MICROBIAL GROUP

EUKARYOTES

FUNGI

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

FUNGI AS FOOD

FUNGI AS PATHOGENS

causes ringworm,carcinogens,aflatoxin

HELP IN IMPROVE GROWTH

Mycorrhizae

FUNGI AS SPOILER

Decompose food, wood and etc.

FUNGI AS DECOMPOSER

Reduce complex polysaccharides and proteins into simple organic compounds and use by other

Recycling carbon, nitrogen and other elements to the ecosystem

FUNGI TO MODIFY HABITAT

Lichens inhabit inhospitable places and make
habitat suitable for life

TYPE OF FUNGI

Basidiomycetes-club

Chytridimycota-chytrid

Zycomycota-zygote

Ascomycetes-sac

CHARACTERISTICS

no cholorophyll

cell wall-chitin

nutrient stored-glycogen

spores bearer

multicellular except yeast

MOLDS

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Moist terrestrial habitats e.g. soil, decaying
wood, dung and etc.

Engulf bacteria (as predator)

As decomposer and consumer in the ecosystem

Cause diseases in plants e.g. tobacco plants,
potatoes, grapes

TYPE OF MOLD

Myxomycota (Plasmodial slime molds)

Characteristics

viscous masses of slime

saprophytes

motile amoeboid mass called plasmodium
(lack of cell wall)

phagocytosized dead material

Acrasiomycota (Cellular slime molds)

Characteristics

cellular slime molds

individual amoeboid cells
(unicellular)
- feed phagocytically

Oomycota (Water molds)

Characteristics

Sexual reproduction:
Oogonium fertilized by sperm cell/
antheridium to zygote to germinates to
asexual zoospores with flagella

ALGAE

CHARACTERISTICS

Simple “aquatic plants”

Eucaryotic + chlorophyll and pigments

Differences with other photosynthetic
eucaryotes

Photoautotrophic

DISTRIBUTION

PRIMARILY AQUATIC

Planktonic

Benthic

Neustonic

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

provide habitat for marine communities

as human food or to make various
products

Human food e.g. sushi

food base for marine food chains
-Phytoplankton convert CO2 into
protoplasm -->consumed by zooplankton --> crustaceans --> fishes --> humans

Algal bloom

Disrupt higher links of local food web

Production of neurotoxin by algae

PROTOZOA

CHARACTERISTICS

Motile eucaryotic unicellular protist

Eucaryotic cells but unicellular

Distribution: moist habitat, mostly
free living in freshwater or marine,
some terrestrial (soil)

TYPE OF PROTOZOA

Sarcomastigophora

Flagellates and
amoebae; single type
of nucleus

-Labyrinthomorpha
-Apicomplexa
-Microspora
-Ascetospora
-Myxozoa

Saprozoic or
parasitic sp.

Ciliophora

Ciliated and 2
types of nuclei

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

In the marine food chain
- Zooplankton (protozoans) ingest
phytoplankton and bacteria
- Influence the C and N cycle in
oceans
- A link for primary production and
higher levels in the food chain.

Parasitic relationship (cause harm to host)
- Zooflagellate Trypanosoma (African Sleeping Sickness in humans)
- Sporozoans: Plasmodium causes Malaria

Mutualistic relationship (both organisms
benefit) e.g. with ruminants
- Degradation of fibrous plant materials
releasing energy and VFA for growth of animals
- Major barrier to the passage of
pathogens through the digestive tract of
ruminants

PROKARYOTES

BACTERIA

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

To remove detrimental pollutants from
the environment

Recycling of chemical components

Symbiotic relationships
- Interactions: commensalism, parasitism,
mutualism
- e.g. N fixing bacteria provide source of N
for plants
- e.g. Cause various kinds of diseases e.g.
tuberculosis, pneumonia, cholera

Bioremediation

CHARACTERISTICS

Various morphology

Cellular organization: DNA not enclosed in
membrane, no other membrane bound
compartments, genome 1/1000 smaller than
eucaryotic genome

Reproduction: Binary fission.
Shorter generation time
quick evolution
higher mutation rate

Photoautotrophs
Chemotrophs
Autotrophs
Heterotrophs

VIRUSES

CHARACTERISTICS

obligate intracellular parasites

cannot replicate outside living cell

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VIRUS AND OTHER

a. Presence of either DNA or RNA
b. Inability to reproduce independent of cells
c. Inability to carry out cell division as procaryotes
and eucaryotes

ECOLOGICAL ROLE

Mostly disease causing in human,
animals and plants

Biological warfare