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11 June 2014

Bacterial Morphology
Mary Ann Bunyi, M.D.
Walang iyo, Nicole. Akin ang asawa ko!!! Monica, The Legal Wife

Paulo Coelho

TOPIC OUTLINE
I. Bacterial Morphology
A. Bacterial Forms
II. Bacterial Cell Components
A. Cell Surface Layer
B. Appendages
C. Other Structures

Note: When writing scientific names:

Saccharomyces cerevisiae
GENUS NAME + SPECIFIC EPITHET
1. Without specific epithet, you can write sp.
(Lactobacillus sp.) but if asked what microbe
specifically, include the specific epithet na talaga!
2. Type-written scientific names must be ITALICIZED.
3. Hand-written scientific names must be UNDERLINED.
(With break between the genus name and specific
epithet)

2.Bacillus/ bacilli
May be long with square cut ends or short with
rounded ends
Coccobacilli very short bacilli appearing like
cocci
No cluster arrangement (Hemophilus influenzae)
Stain as gram negative (red)

*kahit sa peso bills mali yung scientific names kaya

huhuhu push natin yung maayos (challenge to the
youth, charaught)!!!
BACTERIAL MORPHOLOGY
Refers to size, shape and arrangement of bacteria
Clearly visible under the microscope
Size ranges from 0.1 20 m
Bacterial Forms
1.Coccus/ cocci
May
occur
singly,
in
pairs,
in
chains
(Streptococcus) or in clusters (Staphylococcus
aureus)
May be small, large or oval-shaped
Most cocci when stained appear as gram
positive (violet)

3. Vibrio/ curved
Bacteria with a single turn, comma shaped
Stains gram negative (red)

TRANSCRIBED BY: CNDV

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Bacterial
Morphology

4. Spiral/ spirillum
May be regular or irregular, with hook on one end
or both ends.
Some bacteria have to be visualized under special
microscope using a special stain.
Leptospira sp.

Other Bacterial forms

Spirochete
Star
Square

BACTERIAL CELL COMPONENTS

The general structure is divided into three (3) main
components:
1. Cell Surface Layer

Cytoplasm

Cell Membrane/ Plasma Membrane

Cell Wall

Capsule
2. Appendages

Flagella

Pili
3. Other Structures

teichoic acid

inclusion bodies

spores

lipopolysaccharide
Cell Surface Layer

Represent stored food reserves consisting

of starch, fat, sulfur or phosphate (for later
use)
Examples:
Poly--hydroxybutyric
acid
(PHB):
produced when source of nitrogen,
sulfur or phosphorous is limited and
there is excess carbon in the medium
Glycogen: produced when carbon is in
excess, and (together with PHB) used as
carbon source when protein and nucleic
acid synthesis are resumed
Volutin/metachromatic/Babes-Ernst
granules: granules of polyphosphate,
produced when there are large reserves
of
inorganic
phosphate,
termed
metachromatic because they stain red
with a blue dye (characteristic of
Corynebacteria diphtheriae)
Much
granules:
produced
by
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Plasmids
Small circular extra-chromosomal DNA
molecules carrying extra genes used for
special situations (i.e. antibiotic resistance
and penetrating other bacteria)
Circular genome
Composed of DNA; chromosome
B. CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
o Thin ductile, elastic, trilaminar structure that
encloses the cytoplasm
o Acts as a selective barrier which confers selective
permeability
o Has a phospholipid bilayer which has an inner
hydrophobic and outer hydrophilic layer
o Contains enzymes for electron transport chain =
generation of ATP
o Mesosomes
saclike invaginations of the cytoplasmic
membrane containing circular or tubular
structures attached to DNA chromatin;
believed to be associated with cell division
C. CELL WALL
o Constituent of all bacteria
o In close approximation to the cytoplasmic
membrane
o Confers rigidity and shape to the bacterial cell
o Acts as a barrier to low molecular weight
substances
o Rigidity and shape attributable to a 3D
latticework layer which lies closest to the
cytoplasmic membrane called peptidoglycan layer
o Peptidoglycan Layer
A bipolymer consisting of alternating units of
sugar N-acetyl-D-muramic acid and N-acetylD-glucosamine with a short peptide linked to
the lactyl moiety of the M residues
Sugars are bound by -glycosidic linkages

A. CYTOPLASM
o Total of everything inside the cytoplasmic space
o Main components
Proteins (mostly enzymes)
Ribosomes (composed of RNA and protein)sedimentation 70s (80s monomers) composed
of 30S and 50S subunit
o Other components include:
Cytoplasmic granules/ storage granules

TRANSCRIBED BY: CNDV

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Bacterial
Morphology

GRAM POSITIVE
- thick walls (multilayer,
compact)

