seem similar to us, there are great differences among the Eubacteria. Some produce their own food and some do not. Here is a run-down of the characteristics of these chaps. I've started by dividing these into the autotrophs and heterotrophs.

1. Autotrophic (able to produce their own food)
• Phylum - Cyanobacteria
  
  Cyanobacteria are better known as blue-green algae, although they aren't a whole lot like the rest of the algaes. This remarkable little organism is a producer, which means it makes its own food, as well as food for other creatures. They are believed to be quite ancient, and fossils which date back to 3.5 billion years ago have been found.
  
  These organisms aren't plants. They're bacteria, but they have an unusual relationship with plants. Scientists hypothesize that, long ago, blue-green algae cells made their way into a larger cell. The algae provided the cell with food, and the cell protected the algae. This cooperating from within (endosymbiosis) led to plant life. The chloroplasts within plant cells bear strong resemblance to blue-green algae.
  
  Another important thing to note; oygen producers, like the blue-green algae and plant-like monera, were probably responsible for a mass extinction early in earth's history. The atmosphere of earth used to be oxygen poor and CO₂ rich. When oxygen was prodced, it meant death for countless bacteria, but the possibility of life for plants, animals and other organisms.
  
  
  
  
  
• Division - Prochlorophyta
  
  Only very recently have scientists separated the prochlorophytes from the rest of the blue-green algae. Some texts don't separate them. They were a hard group to discover, as the cells are very small. Most can't be seen with an ordinary microscope, but have to be seen with an electron microscope. Even now, scientists have only discovered three groups.
  
  This grouping is most like modern plants. Their chlorophyll is more similar to plants than cyanobacteria, but they have neither nucleus or other organelles.
  
  Even though these organisms are small and strange, they are responsible for much of the oxygen on this planet. Next time you breathe, thank the prochlorophytes.
  
  



2. Heterotrophic (they eat other stuff)
   
   
   • Phylum Schizophyta
   
   
   
Schizo means split, and this phylum is split indeed. They separate nicely into gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Scientists figured out that some bacteria will remained colored if stained, and some bacteria didn't. This is due to differences in the cell walls. Those which remain stained are called gram positive and those which don't are called gram negative.

It is also useful to classify bacteria by their shapes. The main shapes are:
• coccus (sphere shaped)
• bacillus (rod shaped)
• spirillium (thick, rigid spiral)
• vibrio (bent bar)
• spirochete (thin, flexible spiral)

Clicking on the picture will take you to the site where I originally found it.
coccus - streptococcus bacteria	bacillus
vibrio - extremely magnified cholera	spirochete (pink) - and red blood cells.
	Most bacteria are harmless to humans, but some cause DISEASES. Studying those diseases is both frightening and fun. Go to my disease page for more information.
spirillium (rigid spiral)

Now you can go read about the archaea,
return to the monerans, or
go back to the overview.