Microbiology on Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi Case Study

Microbiology on Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi - Case Study Example All bacterial cells have a definite shape attributed to their characteristic cell wall and have a naked DNA. Bacteria cells take up different shapes including a spherical shape, straight rods and spiral rods. Different bacteria strains further indicate unique cell organization including single cells, a pair of cells, a chain of rods, and long trichomes. However, some bacteria may not conform to these shapes such as Bacillus anthracis which appears as rods with straight blunt ends among other bacteria. Characteristics of the bacterial cell wall enable different bacteria strains to survive different environs including hypotonic and other forms of physical stress. Gram-positive bacteria have thicker cell walls (20-80 nm) than Gram-negative bacteria (10-15nm) (Kango, 2010). Different bacterial cell wall also has different chemical composition. Bacillus anthracis forms one of the most potential bioterrorism agents due to its highly infectious and lethal nature. The most important characte ristic that makes it appropriate for bioterrorism revolves around the ability of the bacterial cell to form a capsule that protects it from the human immune system (Bouzianas, 2007). Formation of the capsule enables the bacteria cell to survive amidst the human antibodies and immune cells allowing it to multiply and killing most immune cells. The capsule characteristic can be exploited by counter-bioterrorists to develop vaccines to prevent the lethal effects of the bacteria on the humans.Viruses are identified as unicellular microorganisms having either RNA or DNA, capable of reproducing inside other living cells (Kango, 2010). Viruses lack cellular organization and enzymes necessary for the synthesis of nucleic acids and protein. They depend on enzymes of the host cells to synthesize their proteins and follow a complex multiplication process. In addition, viruses are ultramicroscopic, enabling them to filter through barriers that retain bacterial cells.