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Monera Kingdom

Monera kingdom

Monera kingdom is made up of bacteria, which are single-cell prokaryotic microrganisms. Most bacteria perform heterotrophic nutrition except Cyanobacteria, which can photosynthesize.

Their size varies between 0.5 and 5 micrometres.

They reproduce sexually through binary fission.

Some bacteria may be alone or group together as Streptococcus (in chains) or Staphylococcus (in bunches).

They may move agitating their flagella (a whip-like structure), or their *pili (some small hairs that are covering the surface of the bacteria).

*(pilus: singular, pili: plural)
Salmonela bacteria
Colour-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells. National Institute of health. Wikipedia. (Public Domain)
Spirilla
Spirilla. Wolframm Adlassnig. Wikipedia. (Public Domain)

There are a lot of bacteria in the human body especially on the skin and in the gut flora. They are harmless thanks to our immune system. But some bacteria are pathogenic and may cause diseases such as cholera, leprosy or tuberculosis.

Bacteria are useful in the process of producing cheese and yogurt through fermentation. Others are used in mining to obtain gold or copper and some others help in the seawage treatment and the breakdown of oil spills.
Moneran
Bacteria
Cyanobacteria
 Gut flora
Pathogenic
 Cholera
Streptococcus
 Staphylococcus
Pilus
 Immune system
Leprosy
 Tuberculosis

Activity 1

1. Listen and write the words.

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Activity 2

2. Complete the words with the missing letters.
ERAN BACT IMMUNE SYS
STREPTO LLA

BACTERIA MORPHOLOGY

Bacteria display many cell morphologies and arrangements. Mariana Ruíz. Wikipedia. (Public Domain)
BIN   FISSION LOCOCCUS
TROPHIC RCULOSIS
ARYOTIC PI

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Activity 3

3. Choose the right word/s to make correct statements.

1. The kingdom is made up of bacteria.

 2. Bacteria are organisms.
3. Cyanobacteria perform nutrition. 4. Cholera, leprosy, turberculosis are diseases caused by .
5. is a process that happens when we produce yoghurt. or cheese. 6. Bacteria can move using their or their pili.
7. Staphyloccocus is a group of bacteria arranged in . 8. Our helps us fight bacteria.

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Extra activity


Bacterial cell - structure and function. Primrose Kitten. Youtube. (YouTube Standard Licence)

Watch the video on the left and write the part of the cell that performs the function explained in the sentence. Use: Flagella / Pili / Ribosome/ DNA / Cell wall / Cell membrane/ Cytoplasm.

1. : It is responsible for replication.

2. : It makes the bacteria attach to things

3. : It contains enzymes.

4. : keep the cell in a fixed shape.

5. : It controls what goes in or out.

6. : It makes the bacteria move.

7. . It produces proteins.

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Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin. Ryan Somma. Flickr. (CC BY)

Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer.

She was born in London in 1920. After school she studied physical chemistry at the University of Cambridge where she graduated in 1941. During the World War II she investigated the physical chemistry of carbon and coal for the war effort. In 1945 she received a doctorate from Cambridge.

Then she joined the Biophysical Laboratory at King's College, London to research on the X-ray diffraction method to study DNA. In 1947 she joined the French government's central laboratory in Paris to learn how to use X-ray diffraction to depict solids' non-regular crystalline structure. From 1953 to 1958 she worked in the Crystallography Laboratory at Birkbeck College, London to complete her research on coal and to start a study on tobacco virus and DNA and RNA.

She established the X-ray pattern DNA molecules of double-helix polymer, which helped other scientists get the Nobel Prize. She classified coal by its porosity as this influences coal's efficiency as fuel. She also discovered that tobacco mosaic virus consisted of a single molecule of RNA embedded in a helical array of protein molecules.

Unfortunately she died in 1958, when she was only 37 years old.
1. Read the text and order the statements about Rosalind Franklin's life. Teamwork
She researched on some minerals to help her country during the World War II.

2. In pairs search the Internet or visit the school library to find answers for these questions and write them in your notebook. Then prepare to tell the answers aloud to the rest of students.

a. What is DNA and RNA?

b. Why did Rosalind Franklin study the tobacco virus?

c. Where is Cambridge University and King's College? Place them in a map and have a look at some photos.

c. Did Rosalind Franklin suffer any discrimination at work?
She joined a French laboratory.
She studied chemistry at the University of Cambridge.
She studied DNA at King's College.
She established the DNA structure.
She received a doctorate.

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Projects

Growing bacteria. Sick science. YouTube. (YouTube Standard Licence)

PROJECT 1

Watch this video and try to grow bacteria taken from three different places.

One of the members of the group can record all steps you take. At the end show the video to the classroom and explain all stages in your experiment. Write a report about the experiment too.

PROJECT 2

Use this link to have a close look at a bacteria structure. Use plasticine, EVA foam, cardboard or any other material to elaborate a model of a bacteria.