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Different Size, Shape and Arrangement of Bact

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Different Size, Shape and
Arrangement of Bacterial Cells
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!Sagar Aryal "May 12, 2015


#Bacteriology, Basic Microbiology, Cell Biology
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Different Size, Shape and


Arrangement of Bacterial Cells
Bacteria are prokaryotic, unicellular
microorganisms, which lack chlorophyll
pigments. The cell structure is simpler than that of
other organisms as there is no nucleus or
membrane bound organelles.

Due to the presence of a rigid cell wall, bacteria


maintain a definite shape, though they vary as
shape, size and structure.

When viewed under light microscope, most


bacteria appear in variations of three major
shapes: the rod (bacillus), the sphere
(coccus) and the spiral type (vibrio). In fact,
structure of bacteria has two aspects,
arrangement and shape. So far as the
arrangement is concerned, it may Paired (diplo),
Grape-like clusters (staphylo) or Chains (strepto).
In shape they may principally be Rods (bacilli),
Spheres (cocci), and Spirals (spirillum).

Size of Bacterial Cell


The average diameter of spherical bacteria is 0.5-
2.0 m. For rod-shaped or filamentous bacteria,
length is 1-10 m and diameter is 0.25-1 .0 m.

E. coli , a bacillus of about average size is


1.1 to 1.5 m wide by 2.0 to 6.0 m long.
Spirochaetes occasionally reach 500 m in
length and the cyanobacterium
Oscillatoria is about 7 m in diameter.
The bacterium, Epulosiscium fishelsoni , can
be seen with the naked eye (600 mm long
by 80 mm in diameter).
One group of bacteria, called the
Mycoplasmas, have individuals with size
much smaller than these dimensions. They
measure about 0.25 and are the smallest
cells known so far. They were formerly
known as pleuropneumonia-like organisms
(PPLO).
Mycoplasma gallicepticum, with a size of
approximately 200 to 300 nm are thought to
be the world smallest bacteria.
Thiomargarita namibiensis is worlds largest
bacteria, a gram-negative Proteobacterium
found in the ocean sediments off the coast
of Namibia. Usually it is 0.10.3 mm (100
300 m) across, but bigger cells have been
observed up to 0.75 mm (750 m).

Thus a few bacteria are much larger than the


average eukaryotic cell (typical plant and animal
cells are around 10 to 50 m in diameter).

Shape of Bacterial Cell


The three basic bacterial shapes are coccus
(spherical), bacillus (rod-shaped), and spiral
(twisted), however pleomorphic bacteria can
assume several shapes.
Shape of Bacterial Cell

Cocci (or coccus for a single cell) are round


cells, sometimes slightly flattened when they
are adjacent to one another.
Bacilli (or bacillus for a single cell) are rod-
shaped bacteria.
Spirilla (or spirillum for a single cell) are
curved bacteria which can range from a
gently curved shape to a corkscrew-like
spiral. Many spirilla are rigid and capable of
movement. A special group of spirilla known
as spirochetes are long, slender, and
flexible.

Arrangement of Cocci
Cocci bacteria can exist singly, in pairs (as
diplococci ), in groups of four (as tetrads ), in
chains (as streptococci ), in clusters (as
stapylococci ), or in cubes consisting of eight cells
(as sarcinae). Cocci may be oval, elongated, or
flattened on one side. Cocci may remain attached
after cell division. These group characteristics are
often used to help identify certain cocci.

1. Diplococci
The cocci are arranged in pairs.

Examples: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella


catarrhalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, etc.

2. Streptococci
The cocci are arranged in chains, as the cells
divide in one plane.

Examples: Streptococcus
pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae

3. Tetrads

The cocci are arranged in packets of four cells, as


the cells divide in two plains.
Examples: Aerococcus, Pediococcus and
Tetragenococcus

4. Sarcinae

The cocci are arranged in a cuboidal manner, as


the cells are formed by regular cell divisions in
three planes. Cocci that divide in three planes and
remain in groups cube like groups of eight.

Examples: Sarcina ventriculi, Sarcina ureae, etc.

5. Staphylococci

The cocci are arranged in grape-like clusters


formed by irregular cell divisions in three plains.

Examples: Staphylococcus aureus

Arrangement of Bacilli
The cylindrical or rod-shaped bacteria are called
bacillus (plural: bacilli).

1. Diplobacilli

Most bacilli appear as single rods. Diplobacilli


appear in pairs after division.

