Bacteria versus virus, Difference between bacteria and virus, presentation on bacteria and virus by raj kumar kumawat, Basic differences between bacteria and virus

2. 1. CELL TYPE
Bacteria - Prokaryotic cells
Virus - Acellular
2. NUMBER OF CELLS
3. SIZE
Bacteria - Single celled
Virus – No cell
Bacteria- Larger than viruses (0.3-2 μ)
Virus – Minute (0.02-0.3 μ)
4. MICROSCOPY
Bacteria- Visible under Light Microscope.
Virus – Visible only under an Electron Microscope.

3. 5. SHAPE
Common bacterial cell shapes include cocci (spherical),
bacilli (rod-shaped), spiral, and vibrio (comma-shaped).
Viruses typically have spherical (polyhedral), rod-shaped,
or helically shaped capsids while some viruses, such as
bacteriophages, have complex shapes.
6. CELLULAR MACHINERY
7. TYPE OF ORGANISM
Bacteria- Possesses a cellular machinery
Virus – Lack of cellular machinery
Bacteria- Mostly intercellular organisms (i.e. they live in-
between cells); some intracellular.
Virus – Intracellular organisms (they infiltrate the host cell
and live inside the cell).

4. 8. STRUCTURE
Bacteria - Organelles and genetic material within a cell wall
Virus - Genetic material within a capsid, some have an
envelope membrane.
9. CELL WALL
Bacteria - Cell wall made of peptidoglycan and
lipopolysaccharide.
Virus – No cell wall. Protein coat presents instead.
10. CELLULAR MEMBRANE
Bacteria- Cell membranes present. No sterol except
in Mycoplasma cells which have cholesterol.
Virus – Some are enveloped, but no membrane function.

5. 11. GENOME
Bacteria - DNA and RNA, 1 chromosome, No histones
Virus - DNA or RNA1 nucleocapsid except in segmented or
diploid viruses
12. NUCLEIC ACID
Bacteria- DNA and RNA floating freely in the cytoplasm.
Virus – DNA or RNA is enclosed inside a coat of protein.
13. mRNA
Bacteria- Mono- and poly-cistronic mRNA.
Virus – Some have poly-cistronic mRNA and post-
translational cleavage.

6. 14. CELL ORGANELLES
Bacteria - Presence of non-membrane bound cell organelles.
Virus - Absent. Uses host organelles; obligate intracellular
parasites
15. RIBOSOMES
Bacteria- 70s ribosomes (30s+50s)
Virus – No ribosomes
16. LIVING ATTRIBUTES
Bacteria- Living organisms..
Virus – Between living and non-living things.

7. 17. REPLICATION
Bacteria - Binary fission (asexual). DNA replicates cells
continuously.
Virus - It invades a host cell and takes over the cell causing
it to make copies of the viral DNA/RNA. Destroys the host
cell releasing new viruses.
18. THE NEED FOR HOST CELL
Bacteria- Able to reproduce by itself.
Virus – Need a living cell to reproduce.
19. OTHER FORMS
Bacteria- In some spore-forming bacteria, sporulating forms
can be seen.
Virus – Besides viruses, two other acellular forms exist
Viroids and Prions.

8. 20. CELL INFECTED
Bacteria - Animal, Plant, Fungi
Virus - Animal, Plant, Protozoa, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea
21. INFECTION
Bacteria- Localized
Virus – Systemic
22. INDUCTION OF FEVER
Bacteria- A bacterial illness notoriously causes a fever.
Virus – A viral infection may or may not cause a fever.

9. 23. DURATION OF ILLNESS
Bacteria - A bacterial illness commonly will last longer than
10 days.
Virus - Most viral illnesses last 2 to 10 days.
24. DISEASES/ INFECTIONS
Bacteria- Food poisoning, gastritis, and ulcers, meningitis,
pneumonia, etc.
Virus – AIDS, common cold, influenza, chickenpox, corona
etc.
25. Susceptibility to Antibiotics
Bacteria- Most bacteria are susceptible to antibiotics.
Virus – The virus does not respond to antibiotics.

10. 26. TREATMENT
Bacteria - Antibiotics
Virus – Antiviral drugs
27. BENEFICIAL USE
Bacteria- Some bacteria are beneficial (as normal flora,
probiotics, fermenters, etc.)
Virus – Viruses are not beneficial. However, a particular
virus may be able to destroy brain tumors. Viruses can be
useful in genetic engineering.
28. EXAMPLES
Bacteria- E.coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., Mycobacteria
spp., Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus anthracis, etc.
Virus – HIV, Hepatitis A virus, Rhino Virus, Ebola virus,
Corona virus etc.