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[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 pairs, chains, or clusters, depending on their orientation and attachment during cell division. In contrast to many bacilli-shaped bacteria, most cocci bacteria do not have flagella and are non-motile. [5]
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.
Some bacteria, called vibrio, are shaped like slightly curved rods or comma-shaped; others can be spiral-shaped, called spirilla, or tightly coiled, called spirochaetes. A small number of other unusual shapes have been described, such as star-shaped bacteria. [47]
Since the L-form has no cell wall, its morphology is different from that of the strain of bacteria from which it is derived. Typical L-form cells are spheres or spheroids. For example, L-forms of the rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus subtilis appear round when viewed by phase contrast microscopy or by transmission electron microscopy. [8]
These bacteria were found in groundwater samples and analyzed with 2-D and 3-D cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. These ultra-small bacteria, about 1 million base pairs long, [ 6 ] display dense spirals of DNA, few ribosomes, hair-like fibrous appendages, and minimized metabolic systems. [ 6 ]
The bacterium S. moniliformis is a gram-negative pleomorphic rod occurring frequently in chains and tangled filaments with bulbous or Monilia-like swellings.The organism presents phenotypically as being facultatively anaerobic, non-motile, weakly ferments glucose and maltose, is catalase and oxidase-negative, does not reduce nitrate, and exhibits no growth on MacConkey agar.
Cell shape is generally characteristic of a given bacterial species, but can vary depending on growth conditions. Some bacteria have complex life cycles involving the production of stalks and appendages (e.g. Caulobacter) and some produce elaborate structures bearing reproductive spores (e.g. Myxococcus, Streptomyces).
It is described using terms like brittle, creamy, sticky and dry. Staphylococci are considered to have a creamy consistency, [1]: 173 while some Neisseria species are sticky, and colonies of diphtheroid bacteria and beta-hemolytic streptococci are typically dry. [1]: 167–8 Bacteria that produce capsules often have a slimy (mucoid) consistency.