Bacteriology

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY
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MAJOR GROUPS OF MICROORGANISMS

 What is Microbial Diversity?
o According to Money (2014), microbial biodiversity “considers the vast array of
microorganisms—the smallest forms of life—which exist everywhere; the three
primary groups of microorganisms are bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes”.
o *According to Ye (2010), it is important because it can serve as environmental
parameters, ergo, it can also detect environmental changes. Ultimately, it can be
used to restore ecosystem.
 Morphological diversity
 Bacterial Shape

o Bacilli = rods (check photo on slide 1) (e.g. Bacillus cereus)

  Diplobacilli = arranged in pairs (e.g. Coxiella burnetii, Moraxella bovis,
Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis)
 Streptobacilli = arranged in chains (e.g. Streptobacillus moniliformis)
 Coccobacilli = appear short and stumpy/ovoid (e.g. Haemophilus
influenzae, Gardnerella vaginalis, and Chlamydia trachomatis)
 Palisades = resembles picket fence and possess angular patterns that look
like Chinese letters (e.g. Corynebacterium diphtheriae)
o Cocci = round (check photo on slide 1)
 Diplococci = arranged in pairs (e.g. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella
catarrhalis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae)
 Streptococci = arranged in chains (e.g. Streptococcus pyogenes,
Streptococcus agalactiae)
 Tetrads = packets of four cells (Aerococcus, Pediococcus, and
Tetragenococcus)
 Sarcinae = arranged in a cuboidal manner (e.g. Sarcina ventriculi, Sarcina
ureae)
 Staphylococci = grape-like clusters (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus)
o Spirilla = spiral (check photo on slide 1)
 Vibrio = comma-shaped with less than one complete turn or twist (e.g.
Vibrio cholerae)
 Spirilla = rigid spiral structure; may resemble spirochetes superficially; do
not have outer sheath and endoflagella, but have typical bacterial flagella
(e.g. Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori, Spirillum windogradskyi)
 Spirochetes = helical shape, flexible bodies; move by means of axial
filaments that resemble a flagellum beneath a flexible external sheath (but
lack typical bacterial flagella) (e.g. Leptospira interrogans, Treponema
pallidum, Borrelia recurrentis)
- 3 common shapes
o Star-shaped (check photo on slide 1) (e.g. Stella)
o Square-shaped (check photo on slide 1) (e.g. Arcula)
o Filamentous = very long thin filament-shaped bacteria; some form branching
resulting in a network of filaments called ‘mycelium’
o Rectangular (e.g. Haloarcula)
o Pleomorphic = do not have any characteristic shape unlike others previously
described; in pure cultures, can be observed to have different shapes (e.g.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae, M. genitalium)
 Bacterial size range
o check photos on slide 2
o Thiomargarita (750 micrometers) to nanobacteria (0.02 micrometers)
o Many varieties of size ranging from submicroscopic up to a few bacteria that
can be seen with the naked eye
 Structural diversity
  Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative bacteria
o Gram-positive = stains violet (crystal violet)
o Gram-negative = stains red (safranin)

*Peptidoglycan – complex interwoven network that surrounds the entire cell and is composed of
a single covalently linked macromolecule. It is found only in bacterial cell walls. It provides
rigid support for the cell; important in maintaining the characteristic shape of the cell; allows the
cell to withstand media of low osmotic pressure, such as water. The term peptidoglycan is
derived from the peptides and the sugars (glycan) that make up the molecule. Synonyms of
peptidoglycan include murein and mucopeptide.
*some bacteria cannot be categorized as gram-positive or gram-negative (e.g. Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, Treponema pallidum)
 Endospores
o Endospore = dormant, tough, non-reproductive; formation is usually triggered
by lack of nutrients (and usually occurs in gram-positive bacteria, e.g. Bacillus
and Clostridium), and produced by bacteria from the Firmicute phylum; it is
composed of bacterium’s DNA and part of its cytoplasm, surrounded by a
very tough covering
 
