Allianze College of Medical Sceinces 1

Size of Bcteria
• Average bacteria 0.5 - 2.0 um in diam.
– RBC is 7.5 um in diam.
• Volume is ~4 um
• Surface Area ~12 um^2
Shapes of Bacteria
• Coccus
– Chain = Streptoccus
– Cluster = Staphylococcus
• Bacillus
– Chain = Streptobacillus
• Coccobacillus
• Spirillum
• Spirochete
• Square
• Star
Bacterial Structures
• Flagella
• Pili
• Capsule
• Plasma Membrane
• Cytoplasm
• Cell Wall
• Teichoic Acids
• Spores
• Pilli
– Pili are hair-like projections of the cell , They are
known to be receptors for certain bacterial
• Spores
– Dormant cell
– Resistant to adverse conditions
– High temperatures
– Organic solvents
• Flagella
– Locomotion
– antigenic
Virus
• Viruses
– Are noncellular (Subcellular) or Acellular
– Infectious agents
• Virology:
– Study of viruses

• Virologists:
– Scientists who study viruses
General features of Viruses
• Viruses are infectious agents with both living and
nonliving characteristics.
• Living characteristics of viruses
– They reproduce at a fantastic rate, but only in living
host cells.
– They can mutate.
• Nonliving characteristics of viruses
– They are acellular, that is, they contain no cytoplasm
or cellular organelles.
– They carry out no metabolism on their own and must
replicate using the host cell's metabolic machinery.
– Virus particles contains either DNA or RNA (not both)
– Nucleic Acid is surrounded or coated by a protein shell
(capsid)
– Some viruses possess a membrane-like envelope
surrounding the particle
– Consists of 1 molecule of DNA or RNA enclosed in coat
of protein
– May have additional layers
– Cannot reproduce independent of living cells nor
carry out cell division as procaryotes and eucaryotes
do
– An intact viral particle is called a virion.
Generalized Structure of Viruses
• Viral components
– Nucleic acids
– Capsid
– Envelope
• Virion size range is ~10-400 nm
• All virions contain a nucleocapsid which is
composed of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) and a
protein coat (capsid)
• Some viruses consist only of a nucleocapsid,
others have additional components
• Envelopes
– virions having envelopes = enveloped viruses
– virions lacking envelopes = naked viruses
VIRAL ENVELOPES
• Many viruses that infect humans and other
animals are enveloped.
• Envelopes form when viral glycoproteins and
oligosaccharides associate with the plasma
membrane of the host cell.
• All envelopes have a phospholipid bilayer.
Virus classification
The infection cycle
• The infection cycle was first worked out in
bacteriophages (bacterial viruses).
• Animal virus infections can be either lytic or
lysogenic.
Lytic versus lysogenic infection
• In a lytic infection, the host cells fills with virions
and bursts.
• The result is cell death.
• Lysogenic infections are also known as latent
infections.
– The viral genome becomes incorporated into the host
cell’s DNA.
– It can remain this way for an extended period.
– The host cell lives.
Fungi
• Fungi are eukaryotes
• Nearly all multicellular (yeasts are unicellular)
• Distinguished from other kingdoms by:
– Nutrition
– Structural organisation
– Growth
– Reproduction
• Fungi are heterotrophs that acquire nutrients by
absorption
• Secrete hydrolytic enzymes and acids to
decompose complex molecules into simpler ones
that can be absorbed
• Specialised into three main types:
– Saprobes - absorb nutrients from dead organic
material
– Parasitic fungi - absorb nutrients from cells of living
hosts; some are pathogenic
– Mutualistic fungi - absorb nutrients from a host, but
reciprocate to benefit the host