Bacteria come in many different shapes and sizes. They can grow as a single bacterium or together with their siblings into smaller or bigger cell clusters or even multicellular organisms.
For bacteria to grow, or reproduce, they use a mechanism called cell division. With this, one mother bacterium will make exactly two daughter bacteria cells. But also here some fascinating exceptions exist since certain bacteria divide and produce two different daughter bacteria. Since bacterial growth requires a lot of energy, the cell division process needs to be regulated very tightly.
To gain energy, all organisms – including bacteria – need to break molecules apart to get their electrons. In bacteria, this process is called bacterial respiration. Here, we will look at where this energy is stored, what bacteria do with both the electrons and energy and how we use bacterial respiration for our own advantages.
For a long time, bacteria were classified according to their shapes. With new technologies, we learned that the bacterial shapes help them survive in their environments and face harsh conditions. Spheres, rods, stars and screws: Learn about the different bacterial shapes.
Bacteria divide by measuring their middle and forming a ring. They then extend their cells while the ring tightens. Like this, two daughter cells grow out of one mother cell. However, the daughter cells do not always look the same…
To grow biofilms in water, bacteria need to properly glue themselves to a given surface. The bacterium Caulobacter crescentus produces a bacterial glue that is super strong so that the bacteria will not get washed away. Thanks to this glue, Caulobacter can settle down on almost any surface to build biofilms in water.
When thinking of bacteria, you might have the picture of a single cell in your mind. But interestingly, some bacteria come as multicellular organisms with advanced functions. Here, we will learn what multicellular bacteria are and why bacteria form multicellular organisms. We will then look at some colourful examples of multicellular bacteria.
When bacteria run out of nutrients, they start a process called sporulation to preserve their genetic material.
This article explores what a bacterial spore is and looks at the details of the sporulation process.
When a bacterial cell grows, it needs to increase both the cell content and the cell envelope. To grow their outer membranes, bacteria transport lipids with ferries, bridges and tunnels from one side to the other. These transport means allow the whole bacterium to expand and thrive.
Bacteria come in many different shapes and sizes. They can grow as a single bacterium or together with their siblings into smaller or bigger cell clusters or even multicellular organisms.
For bacteria to grow, or reproduce, they use a mechanism called cell division. With this, one mother bacterium will make exactly two daughter bacteria cells. But also here some fascinating exceptions exist since certain bacteria divide and produce two different daughter bacteria. Since bacterial growth requires a lot of energy, the cell division process needs to be regulated very tightly.
