What you can t see can kill you or help you

Classification of Microorganisms

The world is rife and full of what are known as microorganisms. These microorganisms, also known as microbes, come in a number of different forms. Five in total, these groups are viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi and protozoa. It is important to know why these different groups are classified differently and what each of them do. As is clear to most people, these groups range from the harmless to the useful and even the dangerous. Some groups are combinations of two or more. This brief response will cover each of these at a somewhat detailed level. While microbes are not visible to the naked eye, they certainly have an effect on our lives.

As noted in the introduction, there are five groups when it comes to microbes. A virus, at its heart, is a microscopic organism that is a tiny bundle of genetic material. That material is shrouded in a viral coat and then shielded outside of that with an envelope. The sizes and shapes of viruses are quite complex beyond that but the basic structure of a virus is the same irrespective of the type. Their basic purpose is to infect and destroy. Influenza and HIV are both examples of viruses. Whereas viruses are multiple cells, bacteria are singular cells. The temperature range, the purpose and the propensities of bacteria depend on what precise bacteria is in question. For humans, some bacteria are good while other forms are bad. Good bacteria would include acidophilus. An example of bad bacteria is e. coli. Algae are organisms that are found in or around fresh or salt water. One major benefit of algae is that they produce oxygen. The colored matter floating on many ponds is algae. Fungi are organisms that are plant-like in nature but they behave like animals. A common example of fungi is seen with mushrooms. Finally, we come to protozoa. They are very small microbes that hunt other microbes for food. A famous example of protozoa is the disease malaria.

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