Can resist UV radiation, desiccation, high temperature, extreme
freezing, and chemical disinfectants, but not burning, autoclaving,
Tyndallization, and ionizing radiation
 Bacteria produce a single endospore internally
 Viewing under the light microscope is difficult, but Moeller stain
(endospore shows up red, rest of the cell becomes blue) and Schaeffer-
Fulton stain (stains endospores green and bacterial bodies red) allows
endospores to be seen
o Endosporulation = usually takes eight hours
o Endospore morphology varies

 Terminal endospores (2, 3, 5) = Clostridium tetani

 Central endospores (1, 4) = Bacillus subtilis
 Lateral endospores (6)

 External appendages
o Flagella = thread-like appendages intricately embedded in the cell envelope;
responsible for conferring mobility to the bacteria; arrangement varies
between different species (check photos on slide 4). Structure-wise, it is
usually 3-20 mm long and 0.01-0.03 wide; main part of the filament is made
up of protein sub-units called flagellin arranged in several helices around a
central hollow core.
 Monotrichous = single polar flagellum (e.g. Vibrio cholerae)
 Lophotrichous = multiple polar flagella (e.g. Spirillia)
 Peritrichous = flagella distributed over the entire cell (e.g. Salmonella,
Typhi, E. coli)
 Amphitrichous = single flagellum at both ends (e.g. Spirillum minus)
 o Cilia = not present in bacteria, but can be seen in ciliates (serves as an
instrument of motility)
 Metabolic Diversity

 Heterotrophs – get
energy by consuming organic molecules made by other organisms (most prokaryotes
are heterotrophs)
o Chemoheterotrophs – organisms that must take in organic molecules for both
energy and carbon
o Photoheterotrophs – organism that are photosynthetic but need organic
compounds as a carbon source
 Autotrophs – get energy by making their own food from inorganic molecules
o Chemoautotrophs – organisms that make organic molecules from CO2 using
energy from chemical reactions
o Photoautotrophs – organisms that use energy from sunlight to convert CO2
and water to carbon compounds
 Based on metabolic products
o Cellular respiration = process that releases energy by breaking down glucose
and other food molecules in the presence of O2 (oxygen)
o Fermentation = process by which cells release energy in the absence of O2
(oxygen)
 Ecological Diversity
 microorganisms are found in almost any type of habitat (e.g. bodies of water, cows,
branches of trees)
 distribution
 Behavioral Diversity
 Motility and taxis (check photos
o Motility: When you read about the structure of Bacterial cells, you might have
learnt about flagella and different types of flagellar arrangements that are
found in gram-negative bacteria. Most of the Gram-positive bacteria are
atrichous (without flagella) so they are non-motile (Enterococcus gallinarum
and E. casseliflavus/E. flavescens, the gram-positive, catalase negative cocci,
generally are motile).
Tumbling (e.g. Listeria)
 Gliding (e.g. Mycoplasma)
 Stately (e.g. Clostridium)
  Darting (e.g. Vibrio cholerae, Campylobacter jejuni)
 Swarming (e.g. Proteus spp., Clostridium tetani)
 Corkscrew (e.g. Spirochete)
o Taxis:
 Chemotaxis: phenomenon whereby somatic cells, bacteria, and other
single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements
according to certain chemicals in their environment; important for
bacteria to find food (for example, glucose) by swimming towards the
highest concentration of food molecules, or to flee from poisons (for
example, phenol)

Sporulation: formation of nearly dormant forms of bacteria

Communication between cells: Signal transduction = the proteins
CheW and CheA bind to the receptor; CheY induces tumbling by
interacting with the flagellar switch protein FliM.
 Evolutionary (Genetic) Diversity
RANDOM NOTES/DICTIONARY
- Prosthecae: cellular appendages that are neither pili nor flagella, and are extensions of the
cellular membrane that contain cytosol; most notable group of prosthecates is the genus
Caulobacter
- Chemoorganotrophic: requiring an organic source of carbon and metabolic energy
- Chemolithotropic: organism that is able to use inorganic reduced compounds as a source
of energy
- Conidiospore: a type of asexual reproductive spore of fungi (kingdom Fungi) usually
produced at the tip or side of hyphae (filaments that make up the body of a typical
fungus) or on special spore-producing structures called conidiophores
- Mycelium: vegetative part of the fungus
- Acid-fast: a characteristic of some organisms, which makes them wax-like and have
nearly impermeable cell walls