BACTERIA MORPHOLOGY Lysosomes Absent Present

INTRODUCTION: Golgi apparatus Absent Present

 Several classes of living organisms Endoplasmic Absent Present

 Based on the organization of their cellular structures, all living cells can be divided into two groups: reticulum
eukaryotic and prokaryotic
Vacuoles Absent Present
o Eukaryotic cell types - Animals, plants, fungi, protozoa, and algae
o Prokaryotic cell types - bacteria & blue green algae Ribosomes 70 S 80 S

PROKARYOTIC CELLS Character Prokaryotes Eukaryotes

- much smaller (microns) and simpler than eukaryotes
- prokaryotes are molecules surrounded by a membrane and cell wall. Cell Wall Present Animals &
- they lack a true nucleus and don’t have membrane bound organelles like Mitochondria, Golgi Protozoans – Absent
complex, etc. Plants, Fungi &
- large surface-to-volume ratio: nutrients can easily and rapidly reach any part of the cell’s interior Algae - Present
Composition Peptidoglycan – complex Cellulose or chitin
carbohydrate
Locomotor Flagella Flagella/ Cilia
organelles

SIZE OF BACTERIA
- Unit of measurement in bacteriology is the micron / micrometre (µm)
- Bacteria of medical importance
0.2 – 1.5 µm in diameter
3 – 5 µm in length
1 micrometer (µm) = thousandth part of millimeter
-3
Differences between prokaryotic & eukaryotic cells = 10 mm
-6
Character Prokaryotes Eukaryotes = 10 m
1 nanometer (nm) = thousandth part of micrometer
Nucleus Nuclear membrane Absent Present
-3
= 10 µm
Nucleolus Absent Present
-6
= 10 mm
Chromosome One circular One or more paired
-9
and linear = 10 m
1 Angstrom unit (A°) = tenth part of nanometer
Cell division Binary fission Mitosis
-10
= 10 m
Cytoplasmic Structure and fluid phospholipid bilayer, fluid phospholipid
membrane Composition lacks sterols bilayer containing
sterols

Function Incapable of endocytosis Capable of

(phagocytosis and pinocytosis) endocytosis and
and exocytosis exocytosis

Character Prokaryotes Eukaryotes

Cytoplasm Mitochondria Absent Present
  Individual bacteria can assume one of three basic shapes:
o Spherical – coccus
o Rodlike – bacillus
o Curved – vibrio, spirillum, or spirochete
 Considerable variation is seen in the actual shapes of bacteria, and cells can be stretched or
compressed in one dimension.
 Bacteria that do not separate from each other after cell division form characteristic clusters that are
helpful in their identification
 For example, some cocci are found mainly in pairs (diplococci), including
Streptococcus pneumoniae, a pneumococcus that causes lobar pneumonia,
and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a gonococcus that causes the sexually transmitted
disease gonorrhea.

 Most streptococci resemble a long strand of beads (apart from diplococci)

 staphylococci form random clumps
 Actinomycetes – branching filamentous bacteria

Arrangement of bacteria: Cocci

CLASSIFICATION OF BACTERIA
Major Properties
 Cell Wall (Gram and other stains
 Morphology
 Metabolic behavior (e.g., oxygen)
 Infection patterns (e.g., zoonoses)
 Obligate intracellular
 Antigenic composition
 DNA sequence

Taxonomy principles do not quite fit for bacteria

 Bacteria can recombine into new strains.  Some coccal bacteria occur as square or cubical packets.
 Bacteria do not engage in sexual reproduction.  The rod-shaped bacilli usually occur singly, but some strains form long chains, such as rods of the
 Many times, bacterial species are too similar to classify according to morphological criteria corynebacteria, normal inhabitants of the mouth that are frequently attached to one another at
 However, some morphologic differences exist and can be used for classification random angles
Variation in Shape and Distribution
Arrangement of bacteria: Bacilli

 Some bacilli have pointed ends, whereas others have squared ends. Some rods are comma shaped.
BACTERIAL SHAPES
 o These bent rods are often called vibrios and include Vibrio cholerae, which causes the
disease cholera.
5.Can not be seen by direct light microscopy and do not stain with simple stains.
 The spirilla which are bent and re-bent. (a)
6.Can be observed by plasmolysis
 The spirochetes, which form helix similar to a corkscrew, in which the cell body is wrapped around 7.Carries bacterial antigens – important in virulence & immunity.
a central fiber called the axial filament. (b) 8.Chemical nature of the cell wall helps to divide bacteria into two broad groups – Gram
 Mycoplasmas – although they evolved from ancestors with gram positive cell walls, they now lack positive & Gram negative
cell walls and cannot synthesize peptidoglycan precursors (c) 9. Gram +ve bacteria have simpler chemical nature than Gram –ve bacteria.
10. Several antibiotics may interfere with cell wall synthesis e.g. Penicillin, Cephalosporins
GRAM POSITIVE CELL WALL

a) b) c)

ANATOMY OF A BACTERIAL CELL

GRAM NEGATIVE CELL WALL

 Outer layer - two components:

1. Rigid cell wall
2. Cytoplasmic (Cell/ Plasma) membrane – present beneath cell wall

 Cytoplasm - gel-like substance enclosed within the cell membrane

contains cytoplasmic inclusions, ribosomes, mesosomes and nucleoid
 Additional structures - plasmid, slime layer, capsule, flagella, fimbriae (pili), spores

