microbes

MICROBES

By Sana Amin

What are microbes?

A microbe is any living organism that spends its life at a size too tiny to be seen with the naked eye. The term microbe is short for microorganism, which means small organism.

Some different microbes

Microbes include bacteria , protists and some fungi and even some very tiny animals that are too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope. Viruses and the recently discovered prions are also considered microbes.

Major organism groups

Prokaryotes – Eubacteria , Archaea Eukaryotes – Protists , Fungi , Plants ,

Tiny Animals Viruses Prions

Prokaryotes

Prokaryotes contain no nucleus or other cell organelles. Prokaryotes are put into two groups , the Eubacteria and the Archaea.

Eubacteria – This is the bacteria people think of when they think of bacteria.

Archaea-this group of bacteria is found in in extreme environments, such as hot thermal vents, under conditions with no oxygen or in highly acidic environments.

Eukaryotes

Protists - They are an extremely diverse group of microbes , Protists include all microscopic organisms that are not bacteria, not animals, not plants, and not fungi.

Fungi- they are mix between plants and animals fungi cannot synthesize their own food via photosynthesis, like plants do, but instead they feed off of other organisms as do animals.

Plants- Plants are organisms that can obtain energy from sunlight

Tiny animals - Tiny animals like rotifers and nematodes are considered microbes.

Viruses

Viruses are small bits of genetic code in a protective covering.

Viruses are not "alive," that is, they cannot replicate, unless they are inside another organism.

Prions

Prions are "elements" that can replicate within the appropriate hosts, yet they cannot live on their own. Unlike all other microbes, which contain nucleic acids, prions appear to contain only proteins that allow for their replication.

Pictures

Airborne bacteria