SYNOPTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE KINGDOM SAPROSPIRAE AND ITS SINGLE PHYLUM SAPROSPIROBACTERIA (MARGULIS AND SCHWARTZ 1998)
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KINGDOM SAPROSPIRAE LINKS
| The following description comes mainly from Margulis and Schwartz (1998), Barnes (1984a), Brock et al. (1994), and Tudge (2000). |
I. SYNONYMS: Gliding bacteria.
II. PHYLUM CHARACTERISTICS:
- A. Structure
- Cell Form: Variable; rods (text with tooltip) A rod is an elongate cell form such that it has distinct ends (called poles). that occur singly or in chains (filaments) (text with tooltip) A filament is a linear array of cells. In the Cyanobacteria, a filament is the linear array of cells (trichome) plus the surrounding mucilaginous sheath. .
- Cell Wall: Gram- (text with tooltip) A Gram - cell loses the blue-black crystal-violet color following destaining with alcohol during the Gram Stain procedure. Then, it takes on the color of the counterstain, typically iodine. .
- Motility: Non-motile but cells can glide on surfaces; they are often embedded in polysaccharide slime.
- B. Physiology
- O2 Tolerance: Aerobes (text with tooltip) Aerobes is derived from Greek terms aero (air) and bios (life). Aerobes (n) are those bacteria that require free oxygen for metabolism. ; some facultative anaerobes.
- Substrates: Quite variable, some are parasites of animals; some feed on carbohydrates, cellulose, and chitin, while others may be chemoautotrophic by the oxidation of H2S.
- Products: Some, like Beggiatoa, are autotrophic or mixotrophic (text with tooltip) A mixotrophic organism obtains food either by autotrophic or saprobic means. Also called mesotrophic. and fix CO2 with the oxidation of inorganic sulfur. In particular, they often deposit sulfur granules in the cells.
- C. Other: Very diverse group of bacteria.
- D. Ecology: Free-living in soils and aquatic sediments, some commensals and parasites.
| LITERATURE CITED Ahmad, A., J. P. Barry, and D. C. Nelson. 1999. Phylogenetic affinity of a wide, vacuolate, nitrate-accumulating Beggiatoa sp. from Monterey Canyon, California, with Thioploca spp. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 65(1): 270-277. Barnes, R. S. K. 1984b. Kingdom Monera. IN: Barnes, R.S.K., ed. A synoptic classification of living organisms. Sinauer Associates. Sunderland, Mass. Black, J. G. 2002. Microbiology, Principles and Explorations. 5th ed. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. Brock, T. D., M. T. Madigan, J. M. Martinko, and J. Parker. 1994. Biology of Microorganisms. 7th ed. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Garrity, G. M., M. Winters, and D. Searles. 2001. Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology. 2nd ed. Springer-Verlag. New York. Garrity, G. M., J. A. Bell, and T. G. Lilburn. 2003. Taxonomic Outline of the Prokaryotes. Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. 2nd edition. Release 4.0. Springer-Verlag. New York. pp. 1-397. Holt, J. G., ed. 1989a. Other gram-negative bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Archaea. IN: Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology. Volume III. Williams and Wilkins. Baltimore, MD. Krieg, N. R. 1984. Gram-negative aerobic rods and cocci. In: Krieg, N. R. and J. G. Holt, eds. Bergey´s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Vol. 1: 140-408. Maier, S. 1980. Growth of Thioploca ingrica in a mixed culture system. Ohio Acad. Sci. 80(1): 30-32. Margulis, L. and K. Schwartz. 1998. Five kingdoms, an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth. 3nd Edition. W. H. Freeman and Co. New York. Schmidt, T. M., B. Arieli, Y. Cohen, E. Padan, and W. R. Strohl. 1987. Sulfur metabolism in Beggiatoa alba. Journal of Bacterial. 169(12): 5466-5472. Tudge, C. 2000. The Variety of Life, A Survey and a Celebration of all the Creatures That Have Ever Lived. Oxford University Press. New York. |
| By Jack R. Holt. Last revised: 02/20/2013 |
