Phylum: Verrucomicrobia

 Phylum: Verrucomicrobia

Members of the Verrucomicrobia form several prosthecae per cell; these are similar to those described for certain Proteobacteria . Although widespread in terres-trial, freshwater and marine environments, only a handful of representatives have been isolated in pure culture.

Representative genera: Verrucomicrobium, Prosthecobacter

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is microbiology?

  What is microbiology? Things aren’t always the way they seem. On the face of it, ‘microbiology’ should be an easy word to define: the science ( logos ) of small ( micro ) life ( bios ), or to put it another way, the study of living things so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye. Bacteria neatly fit this definition, but what about fungi and algae? These two groups each contain members that are far from microscopic. On the other hand, certain animals, such as nematode worms, can be microscopic, yet are not considered to be the domain of the microbiologist. Viruses represent another special case; they are most certainly microscopic (indeed, most are submicroscopic), but by most accepted definitions they are not living. Nevertheless, these too fall within the remit of the microbiologist.
Read more

The carbon cycle - Microorganisms in the Environment

Image
  The carbon cycle A more detailed scheme of the carbon cycle is shown in Figure 16.2. Both aerobic and anaerobic reactions con-tribute to the cycle. The numbers in parentheses in the following description refer to those in Figure 16.2. Atmospheric CO 2  is fixed into organic compounds by plants, together with phototrophic and chemoau-totrophic microorganisms ( 1 ). The organic compounds thus synthesised undergo cellular respiration and CO 2  is returned to the atmosphere ( 2 ). The carbon may have been passed along a food chain to consumers before this occurs. Carbon dioxide is also produced by the decomposition of dead plant, animal and microbial material by heterotrophic bacteria and fungi.   Methanogenic bacteria produce methane from organic carbon or CO 2  ( 3 ,  4 ). This in turn is oxidised by methanotrophic bacteria; carbon may be incorporated into organic material or lost as CO 2  ( 5 ,  6 ).
Read more

Beneficial effects of microorganisms in the environment

Image
  Beneficial effects of microorganisms in the environment   The central role played by microorganisms in the recycling of essential elements on a global scale has already been stressed. Many of their natural activities are exploited by humans for their own benefit. Some form the basis of industrial processes   such as those used in the food and drink industries and while the application of others is essentially environmental. Notable among these is the harnessing of natural processes of  biodegradation  to treat the colossal volumes of liquid and solid wastes generated by our society. These are reviewed briefly in the following section.     Solid waste treatment: composting and landfill   We in the modern Western world are often described as living in a ‘throwaway society’. On average, each of us generates around 2 tonnes of solid waste material per year, and all of this must be disposed of in some way! Most of it ends up in landfill sites, huge h...
Read more