18 Difference Between Bacteria and Fungi

Bacteria and fungi belong to different categories. If we talk about bacteria coming under the prokaryotic and fungi coming under the eukaryotic category. Bacteria are big in size than viruses and has a very compelled structure than virus. Fungi is also very complex than bacteria and viruses. There are many other differences between bacteria and fungi like their source of energy and food, their structures, shapes cell membrane, and size. In this post, we will discuss bacteria and fungi.

Bacteria Vs Fungi

Bacteria	Fungi
a single-celled microorganism that comes under prokaryotic classification.	unicellular organisms which come under eukaryotic classification.
Can be both producers and decomposers in nature.	Only decomposers in nature.
Bacteria cells don’t contain organelles	fungi contains organelles.
In bacteria nucleus is absent.	fungi contain a nucleus surrounded by a nucleus membrane
Peptidoglycan cell wall.	Chitin Cell wall.
Survive in Natural pH value 6.5 to 7.0.	Survive in acidic pH range 4-6.
The size of bacteria lies between 0.5 to 5 microns.	fungi size lies between 2 to 10 microns.
Five Different shapes spirilla (spiral), cocci(spherical), bacillus(rod), vibrios (comma) or spirochaetes (corkscrew)	Thread-like structure, but vary in shapes.
The main energy source is fats Proteins and sugar.	Dead material which is available in nature.
Bacteria are sensitive to antibodies like penicillin.	Fungi is sensitive towards Griseofulvin.
Bacteria are Resistive towards Griseofulvin.	Fungi are Resistive towards antibodies like penicillin.
Some bacteria are movable with flagella.	Fungi Don’t move.
Bacteria contain 70S ribosomes.	Fungi contain 80S ribosomes
Bacteria are reproduced by binary fission.	fungi are reproduced by sexual or asexual methods
Bacteria cell membrane lies below the cell wall.	fungi cell wall exists in its typical location.
Small cell cycle 20 to 60 Minute	Longer cell cycles 12 to 24 Hrs.
Some bacteria have pilli.	It contains no pilli.
Examples:- Salmonella Typhi, Escherichia coli, Lactococcus latis, Faecal Bacteria.	Examples:- Yeast, Mushrooms, Rusts, Smuts, Mildews, Molds

Bacteria

Bacteria is the first living thing on the earth. Their presence on earth is around 3.5 billion years ago. Bacteria are microscopic organisms, means not visible with necked eyes. These are the single-celled very small living organisms that are characterized by the preliminary nucleus and few membrane-less cell organelles. Bacteria are lived on earth in different size shape and colors. They are present in the soil water-rock ocean or even arctic snow and also inside the other big living things. Most bacteria are present in five shapes which are spirilla (spiral), cocci(spherical), bacillus(rod), vibrios(comma), or spirochaetes (corkscrew), and their cells are arranged in clusters or chains.

Bacteria are autographs or heterotrophs means one who made their food with the help of photosynthesis or the second ones who depend upon the host for nutrition. Bacteria are reproduced by binary fission or conjugation. Bacteria do not contain nuclei. Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms.

Not all bacteria are harmful to other living things some bacteria help other living things with many processes. For example, bacteria help in the fermentation process for making curd cheese and yogurt. And some bacteria are responsible for human beings and animals illnesses like cholera tuberculosis etc.

Bacteria are everywhere on the earth’s surface, you will be shocked to know that one gram of soil contains 40 million bacteria cells and one milliliter of water contains one million bacteria cells.