Example of Single Rod: Bacillus cereus


Examples of Diplobacilli: Coxiella burnetii,
Moraxella bovis, Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, etc.

2. Streptobacilli

The bacilli are arranged in chains, as the cells


divide in one plane.
Examples: Streptobacillus moniliformis

3. Coccobacilli

These are so short and stumpy that they appear


ovoid. They look like coccus and bacillus.

Examples: Haemophilus influenzae, Gardnerella


vaginalis, and Chlamydia trachomatis

4. Palisades

The bacilli bend at the points of division following


the cell divisions, resulting in a palisade
arrangement resembling a picket fence and
angular patterns that look like Chinese letters.

Example: Corynebacterium diphtheriae


Arrangement of Spiral Bacteria
Spirilla (or spirillum for a single cell) are curved
bacteria which can range from a gently curved
shape to a corkscrew-like spiral. Many spirilla are
rigid and capable of movement. A special group
of spirilla known as spirochetes are long, slender,
and flexible.

1. Vibrio

They are comma-shaped bacteria with less than


one complete turn or twist in the cell.

Example: Vibrio cholerae

2. Spirilla
They have rigid spiral structure. Spirillum with
many turns can superficially resemble
spirochetes. They do not have outer sheath and
endoflagella, but have typical bacterial flagella.

Example: Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter


pylori, Spirillum winogradskyi, etc.

3. Spirochetes

Spirochetes have a helical shape and flexible


bodies. Spirochetes move by means of axial
filaments, which look like flagella contained
beneath a flexible external sheath but lack typical
bacterial flagella.

Examples: Leptospira species (Leptospira


interrogans), Treponema pallidum, Borrelia
recurrentis, etc.

Others Shapes and Arrangeme


1. Filamentous Bacteria

They are very long thin filament-shaped bacteria.


Some of them form branching filaments resulting
in a network of filaments called mycelium.

Example: Candidatus Savagella

2. Star Shaped Bacteria


Example: Stella

3. Rectangular Bacteria

Examples: Haloarcula spp (H. vallismortis, H.


marismortui)

4. Pleomorphic Bacteria
These bacteria do not have any characteristic
shape unlike all others described above. They
can change their shape. In pure cultures, they can
be observed to have different shapes.

Examples: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M.


genitalium, etc.

Different Size, Shape and Arrangement of


Bacterial Cells

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Different Size, Shape and


Arrangement of Bacterial Cells
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Updated: September 20, 2015 7:41 PM

Tags: Arrangement of Bacterial Cells,


Arrangements of Bacilli, Arrangements of Cocci,
Arrangements of Spiral Bacteria, Bacterial
Arrangements, Bacterial Shape, Bacterial Size,
Coccobacilli, Different Size Shape and
Arrangement of Bacterial Cells, Diplobacilli,
Diplococci, Filamentous Bacteria, Other Shapes
and Arrangements of Bacteria, Palisades,
Pleomorphic Bacteria, Rectangular Bacteria,
Sarcinae, Shape of Bacterial Cells, Size of
Bacterial Cells, Spirilla, Spirochetes,
Staphylococci, Star Shaped Bacteria,
Streptobacilli, Streptococci, Tetrads, Vibrio

The Author
Sagar Aryal
I am Sagar Aryal, a passionate Microbiologist and the
Scientific Blogger. I did my Master's Degree in Medical
Microbiology and currently working as a Teaching
Assistant at St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, Nepal. I
am particularly interested in research related to Medical
Microbiology and Virology. Find me on Facebook,
Twitter or Linkedin !!!
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36 Comments Add a Comment

December 1, 2016 at 9:52 PM


POONAM

Thank you Sagar Ji,

Compiled very precisely and point to point manner, I really


appreciate your efforts. In near future I am planing to
publish a general microbiology book and a manual for
graduate students. Would you like to collaborate with me?
I am look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks
Dr. Poonam

Reply

November 27, 2016 at 2:23 AM


neven

was very useful thanks

Reply

November 20, 2016 at 8:48 PM


Rushikesh

Thanks
Provide me knowledge about this on my email I will be
very thankful to u if possible

Reply
October 28, 2016 at 8:06 PM
juan

veri good

Reply

July 27, 2016 at 4:31 AM


Jethro Koke

thank you Sagar Aryal for your notes and the books that
you provided, thank you so much.you are imparting
something good that will long lasting in me.

