	Biology 203 - Microbiology
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Bug of the Day

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1 Borrelia burgdorferi

Pathogen: Causes Lyme Disease. Gram-negative, heterotrophic, spiral-shaped, has axial filaments

2 Epulopiscium fishelsoni

One of the largest prokaryotes known; Gram-positive, related to Clostridium; able to form endospores, live offspring

3 Haloquadra walsbyi

Square shaped prokaryote (Archaea) and halophilic

4 Gemmata obscuriglobus

Gram-negative bacterium which lacks peptidoglycan in its cell wall but features a nuclear body enclosed by a double membrane

5 Magnetobacterium bavaricum

Gram-negative rod, ~ 5 um long, stores magnetite in inclusion bodies

6 Stentor coeruleus

Ciliated protozoan (eukaryotic); has cilia that are composed of "9+2" microtubules

7 Hyphomicrobium

Budding, appendaged bacterium

8 Halobacterium salinarum

Archaean which requires 20% salt to survive; photosynthesis using bacteriorhodopsin

9 Clostridium tetani

Gram-positive rods; obligate anaerobes; endosporing

Exam 2 "bugs"

10 Listeria monocytogenes

Gram-positive rods; psychrophiles - can grow at refrigerator temperatures

11 Nitrosomonas europaea

Chemoautotroph (Lithotroph); oxidizes ammonia, aids in soil nitrification

12 Enterococcus faecalis

Gram-positive streptococcus; catalase-negative, aerotolerant, uses Entner-Doudoroff pathway

13 Lactobacillus

Homolactic fermentation produces only lactic acid; used in dairy industry

14 Nostoc

Chains of cocci; photoautotroph; aquatic; can fix nitrogen

15 Heliobacterium chlorum

The only Gram-positive phototroph; uses bacteriochlorophyll g; photoheterotroph

16 Acinetobacter calcoaceticus

Assimilates and stores phosphate in volutin granules; useful for removal of PO4 from waste water

17 Escherichia coli

Gram-negative rods; Enterobacteria; often flagellated. Some strains are pathogenic. Doubling time ~ 18 min. Most-studied bacterium with ~ 4403 genes. Of these, ~ 1515 are involved in metabolism. See EcoCyc

18 Mycoplasma

Unusual codon usage: UGA = tryptophan instead of a stop codon

19 Serratia marcesens

Gram-negative rods that produce the pigment prodigiosin at room temperature, but not at 37C (example of differential gene expression)

Other "bugs" to be presented later this semester

Streptomyces

An actinomycete bacterium that produces many antibiotics

Bacillus subtilis

Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped. Common soil bacterium, produces many hydrolases and antibiotics

Oscillatoria

Photoautotrophic cyanobacterium; Calvin cycle (carbon fixation), nitrogen fixation

Beggiatoa

Chemolithotrophic, gliding bacteria; form mats of filaments, found in sulfide-rich environments such as Cuevo de la Villa Luz

20 Bacillus anthracis

Causes anthrax. Gram-positive, endospore-forming, rod-shaped

21 Aquifex aeolicus

Chemolithoautotroph - oxidizes H₂ for energy. Hyperthermophilic.

22 Chromatium

Purple sulfur bacterium (Phylum Proteobacteria) - anoxygenic phototroph using bacteriochlorophyll; Gram-negative rods

23 Corynebacterium

Gram-positive irregular rods, often forming parallel (palisade) clumps; some are pathogens (C. diphtheriae)

24 Adenovirus

Naked icosahedral virus, responsible for many common respiratory infections

25 Bacteriophage T-4

Naked complex virus, infects primarily E. coli by injecting its DNA through the cell wall. Lysogenic life cycle exists (dormancy)

26 Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Budding yeast (Domain Eukarya - Fungi); single-celled fungus, does not form hyphae; Ascomycete - reproduces by forming spores within a sac; fermentative

27 Bifidobacterium

Irregular rods with forked or swollen ends; fermentative; used as a probiotic.

28 Salmonella

Pathogenic Gram-negative rod; responsible for food poisoning and typhoid fever

29 Riftia symbiont

Lithotroph; barophile; uses deep-sea vent H₂S gas as energy; provides food for worms

29 Azotobacter

Free-living Gram-negative Nitrogen-fixing soil bacterium

30 Phaenerochaete chrysosporium

White rot fungus, capable of degrading lignin and other cyclic hydrocarbons

31 Bacillus thuringiensis

Produces Bt toxin, an insecticide. Bt spores can be sprayed on crops

32 Lactobacillus plantarum

Naturally occurring on plants; used in making sauerkraut, silage

33 Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Causes Gonorrhea; Gram-negative diplococcus (round shape), aerobic, non-motile, use pili for adhesion

Photo credits:     Wadsworth Center, NYS Department of Public Health
                          Cells Alive
                          American Society of Microbiology - Visual Resources

This page was last updated on: 08/29/08

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