Submitted by-

Debashish Dey- 31330092

Morphology of
Bacteria & Its
Characteristics

Morphology
One-celled organisms that can range from 0.5 to over
100 micrometers in size are called bacteria. Bacteria
can be complex despite their small size and lack of a
nucleus. Bacterial classification is based primarily on
their shape. The three most common bacterial shapes
are the round or oval coccus, the rod-shaped bacillus
and bacteria with a spiral shape spirillum.
Bacteria are classified by direct examination with
thelight microscopethrough its morphology and
aggregation.

Coccus
Acoccus(pluralcocci, from the Latincoccinus (scarlet)

and derived from the Greekkokkos (berry) is any

microorganism (usuallybacteria)whose overall shape
issphericalor nearly spherical.
Aggregations
Aggregations of coccoid bacteria often occur and these
forms have specific names as well;listed here are the
basic forms as well as representative bacterialgenera:
pairs, ordiplococci(Neisseria)
groups of four or eight known astetradsorsarcina(
Micrococci)
bead-like chains, orstreptococci(Streptococcus)
grapelike clusters, orstaphylococci(Staphylococcus)

Diplococcus
Adiplococcus(pluraldiplococci) is a roundbacterium(acoccus)
that typically occurs in pairs of two joined cells. Examples are
Streptococcus pneumoniae,Moraxella catarrhalis
Sarcina
Sarcinais a genus ofcocci bacteria. They have a cuboidalcell
arrangement i.e eight cells joined together in the form of a cuboid.
Examples Sarcina ventriculi
Tetrads
The tetrad occurs in a subgroup of the cocci where the bacterium
divides in two planes to form a square of four bacteria called a
tetrad. Examples of tetrad-forming bacteria are the lactic acid
bacilli, Aerococcus.
Streptococcus
Streptococcusis agenusofcoccus(spherical) belonging to
thephylumFirmicutesand the Lactobacillales(lactic acid bacteria)
order.Cellular divisionoccurs along a singleaxisin these bacteria,
and thus they grow in chains or pairs. Examples S. pneumoniae ,
S. canis , etc.

Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus(from theGreek:staphyl, "grape"
kkkos, "granule") is a genus ofGram-positivebacteria.
Under themicroscope, they appear round (cocci), and form
ingrape-like clusters. Examples are S. agnetis , S. aureus ,
etc.

Bacillus
Bacillusis agenusofGram-positive, rod-shaped
(bacillus),bacteriaand a member of the phylumFirmicutes.
Bacillusspecies can be obligate aerobes(oxygen reliant),
orfacultative anaerobes(having the ability to be aerobic or
anaerobic). Examples are B.subtilis , B. anthracis etc.

Spirillum
Spirillumis agenusofGram-negativebacteria within
familySpirillaceae. Spiral bacteria can be sub-classified as
spirilla, spirochetes, or vibrios based on the number of
twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility.
Members ofSpirillumare large, elongate,spiral shaped,
rigid cells.Some have tufts offlagellaat both poles. They
are usually found in stagnant freshwater rich in organic
matter.

Characteristics
Respiration in bacteria:
Anaerobic bacteria:does not require oxygen for
respiration.
Aerobic bacteria:require oxygen for respiration.
Gram staining bacteria are a method of differentiating
bacterial species into two large groups, which are
based on their chemical and physical properties of
their cell wall.
Gram positive bacteria:Those bacteria when they

are stained in gram stain results in purple colour.

Gram negative bacteria:Those bacteria when they
are stained in gram stain results in pink colour.

Locomotion of bacteria:
They move around by using their locomotion organs such as cilia and
flagella.
Nutrition of bacteria:
They exhibits different modes of nutrition level such asAutotrophic bacteria:These bacteria are able to synthesize their own

food. For e.g.: Phototropic bacteria and chemosynthetic bacteria

Heterotrophic bacteria:These bacteria are unable to synthesize their

own food, hence they depends on other organic materials. For e.g.:
saprophytic bacteria-these bacteria feeds on dead and decaying matter.
Symbiotic bacteria:These bacteria have a mutual benefit from other

organisms. For e.g.: nitrogen fixing bacteria (or) rhizobium.

Parasitic bacteria:These bacteria are present in plants, animals and

human beings. These bacteria feeds on host cells and causes harm to
the host.

Reproduction in Bacteria:
The reproduction in bacteria is mainly by cell division and
binary fission. In some cases few bacteria also reproduce by
budding.