What is the difference between fungi and bacteria?

We often hear about bacterial infection, fungal infection and viral infection. No matter whether it is bacteria, fungi or viruses, the individuals are very small, at least they cannot be seen by the naked eye. Fungal and bacterial infections can cause diseases in the body, but there are many differences between the two, such as different shapes, different ways of reproduction, etc. The following is a detailed introduction.

First, what are bacteria?

Bacteria: A single-celled organism belonging to the prokaryotic cell type. It is tiny in shape and simple in structure. It has no formed nucleus, no nucleolus, and no nuclear membrane. It has no other organelles except the nucleoprotein body. Bacteria are widely distributed in soil and water, or coexist with other organisms. The human body also carries a considerable amount of bacteria. The total number of bacterial cells in the human body and on the epidermis is about ten times the total number of human cells; bacteria have two modes of nutrition: autotrophic and heterotrophic. Among them, heterotrophic saprophytic bacteria are important decomposers in the ecosystem, allowing the carbon cycle to proceed smoothly. Some bacteria can fix nitrogen, converting nitrogen into a form that can be used by bioenergy.

Second, the morphology of fungi

1. Fungi are generally several to dozens of times larger than bacteria and can be clearly observed by magnifying them several hundred times using an ordinary optical microscope. Based on their morphology, fungi can be divided into two categories: unicellular and multicellular fungi.

2. Unicellular fungi: Unicellular fungi are called yeasts. They are round or oval in shape, with a diameter of 3μm to 15μm. They reproduce by budding, and the budding spores fall off to become independent individuals after maturation. Pathogens that can cause human disease include Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans.

3. Multicellular fungi: Multicellular fungi are called molds or filamentous fungi, which are composed of hyphae and spores, which are intertwined with each other. The mycelium and spore morphologies of various molds are different, which are important signs for identifying fungi.

Third, the morphology of bacteria

1. Cocci: They are spherical or nearly spherical in shape. According to the plane of bacterial division and the arrangement of the bacteria, they can be divided into diplococci, streptococci and staphylococci.

2. Bacillus: The appearance is rod-shaped, and the size, length and thickness of various bacilli vary greatly. Large bacilli are about 4 to 10 μm long, medium-large bacilli are about 2 to 3 μm long, and small bacilli are 0.6 to 1.5 μm long.

3. Spiral bacteria: They are divided into two categories according to the curvature of the bacteria: Vibrio, whose body has only one curve, which is arc-shaped or comma-shaped, such as Vibrio cholerae.

Fourth, the difference between fungi and bacteria

1. Biological type: First, from the perspective of whether or not there is a formed nucleus: bacteria do not have a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane, so they are prokaryotes; fungi have a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane, so they are eukaryotes. Second, from the perspective of the number of cells that make up the organism: bacteria are all composed of a single cell and are single-celled organisms; fungi include both single-celled organisms (such as yeast) composed of a single cell and multicellular organisms composed of multiple cells.

2. Cell structure: Both bacteria and fungi have cell structure and are cellular organisms. Their cell structures have cell walls, cell membranes, and cytoplasm, but there are many differences between them. Specifically, the following are the differences in the composition of the cell walls: the main component of bacterial cell walls is peptidoglycan, while the main component of fungal cell walls is chitin. Second, the composition of organelles in the cytoplasm is different: bacteria have only one organelle, the ribosome; while fungi, in addition to ribosomes, also have multiple organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and centrosomes.

3. Cell size: Prokaryotic cells are generally smaller, with a diameter of 1μm~10μm; eukaryotic cells are larger, with a diameter of 10μm~100μm.

4. Proliferation method: Bacteria are prokaryotes, which are single-cell organisms. They proliferate by cell division and have a unique method of prokaryotic proliferation - binary fission. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms, and cell proliferation is mainly carried out through mitosis. Due to the different species of fungi, their individual proliferation methods mainly include budding reproduction and spore reproduction.