Answer to Question #187376 in Microbiology for Kin Michael

Question

i)Cellular shapes and arrangements are specific characteristics you can use to identify bacteria.What are the different shapes found in bacteria?Give examples.

Answer 1

Most bacteria appear in variations of three major shapes when viewed under the light microscope:

• The rod (bacillus)
• The sphere (coccus
• The spiral type (vibrio).

Structure of bacteria has two aspects, arrangement and shape. As for the arrangemen, it may be Paired (diplo), Grape-like clusters (staphylo) or Chains (strepto).

In shape they may principally be Rods (bacilli), Spheres (cocci), and Spirals (spirillum).

Examples include;

E. coli

Mycoplasma gallicepticum

Epulosiscium fishelsoni