What is the difference between bacteria and fungi

In the environment we live in, bacteria are all around us, in the air, on daily furniture: tables, quilts, chairs, etc. Under normal circumstances, our own immunity can resist bacterial infection and not cause disease. Compared with bacteria, fungi have more benefits. Some foods in our daily life are made by fermentation of fungi, such as fermentation of bread, fermentation of wine, and some dairy products are also fermented with fungi. Both bacteria and fungi have both benefits and disadvantages. There are differences between bacteria and fungi. Let's introduce the differences between bacteria and fungi in detail below.

Difference Between Bacteria and Fungi:

1. Biological Type

1. Bacteria do not have a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane and are prokaryotes; fungi have a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane and are eukaryotes.

2. 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 composed of a single cell (such as yeast) and multicellular organisms composed of multiple cells (such as edible fungi, molds, etc.).

2. Cell Structure

1. The composition of the cell wall is different: the main component of the bacterial cell wall is peptidoglycan, while the main component of the fungal cell wall is chitin.

2. 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. Bacteria do not have a formed nucleus, only a nucleoid; fungi do.

4. Bacteria do not have chromosomes, and their DNA molecules exist alone; the DNA in the fungal cell nucleus is combined with proteins to form chromosomes (chromatin).

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 Methods

Bacteria are prokaryotes, single-cell organisms that multiply 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 (such as yeast) and spore reproduction (edible fungi).

5. Name composition

Although both bacteria and fungi have the word "菌" in their names, the names of bacteria generally contain words such as "球", "棒", "弧", "旋", etc. that describe the bacterial shape, with the exception of lactic acid bacteria (actually Lactobacillus); the names of fungi do not contain this word.

We know that plants and animals are made up of cells, and each cell has a nucleus. Among microorganisms, only fungi have a true nucleus and complete organelles, so they are also called eukaryotic cell-type microorganisms; bacteria only have primitive nuclear structures, no nuclear membrane and nucleolus, and very few organelles, so they are prokaryotic cell-type microorganisms; and viruses have no cell structure, so they are native microorganisms.

Fungi are widely distributed in nature, with more than 100,000 species, of which only a very small number, about 300 species, can cause infections in humans or animals. Many fungi are beneficial to humans. For example, they can be used in flour fermentation to make soy sauce, vinegar, wine and fermented tofu. Some can be used to produce antibiotics, vitamins and enzymes; some can themselves be used as medicine to treat diseases, such as the traditional Chinese medicine puffball, Poria cocos, Cordyceps sinensis, etc.

Fungi can also cause a variety of diseases in animals, plants and humans. In humans, there are three main types: ① fungal infection; ② allergic diseases; ③ toxic diseases.