STRUCTURE & FUNCTION OF CELL COMPONENTS

CELL WALL
 Outermost layer, encloses cytoplasmic membrane
1. Confers shape and rigidity  The Gram-negative cell wall is composed of an outer membrane linked to thin single-layered
2. Peptidoglycan is responsible for the rigidity of the bacterial cell wall and for the determination peptidoglycan by lipoproteins.
of cell shape  The peptidoglycan is located within the periplasmic space that is created between the outer and inner
3. 10 - 25 nm thick membranes.
4. Composed of Mucopeptide (peptidoglycan/ murein): formed by N-acetyl glucosamine  The outer membrane includes porins, which allow the passage of small hydrophilic molecules across
(NAG) & N-acetyl muramic acid (NAM) alternating in chains, held by peptide chains. the membrane, and lipopolysaccharide molecules that extend into extracellular space.
CELL WALL

CYTOPLASM
- Colloidal system of variety of organic & inorganic solutes in viscous watery solution
Contains:
o Ribosomes
o Mesosome Cytoplasm
Summary of the differences between Gram positive & Gram-negative bacteria o inclusions
o vacuoles
Cytoplasmic Components
Property of bacteria  Ribosomes
Gram Positive Gram Negative - Protein synthesis
- 70 S
 Mesosomes –
Thickness of wall 20-80 nm 10 nm 1. Multilaminate structures formed as invaginations of plasma membrane
2. Principal sites of respiratory enzymes
Number of layers in wall 1 2 3. Coordinate nuclear & cytoplasmic division during binary fission
4. More prominent in Gram +ve bacteria
 Intracytoplasmic inclusions
Peptidoglycan content >50% 10-20% - Reserve of energy & phosphate for cell metabolism
e.g. Metachromatic granules in diphtheria bacilli
Teichoic acid in wall + - Nucleus
 No nucleolus
Lipid & lipoprotein content 0-3% 58%  No nuclear membrane Nucleus
 Oval or elongated bodies generally 1 per cell
Protein content 0% 9%  Genome –
- single, circular double stranded DNA.
Lipopolysaccharide 0 13% - Haploid
- Divides by binary fission
Sensitive to penicillin Yes Less sensitive Additional Organelles
1. Plasmid:
Digested by lysozyme Yes Weakly - Extranuclear genetic elements consisting of DNA
Cytoplasmic (Plasma) membrane - Transmitted to daughter cells during binary fission
 Thin layer 5-10 nm, separates cell wall from cytoplasm - May be transferred from one bacterium to another
 Acts as a semipermeable membrane: controls the inflow and outflow of metabolites - Not essential for life of the cell
 Passage through membrane depends on: - Confer certain properties e.g. drug resistance, toxicity
Molecular size 2. Capsule & Slime layer:
Specific enzymes (permeases) - Viscous layer secreted around the cell wall.
 Composed of lipoproteins with small amounts of carbohydrates - Polysaccharide / polypeptide in nature

a. Slime layer – loose undemarcated secretion glycocalyx

b. Capsule – sharply defined structure, antigenic in nature
- Protects bacteria from lytic enzymes
- Inhibits phagocytosis
- Stained by negative staining using India Ink
- Can be demonstrated by Quellung reaction (capsule swelling reaction)
Capsular material:
 - Antigenic in nature At the beginning of spore formation, a septum forms, separating the nascent spore from the rest of the cell
and all of the genetic material of the cell is copied into the newly-forming cell. The spore contents are
- can be demonstrated by serological methods
dehydrated and the protective outer coatings are laid down. Once the spore is matured it is released from
*Repeated subcultures in vitro lead to loss of capsule and also of virulence.
the cell. On germination, the spore contents rehydrate and a new bacterium emerges and multiplies.
3. Flagella
 Long (3 to 12 µm), filamentous surface appendages
Shape & position of bacterial spore
 Organs of locomotion present in motile bacteria
 Chemically, composed of proteins called flagellins
 The number and distribution of flagella on the bacterial surface are characteristic for a given species -
hence are useful in identifying and classifying bacteria
 Flagella may serve as antigenic determinants (e.g. the H antigens of Gram-negative enteric bacteria)
 Presence shown by motility
e.g. hanging drop preparation
 Each flagellum consists of 3 parts
1. Filament
2. Hook
3. Basal body

Types of flagellar arrangement

 Polar/ Monotrichous – single flagellum at one pole
 Lophotrichous – tuft of flagella at one pole
 Amphitrichous – flagella at both poles
 Peritrichous – flagella all over
 Amphilophotrichous – tuft of flagella at both ends PLEOMORPHISM & INVOLUTION FORMS
 Pleomorphism: great variation in shape & size of individual cells
e.g. Proteus species
 Involution forms:
swollen & aberrant forms in ageing cultures, especially in the presence of high salt concentration
e.g. plague bacillus
 Cause – defective cell wall synthesis
Involution forms can also be developed due to activity of autolytic enzymes

4. Fimbriae/ Pili
 Thin, hairlike appendages on the surface of many Gram-negative bacteria
 10-20µ long, acts as organs of adhesion (attachment) - allowing bacteria to colonize environmental
surfaces or cells and resist flushing
 Made up of proteins called pilins.
 Pili can be of two types –
o Common pili - short & abundant
o Sex pili - small number (one to six), very long pili, helps in conjugation (process of
transfer of DNA)
5. Spores:
 Highly resistant resting stages formed during adverse environment (depletion of nutrients)
 Formed inside the parent cell, hence called Endospores
 Very resistant to heat, radiation and drying and can
remain dormant for hundreds of years.
 Formed by bacteria like Clostridium, Bacillus

The cycle of spore formation and germination