Name Class Date

CHAPTER 10 Bacteria and Viruses

SECTION

1 Bacteria and Archaea

National Science
BEFORE YOU READ Education Standards
After you read this section, you should be able to answer LS 1b, 1c, 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b
these questions:
• What are bacteria and archaea?
• What are the characteristics of bacteria?
• How do archaea and bacteria differ?

What Are Bacteria and Archaea?

Organisms are grouped by traits they have in com- STUDY TIP
mon. All living things can be grouped into one of three Underline Use colored
domains: Bacteria, Archaea, or Eukarya. pencils to underline the
characteristics of bacteria in
All organisms in domain Eukarya are eukaryotes. red, characteristics of archaea
Each cell of a eukaryote has a nucleus and membrane- in blue, and characteristics
bound organelles. All organisms in domains Bacteria and shared by both in green.
Archaea are prokaryotes. A prokaryote is an organism
that is single-celled and has no nucleus.
Although many prokaryotes live in groups, they are
single organisms that can move, get food, and make cop-
ies of themselves. Most prokaryotes are very small and
cannot be seen without a microscope. However, you can
see some very large bacteria with your naked eye. READING CHECK
1. Identify What are two
characteristics of prokaryotes?
Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
• single-celled • single-celled or multicellular
• no nucleus • nucleus
• no membrane-bound organelles • membrane-bound organelles

Domain Bacteria Domain Archaea Domain Eukarya

What Characteristics Do Archaea and

Bacteria Share?
READING CHECK

NO NUCLEUS 2. Describe What does the

DNA of a prokaryote look like?
Prokaryotes do not store their DNA in a nucleus as
eukaryotes do. Their DNA is stored as a circular loop
inside the cell.
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SECTION 1 Bacteria and Archaea continued

REPRODUCTION
Prokaryotes copy themselves, or reproduce, by a pro-
cess called binary fission. Binary fission is reproduction
in which a single-celled organism splits into two single-
celled organisms. Before a prokaryote can reproduce, it
must make a copy of its loop of DNA. After the cell splits,
READING CHECK the two new cells are identical to the original cell.
3. Identify How do
prokaryotes reproduce? Binary Fission

1 The cell grows.

2 The cell makes a copy of

its DNA. Both copies attach
to the cell membrane.

3 The DNA and its copy

separate as the cell
grows larger.

TAKE A LOOK 4 The cells separate.

Each new cell has a
4. Describe After binary copy of the DNA.
fission, how do the two cells
compare to the original cell?

What Are Some Characteristics of Bacteria?

Most of the prokaryotes that scientists have found are
bacteria. Domain Bacteria has more individual members
than domains Archaea and Eukarya combined have.
Bacteria can be found almost everywhere.

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SECTION 1 Bacteria and Archaea continued

SHAPE
Most bacteria are one of three shapes: bacilli, cocci,
and spirilla. Bacilli are rod-shaped. Cocci are spherical.
Spirilla are long and spiral-shaped. Different shapes help
bacteria survive. Most bacteria have a stiff cell wall that
gives them their shape. READING CHECK
Some bacteria have hairlike parts called flagella 5. List What are three
(singular, flagellum). A flagellum works like a tail to push common shapes of bacteria?
a bacterium through fluids.
The Most Common Shapes of Bacteria

Bacilli are rod shaped. They have a
large surface area, which helps them
take in nutrients. However, a large
surface area causes them to dry out
quickly.
Cocci are spherical. They do not
dry out as quickly as rod-shaped
bacteria.

TAKE A LOOK
6. Compare What advantage
do cocci have over bacilli?

7. Compare What advantage

do bacilli have over cocci?

Spirilla are long and spiral-shaped.

They have flagella at both ends.
These tail-like structures help the
bacteria move through fluids.

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SECTION 1 Bacteria and Archaea continued

ENDOSPORES
Most bacteria do well in warm, moist places. Some
species of bacteria die in dry and cold surroundings.
However, some bacteria form endospores to survive
these kinds of conditions. An endospore is a thick,
protective covering that forms around the DNA of a
bacterium. The endospore protects the DNA from
STANDARDS CHECK changes in the environment. When conditions are good,
LS 4b Populations of organisms the endospores break open, and the bacteria begin to grow.
can be categorized by the
functions they serve in an
ecosystem. Plants and some
microorganisms are producers— CLASSIFICATION
they make their own food. All Scientists can classify bacteria by the way the bacteria
animals, including humans, are
consumers, which obtain their get food. There are three ways for bacteria to get food:
food by eating other organisms. consume it, decompose it, or produce it.
Decomposers, primarily bacteria
and fungi, are consumers that
use waste materials and dead
• Consumers eat other organisms.
organisms for food. Food webs • Decomposers eat dead organisms or waste.
identify the relationship among
producers, consumers, and • Producers make their own food. Some bacteria can
decomposers in an ecosystem.
make food using the energy from sunlight.
Word Help: categorized
to put into groups or
classes

8. List Name three roles

bacteria can play in an
ecosystem.

Decomposers, such as the ones help-

ing to decay this leaf, return nutrients
to the soil. This allows other living
things to use those nutrients.

CYANOBACTERIA
Cyanobacteria are producers. These bacteria have a
green pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll traps the
energy from the sun. The cell uses this energy to make food.
Some scientists think that billions of years ago, bacteria
similar to cyanobacteria began to live inside larger cells.
According to this hypothesis, the bacteria made food for
itself and the larger cells. In return, the larger cells
protected the bacteria. This relationship may have led to
the first plant cells on Earth.
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SECTION 1 Bacteria and Archaea continued

How Do Archaea Differ from Bacteria?

Like bacteria, archaea are prokaryotes. However,
archaea are different from bacteria. For example, not all
archaea have cell walls. When they do have them, the cell
walls are made of different materials than the cell walls
of bacteria. READING CHECK
There are three types of archaea: heat lovers, salt 9. Identify What is one
lovers, and methane makers. Heat lovers live in hot ocean difference between archaea
vents and hot springs. They usually live in water that is and bacteria?
60°C to 80°C. However, they have been found in living in
water as hot as 250°C.
Salt lovers live where there are high levels of salt, such
as the Dead Sea. Methane makers give off methane gas.
Methane makers often live in swamps. They can also live
inside animal intestines.

TAKE A LOOK
10. Identify What type of
archaea do you think would
live in this swamp?

HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
Although bacteria can be found almost anywhere,
archaea can live in places where even bacteria cannot
Critical Thinking
11. Infer What kind of
survive. For example, many archaea live in places with prokaryote would most likely
little or no oxygen. Many can also survive very high tem- be found near vents at the
peratures and pressures. bottom of the ocean with
extremely high temperatures?
Scientists have found archaea in the hot springs at Explain your answer.
Yellowstone National Park and beneath 430 m of ice in
Antarctica. Archaea have even been found 8 km below
the surface of the Earth! Even though they can be found
in harsh environments, many archaea also live in more
moderate environments, such as the ocean.
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Section 1 Review NSES LS 1b, 1c, 2a, 3a, 3b, 4b

SECTION VOCABULARY
binary fission a form of asexual reproduction prokaryote an organism that consists of a single
in single-celled organisms by which one cell cell that does not have a nucleus
divides into two cells of the same size
endospore a thick-walled protective spore that
forms inside a bacterial cell and resists harsh
conditions

1. List What are the three domains that include all living things?

2. Compare Fill in the Venn Diagram to compare bacteria and archaea.

3. Describe How do some scientists think the first plants appeared on Earth?

4. List Name three kinds of archaea.

5. Infer Do you think it would be possible to find bacteria and archaea living in the
same environment? Explain your answer.

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