Bacteria

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-002655",
  "term": "Bacteria",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. (Singular: bacterium) Microscopic living organisms that can aid in pollution control by metabolizing organic matter in sewage, oil spills or other pollutants. However, bacteria in soil, water or air can also cause human, animal and plant health problems.\n\n2. Single-celled microorganisms that lack chlorophyll. Some bacteria are capable of causing human, animal or plant diseases, others are essential in pollution control because they break down organic matter in the air and water.\n\n3. (back-TEER-e-uh) Singular: bacterium. Microscopic living organisms usually consisting of a single cell. Bacteria can aid in pollution control by consuming or breaking down organic matter in sewage, or by similarly acting on oil spills or other water pollutants. Some bacteria in soil, water or air may also cause human, animal and plant health problems.\n\n4. Microscopic living organisms; some are helpful and some are harmful. \"Good\" bacteria aid in pollution control by consuming and breaking down organic matter and other pollutants in septic systems, sewage, oil spills, and soils. However, \"bad\" bacteria in soil, water, or air can cause human, animal, and plant health problems.\n\n5. One-celled organisms. Many act as decomposers that break down dead organic matter into substances that dissolve in water and are used as nutrients by plants.\n\n6. Microscopic living organism.\n\n7. Single-cell, independently replicating microorganisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and other organelles.\n\n8. One-celled microorganisms that are either free-living or parasitic, some of which may cause illness in humans and/or animals.\n\n9. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to oxygen: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or phototropy (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: chemolithotrophy (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for carbon; nitrogen; etc.; heterotrphy (from organic sources) or autotrophy (from carbon dioxide). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their cell walls) with crystal violet dye: gram-negative or gram-positive\n\n10. Microscopic single-celled organisms with rigid walls. Bacteria are found almost everywhere. Some bacteria in soil, water or air can cause human disease. [CRCWQT 2002]\n\n11. Unicellular microorganisms that exist either as free-living organisms or as parasites and have a broad range of biochemical, and often pathogenic, properties. Bacteria can be grouped by form into five general categories: cocci (spherical), bacilli (rod-shaped), vibrio (curved rod-shaped), spirilla (spiral), and filamentous (thread-like).\n\n12. One-celled microorganisms that are either free-living or parasitic, some of which may cause illness in humans and/or animals. [USDA 2004]\n\n13. Single-cell, independently replicating microorganisms that lack a membrane-bound nucleus and other organelles. [FDA 2001]\n\n14. A group of universally distributed and essentially unicellular microscopic organisms lacking chlorophyll.",
  "subject": "Water",
  "references": [
    "Terms of Env; Terms of Environment",
    "Aquatic Biodiversity Glossary",
    "Drinking Water Technical & Legal Terms",
    "Private Wells Glossary",
    "Greenhouse Gas Emissions",
    "I-BEAM Glossary of Terms",
    "FDA 2001",
    "USDA 2004",
    "NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)",
    "Thesaurus of Terms Used in Microbial Risk Assessment",
    "Office of Underground Storage Tanks Technical Terms; Glossary of Technical Terms: Office of Underground Storage Tanks",
    "AgSTAR Handbook Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/bacteria/"
}