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A coccus (plural cocci, from the Latin coccinus (scarlet) and derived from the Greek kokkos (berry)), is any microorganism (usually bacteria) [1] whose overall shape is spherical or nearly spherical. [2] [3] [4] Coccus refers to the shape of the bacteria and can contain multiple genera, such as staphylococci or streptococci. Cocci can grow in ...
This corresponds to a wet mass of about 1 picogram (pg), assuming that the cell consists mostly of water. The dry mass of a single cell can be estimated as 23% of the wet mass, amounting to 0.2 pg. About half of the dry mass of a bacterial cell consists of carbon, and also about half of it can be attributed to proteins.
Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.
Staphylococcus is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria in the family Staphylococcaceae from the order Bacillales. Under the microscope, they appear spherical , and form in grape-like clusters. Staphylococcus species are facultative anaerobic organisms (capable of growth both aerobically and anaerobically).
How cells grow and elongate has been extensively reviewed in model organisms of both, rod-shaped [36] [37] and coccoid bacteria. [38] The molecular basis for morphological plasticity and pleomorphism in more complex bacteria, however, is slowly being elucidated as well. [33] [8]
Although it has recently been shown that certain bacteria are capable of dramatically changing shape, pleomorphy remains a controversial concept. A well accepted example of pleomorphism is Helicobacter pylori, which exists as both a helix-shaped form (classified as a curved rod) and a coccoid form. [7]
According to some definitions, the term is used to describe Gram-negative bacteria. [3] [4] According to other definitions, the term also encompasses yeasts. [5] [6] The name spheroplast stems from the fact that after the microbe's cell wall is digested, membrane tension causes the cell to acquire a characteristic spherical shape. [4]
Bacillus (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum Bacillota, with 266 named species.The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural Bacilli is the name of the class of bacteria to which this genus belongs.