Cellular components of bacteria

. Pilus

. Glycocalyx

. Mesosome

. Flagellum

. Nucleoid

. Cell wall

. Fimbriae

. Cell membrane

. Ribosome

. Endospore 

Types of bacteria

Bacteria are classified on the bases of

Shape

• Spherical-shaped: the bacteria with shapes like balls are known as cocci or
• Rod-shaped
• spiral-shaped- these bacteria are responsible for Leptospirosis, syphilis, and Lyme diseases.
• Comma shaped
• Corkscrew shaped

Uses of the bacteria

• Food processes – used in the fermentation
• Fiber retting – bacteria are used to separate fiber of jute, flax, and hemp
• Pest control – bacteria are also used as pest control because bacteria are very ecofriendly.
• Medicine and biotechnology – bacteria are very useful for the production of many supplements and drugs. They are also very helpful in the production of antibodies.
• Digestion- bacteria also act as the digestive substance.
•  

Examples of bacteria

1. Salmonella Typhi- these bacteria infect humans and other living organisms. The main disease by this bacteria is typhoid. It is a rod-shaped bacteria.
2. Escherichia coli – these are harmless  and rod-shaped bacteria

Fungi

Fungi is well known as the decomposer in the ecological system. It is a Eukaryotic organism whose existence on the earth is around 900 million years ago. Fungi are unicellular or multicultural. It exists in nature like a thread-like structure which is known as hypha. When they grow they are converted into touch mass which is known as mycelium.

Fungi are heterotrophs because they get their nutrition from dead organisms. They consume their food and energy indirectly from the autotrophs. Well-known fungi are yeast and mushrooms. They are very useful to convert complex organic compounds into inorganic compounds. The nucleus is present in the fungi which are surrounded by the nuclear membrane. Most fungi are available as groups and colonies with different size shape colors and textures.

Reproduction of the fungi is mainly with the budding and sporulation. Sexual reproduction is also accrued in the case of the fungi with the help of the reproductive spores. According to research on earth around 2.2 to 3.8 million species are present. They are divided into six categories on the basis of their appearance of spores. Fungi are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Cellular components of the fungi

• Cytoplasm
• Nucleus
• Mitochondria
• Golgi apparatus
• Peroxisomes
• Cell wall
• Ribosomes
• Plasma membrane
• Endoplasmic reticulum
• Lysosomes

Types of fungi

Major types

1. Yeasts
2. Molds
3. Mushrooms

On the basis of the appearance of spores

1. Glomeromycota
2. Ascomycota
3. Basidiomycota
4. Chytridiomycota
5. Blastocladiomycota
6. Zygomycota

Uses of fungi

1. For food – fungi are used to make bread, wine. It is also consumed as a vegetable like mushroom
2. Pest control – harmless fungi are used as pest control which is also very good for the health of crops.
3. Medicine and biotechnology- fungi are a good source of vitamin c. It is also used to produce antibodies for penicillin. Fungi also increase the production of insulin and many other hormones in the human body.

Examples of fungi.

1. Yeast
2. Mushrooms
3. Rusts
4. Smuts
5. Mildews
6. Molds

Key differences between Bacteria and Fungi.

1. Bacteria are single-celled microorganism that comes under prokaryotic classification. Fungi are unicellular organisms that come under eukaryotic classification.
2. Bacteria cells don’t contain organelles. while fungi contain organelles.
3. In bacteria nucleus is absent. On the other, hand fungi contain a nucleus surrounded by a nucleus membrane.
4. In bacteria, the cell membrane lies below the cell wall. In fungi cell wall exists in its typical location.
5. Bacteria grow at a natural pH level of 6.5 to 7 and fungi grow acidic atmosphere.
6. The size of bacteria lies between 0.5 to 5 microns. And fungi size lies between 2 to 10 microns.
7. Bacteria are reproduced by binary fission. While fungi are reproduced by sexual or asexual methods.
8. Bacteria consume energy from inorganic or organic matters like protein fat or sugar.
9. Bacteria move through the flagellum. Fungi is non-motile.

Conclusion

Bacteria and fungi are all around us their own good and bad effects on humans and other living things. Bacteria and fungi have many differences and similarities between them. Our life and ecosystem are not possible without bacteria and fungi. Fungi are the main decomposer of nature without fungi our ecosystem will become very dirty. Like acid and base are very important in our day-to-day life, the same bacteria and fungi also play an important role in human beings and other living organisms.

This is all about the Difference between bacteria and fungi. We hope this article will be very helpful for you. If you have any doubt please feel free to contact or comment on us. For more Differences please visit our website.