21 Curious Eubacteria Kingdom Facts Revealed For Kids

There is several thousand different species of bacteria that can be found all around the world, including in uninhabitable and extreme conditions, like volcanoes, places that are covered with radioactive waste, and even in the deep layers of the earth's crust.

The term Eubacteria means true bacteria. Classification of these microorganisms is done using Gram stain, dividing them into Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

With approximately 40 million bacterial cells per gram of soil, Eubacteria is one of the countless living beings on this planet. Scientists divided these microbes into Eubacteria and Archaebacteria based on their differences.

Archaebacteria are usually found in extreme conditions of the environment, whereas Eubacteria are found everywhere. RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) studies of the genetic information also caused the division. Eubacteria is equipped with prokaryotic cells and is beneficial to plants.

There exists a six kingdom classification given by Carl Woese. These six kingdoms are kingdom Archaebacteria, kingdom Plantae, kingdom Protista, kingdom Animalia, Eubacteria kingdom, and finally, kingdom Fungi.

Fascinatingly, fungi and bacteria are often classified along with plants. This is mainly due to the presence of cell walls and autotrophic mode of getting nutrition and general immobility that the three share. This led to fungi and bacteria being classified along with plants.

Though there are similarities between the kingdoms of Eubacteria and Fungi, it is important to note that there are important differences between them as well. Unlike Eubacteria, Fungi are multi-celled organisms. Also, dissimilar to plants, Fungi do not produce their own food.

Though it is commonly misconceived that the plant kingdom is the biggest, the largest kingdom of the six kingdoms is the animal kingdom.

What are Eubacteria?

Eubacteria, commonly known as true bacteria, are single-celled prokaryotic microorganisms. Their prokaryotic cells enable them to be present on various types of surfaces. They are one of the six kingdoms, as mentioned by Carl Woese. Initially, they were categorized under the kingdom known as 'Monera'.

Eubacteria and Archaebacteria, sometimes clubbed together and referred to as Monera, do not have nuclei. However, later it was separated into a new kingdom called the Eubacteria kingdom. Eubacteria is a kingdom that also comprises a domain.

• Eubacteria, one of the tiniest organisms on earth, are enclosed by a cell wall that is made of cross-linked chains of a polymer known as peptidoglycan. This combines both amino acids as well as sugar chains. The network structure provides the wall with the strength it requires to maintain the structure's size and shape when faced with the changing chemical and osmotic differences that occur outside of the cell.
• Heterotrophic organisms and autotrophic organisms feed on Eubacteria, making it important to the animal kingdom. Reproducing asexually through binary fission, these organisms can survive in extreme conditions. Furthermore, Eubacteria have cilia and flagella as parts of their body, which they use for movement.
• Eubacteria is an organism that metabolizes and digests the remains of plants and animals and finally releases salient and valuable nutrients into the ground.
• Eubacteria is proof that the animal kingdom is of importance to humans. The Eubacteria in the human gut plays an important role in the digestion of food, in the synthesis of vitamin K, and in protecting the human body from harmful bacteria and many dangerous diseases.
• Eubacteria species are also used in making some food items. These living organisms are used in manufacturing cheese, curd, yogurt, and wine.
• Eubacteria are tiny organisms that can produce four generations in as little as 20 minutes, when in optimal conditions.
• These common organisms can be in large colonies and also as individual cells.

Members Of Eubacteria

Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and miscellaneous bacteria are a few of the most common bacteria. While domain bacteria has many bacteria phylum of Eubacteria, the relationships constantly change. Eubacteria domain is home to E. coli, the full form of which is Escherichia coli.

This bacteria is rod-shaped and Gram-negative. Streptococcus pneumoniae, also called S. pneumoniae, is another common Eubacteria that causes diseases like some other Eubacteria. Additionally, it is similar to the streptococcus pyogenes in name, the bacteria that causes strep throat.

• Eubacteria have been broadly classified into three subcategories based on the shape of these microbes. The three types are bacilli (due to their rod shape), cocci (owing to the spherical shape), and spirilla (because of their spiral or wave shape).
• Some species of Eubacteria can cause serious diseases in the human body, including tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera, anthrax (caused by bacillus anthracis), and tetanus (caused by clostridium tetani bacteria), for which antibiotics are used. These antibiotics disrupt the normal functioning of the organism.
• Some species of Eubacteria can engage in nitrogen fixation by absorbing atmospheric nitrogen and converting it into nitrates, which is beneficial for plants. Cyanobacteria phyla are one such species that fix nitrogen in the soil and prove to be beneficial for plants.

The Characteristics Of Eubacteria

Eubacteria are also called true bacteria, come in different shapes, including spherical, spiral, tightly coiled, and rod-shaped bacteria.

• Eubacteria are heterotrophs, which means that these single-celled living organisms take their food from outside sources. However, they can also be autotrophic, meaning that they can produce their own food.
• Eubacteria kingdoms reproduce asexually through binary fission, where the mother cell is separated from the daughter cell through the cell wall. In this separation through the cell wall, they exchange a material called pili and absorb the DNA through the environment in a process known as transformation. They alter the existing DNA by incorporating bacteriophage into the chromosome using a process known as transduction.
• Eubacteria do not have nucleus or cell organelles. They have cell walls made of peptidoglycan chains and many plasmids in the cytoplasm. An additional layer of lipid and sugar around the cell wall is found in Gram-negative bacteria. This is harmful to animals and humans owing to the incorporation of potent toxins in the lipopolysaccharide layer.

Different Types Of Bacteria

The bacteria domain is classified based on shape, oxygen requirement, nutrition, and cell wall composition. The growth of bacteria is affected by four different things and they are temperature, moisture, oxygen, and finally, their levels of pH.

Bacteria are common organisms, of which some bacteria live in plants and animals. The body of humans has approximately 10 times more bacterial cells on it than human cells.

Comparatively few species of these single-celled organisms are pathogens, causing diseases in animals and plants. Furthermore, some are used in the making of fermented food.

• Eubacteria are classified into proteobacteria, chlorobi, chloroflexi, chlamydiae, planctomycetes, cyanobacteria phyla, and many other phyla.
• Green sulfur bacteria are a species that belongs to the Chlorobi phyla, contains dihydroporphin as well as chlorobium chlorophyll 660 as the main chlorophyll pigment.
• Some types of bacteria can move in a twisting motion using flagella, a part that allows them to move.
• Bacteria are fascinating organisms as they exist in different shapes, like rod-shaped bacteria spiral-shaped bacteria. Some species of these organisms have been found to survive in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Some survive even in hot springs, while others can tolerate an atmosphere without oxygen.
• Eubacteria can be both beneficial and dangerous to human and animal lives. They come in different shapes and sizes, including round, oval, spherical, and rod-shaped.
• We use them for making different types of fermented food like cheese, wine, yogurt, and curd, and for reducing the harmful nitrogen levels in the soil. However, it is important to note that these organisms can also have serious harmful effects on lives in form of dangerous diseases, like tuberculosis, meningitis, cholera, and tetanus, to name a few.
• More often than not, when people think about bacteria, they are thinking of Eubacteria. These organisms are found literally everywhere on earth and are usually helpful to humans. Moreover, these unicellular organisms are capable of producing spores that aid them in remaining dormant when in unfavorable conditions.
• In cases of the problems that these organisms cause, they can be managed using medication and lifestyle changes. By consuming antibiotics when required as per the doctors' prescription and employing healthy living habits, including regular and consistent handwashing, healthy eating, and sleeping habits, it is possible to keep the harmful and deadly species of Eubacteria away.