Reply

July 19, 2016 at 1:00 PM


mussab

Thiomargarita namibiensis is a gram-negative coccoid


Proteobacterium, found in the ocean sediments of the
continental shelf of Namibia. It is the largest bacterium
ever discovered, as a rule 0.10.3 mm (100300 m) in
diameter, but sometimes attaining 0.75 mm (750 m).
Cells of Thiomargarita namibiensis are large enough to be
visible to the naked eye. Although the species holds the
record for the most massive bacterium, Epulopiscium
fishelsoni previously discovered in the gut of surgeonfish
grows slightly longer, but narrower.

Reply
June 20, 2016 at 2:09 AM
Harvey

It was helpfull

Reply

June 9, 2016 at 6:16 PM


For newest information you have to go to see internet


and on internet I found this web site as a finest site
for hottest updates.

Reply

June 9, 2016 at 2:46 PM


Apeksha Ramteke

Its Awesome!!!! It helped me a lot

Reply

May 2, 2016 at 11:36 AM


Jessica

Please I need at least 3 examples of bacteria with each


shape. Thanks.

Reply

April 9, 2016 at 9:28 PM


siddhartha (DMLT)

thanks for giving this for help of study us.


Reply

March 9, 2016 at 10:04 PM


Ompha

thanks! my studying has just gotten better

Reply

Dr. Himanshu D. Bhimani

February 4, 2016 at 11:40 AM

thank you Sagar. you are preparing interesting notes with


good diagram/pictures.
keep it up

Reply

January 28, 2016 at 10:44 PM


Ruth anthony

I like your books. Looking forward to seeing more of it


especially books on viruses.

Reply

January 13, 2016 at 3:13 AM


Sandrah terfa

Thanks mister. Your writeup was of great help to me.

Reply
Vionnylyn Sani

November 29, 2015 at 9:13 PM

i need more information about bacteria. =)

Reply

November 27, 2015 at 5:33 PM


ASARE LB

i appreciate your effort

Reply

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October 29, 2015 at 5:56 AM

Its very easy to find out any matter on net as compared


to textbooks, as I found this piece of writing at this site.

Reply

October 24, 2015 at 12:59 PM


mehren

Please send me more information about microbiology.

Reply
November 22, 2015 at 5:25 PM
shazeen

good

Reply

October 16, 2015 at 3:46 AM


ADEKUNLE

your notes are really of great help. I wish you were my


supervisor or lecturer. please I would like to know if you
have a writeup on CLEF agar.
thanks

Reply

September 24, 2015 at 3:15 PM


Dilum

Your information is very good sir. I need to clinical


microbiology(bacteriology) and staining.

Reply

Krishna Rajagopal, Emeritus Professor of


Chem Eng
August 28, 2015 at 7:17 AM

Excellent and informative. Useful summary of topics in


Microbiology for a newcomer like me.With best regards

Reply
Abdullahi, Isa Obansa

July 21, 2015 at 8:03 PM

Very interesting and simplified information, I really


appreciate it.

Reply

June 20, 2015 at 8:57 PM


TASHILA

your infomation is very good sir.I would like to


communicate with you. my E mail is w.t.binoli@gmail.com

Reply

June 10, 2015 at 4:55 PM


moha

i need books in clinical microbiology specially bacteriology

Reply

June 10, 2015 at 4:53 PM


moha

i need books clinical microbiology specially bacteriology

Reply

May 17, 2015 at 1:20 PM


ali

thanks .good.
Reply

May 17, 2015 at 12:14 AM


Marisa Almuzara

Excelent information, very interesting!!! Thanks!!

Reply

Jolanta, clinical diagnostics

May 16, 2015 at 1:27 PM

Very interesting information. But what is Steptobacilli? Is


that also part of human microflora, is it pathogenic??

Reply

November 22, 2015 at 5:27 PM


shazeen

its a pathogenic

Reply

mohammed rasheed

May 16, 2015 at 1:06 PM

It is very good and interesting for me. I would like to


communicate with you, if you can

G.thanks

Reply
MVDr. Igor styriak, Ph.D.

May 15, 2015 at 1:27 PM

It is very good and interesting for me. I would like to


communicate with you, if you want.
Best regards,
Igor Styriak

Reply

May 15, 2015 at 8:28 PM


Sagar Aryal

Thanks sir, I would love to communicate with you. My


email address is broneps1@gmail.com
Thanks,

Reply

May 13, 2015 at 11:56 PM


saira

Your infomation is best in micobiology i want to know more


about microbilogy

Reply

May 13, 2015 at 7:43 PM


magd

I need books in microbiology sugar analysis

Reply
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