Bacteria ( singular bacterium) constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms.

Typically a few
micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria
were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil,
water, acidic hot springs,radioactive waste, and the deep portions of Earth's crust. Bacteria also live
in symbiotic and parasitic relationships with plants and animals. They are also known to have flourished in
manned spacecraft.

The different shapes of bacteria enable us to place them in different family groups:
A Bacilli with and without flagella
B Streptococci
C Staphylococci
D Diplococci
E Spirochete
F Club rod
G Filamentous
H Streptobacilli
Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom with
1,500 species currently identified and are estimated to constitute 1% of all described fungal species.
[2]

Yeasts are unicellular, although some species may also develop multicellularcharacteristics by forming

strings of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae or false hyphae. Yeast sizes vary greatly,
depending on species and environment, typically measuring 34 m in diameter, although some yeasts
can grow to 40 m in size. Most yeasts reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by the asymmetric
division process known as budding.

A bacteriophage a virus that parasitizes a bacterium by infecting it and reproducing inside it.
is a virus that infects and replicates within a bacterium. The term is derived from "bacteria" and
the Greek: (phagein), "to devour". Bacteriophages are composed
of proteins that encapsulate a DNAor RNA genome, and may have relatively simple or elaborate structures.
Their genomes may encode as few as four genes, and as many as hundreds of genes. Phages replicate
within the bacterium following the injection of their genome into its cytoplasm. Bacteriophages are among
the most common and diverse entities in the biosphere.

Importance of bacteria , yeast , and bacteriophage in the study of

biotechnology.
The DNA revolution: a starring role for bacteria
The second half of the 20th century saw rapid breakthroughs in our understanding of how DNA (the
genetic material within every cell) functions. Within a couple of decades, scientists discovered what DNA

looks like, how it acts as instructions for making the cells proteins, how DNA sequences can be altered and
how DNA can be moved between different species.
Bacteria particularly the bacterium Escherichia coli have been central to this revolution. It was E.
coli that was the first host for foreign DNA, and plasmid DNA from E. coli has been a crucial tool for working
with pieces of DNA from all species.
We can add foreign DNA to bacteria
As part of the DNA revolution, technologies have been developed for introducing DNA (such as a gene)
from one species into another. Bacteria are particularly good at accepting foreign DNA, and introducing
genes into bacterial cells is now routine. This procedure is a first step to making bacteria that can do new
and useful things.
Bacteria that contain introduced DNA are classified as new, genetically modified organisms. For this
reason, the conditions of their use are strictly controlled. The vast majority of all genetically modified
bacteria never leave the laboratory, where they are used as tools for manipulating DNA and making
proteins.
We use bacteria as protein factories
Bacteria can translate foreign genes into proteins and scientists have ways to ensure that the bacteria
make the proteins in large amounts. For these reasons, bacteria can function as protein factories,
producing medically important proteins and others. Insulin, for treating diabetes, was the first protein to be
produced in bacteria for medical use.

We can give bacteria useful functions

Carrying a foreign gene can change how a bacterium behaves particularly if the gene is expressed. For
instance, bacteria that express a foreign fluorescent protein will themselvesfluoresce. Scientists use this
phenomenon to develop bacteria with characteristics that are useful to humans like producing fuels,
breaking
down
waste
and
acting
as
markers
of
bacterial infection.

Yeast belongs to traditional biotechnology. This microorganism often makes people think of the world of
baking. However, it is not only used in this field.
In the industry of fermentation, yeast is used not only in food industries to make bread, wine and beer,
but also in non-food industries, such as the biofuel industry, to produce ethanol.
Other applications are possible: in food (for instance, flavor building blocks and carriers), nutrition and
health (dietary supplements, probiotics), medicine (biomedical research, model organisms in genetics,
synthetic pathways for antibiotics or other molecules of interest), the environment (pollution cleanup,
waste recycling, crop protection) and more.
Bacteriophages and biotechnology: vaccines, gene therapy and antibacterials.
In recent years it has been recognized that bacteriophages have several potential applications in the
modern biotechnology industry: they have been proposed as delivery vehicles for protein and DNA
vaccines; as gene therapy delivery vehicles; as alternatives to antibiotics; for the detection of pathogenic
bacteria; and as tools for screening libraries of proteins, peptides or antibodies. This diversity, and the
ease of their manipulation and production, means that they have potential uses in research, therapeutics
and manufacturing in both the biotechnology and medical fields. It is hoped that the wide range of
scientists, clinicians and biotechnologists currently researching or putting phages to practical use are able
to pool their knowledge and expertise and thereby accelerate progress towards further development in this
exciting field of biotechnology.

The different shapes of bacteria enable us to place them in different family groups:
A Bacilli with and without flagella
B Streptococci
C Staphylococci
D Diplococci
E Spirochete
F Club rod
G Filamentous
H Streptobacilli
The different shapes of bacteria enable us to place them in different family groups:
A Bacilli with and without flagella
B Streptococci
C Staphylococci
D Diplococci
E Spirochete
F Club rod
G Filamentous
H Streptobacilli

The different shapes of bacteria enable us to place them in different family groups:
A Bacilli with and without flagella

B Streptococci
C Staphylococci
D Diplococci
E Spirochete
F Club rod
G Filamentous
H Streptobacilli

The different shapes of bacteria enable us to place them in different family groups:
A Bacilli with and without flagella
B Streptococci
C Staphylococci
D Diplococci
E Spirochete
F Club rod
G Filamentous
H Streptobacilli