Six Characteristics of Life in Bacteria

The six characteristics of life are incorporated with bacteria in many ways. The first characteristic is the interaction with the environment. Bacteria interacts with the environment in many ways. It breaks down some garage, and maintains our atmosphere. Some bacteria have flagella which are hair-like appendages and they use them to swim around. Others have little particles of minerals that orient with the planet’s magnetic fields to help the bacteria figure out if they’re swimming up or down. Some produce slime and “glide” around. Throughout the generations these bacteria need to adapt to their environment. They developed photosynthesis as a way to provide energy for themselves. Bacteria can live in temperatures from boiling hot springs to freezing Antarctica. These are called extremophiles and they have adapted these temperatures throughout the years and have learned to survive. To survive, they require some method of energy. Some bacteria are photosynthetic; they can make their own food from sunlight. Other bacteria absorb food from the material they live on or in. Some bacteria live in the human stomach and feed of the food eaten by the human. They “eat” everything from sugar and starch to sunlight, sulfur and iron. Bacteria consist of only a single cell, and this meets the definition of cellular organization. Bacteria contain DNA which is essential for reproduction which is essential for the species to survive and develop. The last characteristic of anything living is growth and development. Cyanobacteria grow in the water, where they produce