- almost exclusively
peptidoglycan

- Techoic acid (polymer of

ribitol or glycerol
phosphate)
responsible for virulence
and negative charge of
cell surface
- Gram stain: Crystal
Violet
takes the primary dye
due to its thick
peptidoglycan layer

GRAM NEGATIVE
- thinner (1-2 layers)
- less compact
- composed of periplasmic
space
- outer membrane
1. Lipoproteins
most abundant
protein
lipid end inserted into
the outer membrane
protein end
covalently linked to
peptidoglycan
2. Phospholipids
form the outer
membrane matrix
and contributes to
outer membrane
stabilization
3. Porins
protein trimers that
form channels that
permit small
molecules to diffuse
across the membrane
4. Lipopolysaccharide
(LPS)
Lipid A endotoxin
toxic for humans and
may cause
hypotension, shock,
DIC, tissue necrosis
- more complex cell
envelope
- with transmembrane
proteins: integral and
porins

adherence of bacteria to surfaces in the

environment
may be toxic to a hosts defense system
APPENDAGES
A. FLAGELLA
o Long slender protein structures which originates
from the cytoplasmic membrane
o Most flagellated pathogens are surrounded by
numerous flagella called peritrichous
o Flagellin is the single protein unit of the structure
o Responsible for bacterial motility and may enhance
bacterial invasion
o Arrangement is the basis for classification
MONOTRICHOUS single flagellum

LOPOTRICHOUS tuft of flagella at one end

AMPITRICHOUS flagella at both ends

- Gram stain: Red/Pink

takes the color of
counterstain (safranin
red) due to its thin
peptidoglycan layer
PERITRICHOUS flagella all around bacteria

D. CAPSULE
o Closely surrounds the cell wall of some bacteria
o Well-defined mucoid polysaccharide structure
o Anti-phagocytic properties
prevent ingestion by WBCs
virulence factor for some bacteria
o Presence of antigenic diversity influence:
pathogenesis
effective vaccine preparation
ability to make a rapid and accurate diagnosis
o Roles:
protection from desiccation
extra source of nutrition

TRANSCRIBED BY: CNDV

B. PILI
o Hairlike, rigid structures originating from the
cytoplasmic membrane
o Found predominantly in gram negative organisms
o Composed of structural protein subunits called
PILINS
o Two classes:
1. Sex pili

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Bacterial
Morphology

Hollow, found at random bacterial sites

Participate in the transfer of genetic
material from one cell to another
(conjugation)
2. Common/fimbriae
More numerous
Evenly distributed over the surface of the
organism
May act as virulence factor by mediating
adherence to host cell surfaces
Other Structures

identifiable in rapid diagnostic test utilizing specific

antiserum.
3. Flagella are composed of a single protein subunit
called flagellin and responsible for motility. Flagella
may function as virulence factors by enhancing
invasion and may be useful in classification of some
organisms.
4. Common and sex pili are hair-like surface protein
appendages. Sex pili mediate conjungation while
common pili (fimbriae) may be associated with
virulence by mediating adherence of bacteria to host
cell surfaces.
5. Ribosomes, located in the cytoplasm, are are sites of
protein synthesis.

ENDOSPORE
o 2 most common are gram-positive rods: Bacillus
(obligately aerobic) and Clostridium (obligately
anaerobic)
o Also
occurs
in
Thermoactinomyces,
Sporolactobacillus, Sporosarcina, Sporotomaculum,
Sporomusa, and Sporohalobacter
o Sporulation - cycle of differentiation triggered by near
depletion of any of several nutrients (carbon, nitrogen,
or phosphorous)
o Spore
Resting cell
Highly resistant to desiccation, heat, and chemical
agents
Germinates to vegetative cell when returned to
favorable nutritional conditions
o Properties
Core-spore protoplast; contains chromosome
Spore wall
Cortex- thickest layer; with unusual type of
peptidoglycan which is extremely sensitive to
lysozyme
Coat -composed of keratin-like protein
Exosporium - lipoprotein membrane
SUMMARY
Bacteria consist of a unique cell wall, a cytoplasmic
membrane enclosing the cytoplasm, a nuclear apparatus,
ribosomes and various cytoplasmic granules. Some have
capsules, flagella, or pili.
1. Differences in the cell wall of gram positive and gram
negative exist and these account for the functional
properties as well as their susceptibility to
antimicrobial agents.
2. Capsules,
usually
polysaccharides,
closely
surrounding the cell wall or some bacteria. These
capsules may be antiphagocytic, vaccinogenic, and/for

TRANSCRIBED BY: CNDV

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