| gram-negative oxygenic photosynthetic bacteria | <microbiology> Widely distributed unicellular or multicellular bacteria. The cyanobacteria use chlorophyll a and phycobilins for oxygenic photosynthesis while genera in the prochlorales use both chlorophyll a and b but not phycobilins. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| gram-positive bacteria | <microbiology> Bacteria which retain the crystal violet stain when treated by gram's method. (12 Dec 1998) |
| gram-positive endospore-forming bacteria | <microbiology> Bacteria that form endospores and are gram-positive. Representative genera include bacillus, clostridium, micromonospora, saccharopolyspora, and streptomyces. (12 Dec 1998) |
| photosynthetic bacteria | <microbiology> Bacteria that are able to carry out photosynthesis. Light is absorbed by bacteriochlorophyll and carotenoids. Two principal classes are the green bacteria and the purple bacteria. (31 Dec 1997) |
| phototrophic bacteria | A physiological community of gram-negative bacteria whose members can perform photosynthesis under anaerobic conditions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| coliform bacteria | Bacteria whose presence in waste water is an indicator of pollution and of potentially dangerous contamination. (05 Dec 1998) |
| haemophilic bacteria | <microbiology> Haemophilic bacteria are bacteria which thrive in the presence of blood. These bacteria all belong to the taxonomic genera of Haemophilus, Bordetella, and Moraxella. They are rod-shaped, gram-negative, nonmotile parasites. (09 Oct 1997) |
| purple sulphur bacteria | <microbiology> A group of phototrophic prokaryotes containing bacteriochlorophylls a or b and characterised by the ability to oxidize hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and store elemental sulphur inside the cells. (09 Oct 1997) |
| spiral and curved bacteria | A large, very diverse group of bacteria in which some species are curved, some helical. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sulfur-reducing bacteria | A group of gram-negative, anaerobic bacteria that is able to oxidise acetate completely to carbon dioxide using elemental sulfur as the electron acceptor. (12 Dec 1998) |
| endospore-forming bacteria | A group of rods or cocci whose taxonomic affinities are uncertain. They form endospores, thick-walled bodies formed within the vegetative cells of certain bacteria, able to withstand adverse environmental conditions for prolonged periods. (12 Dec 1998) |
| endosymbiotic bacteria | Bacteria that establish a symbiotic relationship within a eukaryotic cell. For example the nitrogen fixing bacteria of legume root nodules. See: endosymbiont hypothesis. (18 Nov 1997) |
| enteric bacteria | A large group of Gram negative rod-shaped bacteria characterised by a facultatively aerobic metabolism. Many of them are commonly found in the intestines of animals. (09 Oct 1997) |
| faecal coliform bacteria | <gastroenterology, microbiology> Aerobic bacteria found in the colon or faeces, often used as indicators of faecal contamination of water supplies. (09 Oct 1997) |
| flesh-eating bacteria | A strain of Group A streptococcus which, in severe cases, can destroy tissue as fast as surgeons can cut it out. The rapid destruction of tissue caused by these bacteria is localised, so it is unlikely to be caused by a general overstimulation of the immune system by, for example: superantigen exotoxin A. Instead, the invasive strains of strep A probably have other toxin such as exotoxin B, an enzyme (i.e. A cysteine protease) that destroys tissue by breaking down protein. (09 Oct 1997) |