Question

Write a note on bacteria and vectors.

Answer 1

Bacteria:

1. Bacteria are single-celled and microscopic organisms.
2. They are cosmopolitan in nature (found in every habitat on earth: soil, rock, oceans, and arctic snow).
3. Bacteria are categorised into 5 groups: spherical(cocci), rod(bacilli), spiral(spirilla), comma (vibrios) or corkscrew (spirochaetes).

Classification of bacteria:

1. Mode of respiration- Aerobic or Anaerobic.
2. Nutritional patterns - Autotrophic or Heterotrophic.
3. Reproduction - Binary fission, conjugation, transduction, and transformation.
4. Shapes - Bacillus, Coccus and Vibrio.
5. Cell wall composition - Gram-positive and Gram-negative.

Benefits of bacteria:

1. Lactic acid bacteria- convert milk into curd.
2. Streptococcus and Bacillus- yogurt fermentation.
3. Actinobacteria and proteobacteria- Help in digestion and improving immune function against pathogens.

Vector:

1. Vector is a pathogen that transmits an infectious agent from one host to another.
2. Vectors are frequently arthropods: mosquitoes, flies, lice, etc.
3. Acts as an infection carrier.

Diseases spread by vectors are:

1. Yellow fever
2. Trypanosoma
3. Malaria
4. Dengue
5. Leishmaniasis