Introduction:

Microbial taxonomy to bacterial cell

Microbial taxonomy – system that involves in the organization, classification, naming or

identification of all living things including bacteria.

 Genotypic characteristics – nuclear structure if the bacterial cell including DNA or RNA
sequencing
 Phenotypic characteristic
Factors:
a) Microscopic morphology – involves the size, shape, intracellular inclusions,
bacterial cell arrangement.
b) Staining properties – involves on how the bacteria be stained upon the
application of a particular dye.
c) Nutritional requirements – involves on how the bacteria utilizes oxygen, carbon
or nitrogen as their source of growth.
d) Environmental requirements – involves on how the bacteria will be able to
survive in extreme conditions in the presence or absence of oxygen, pH levels, or
addition of salts in ions.
e) Resistance profiles – refers to how the bacteria is sensitive or resistant when it is
able to interact with a certain antibiotic.
f) Macroscopic morphology – referring to the bacteria growth pattern of a certain
bacteria in a culture media.
g) Antigenic properties – the serologic or immunologic methods that are performed
or done in order to determine the reaction of a specific bacteria.
h) Subcellular properties – establishment of molecular characteristics that is typical
to a particular group of bacteria

Nomenclature – naming of microbes according to established rules and guidelines.

Proper way of writing the Genus name

 Capitalized and followed by the species epithet (specific name), starts with a lower case
letter
 Genus and species must be italized in print, underlined when written in script (e.g.
Escherichia coli or Escherichia coli)
 However, if bacteria is collectively referred as a group, it is neither capitalized nor
underlined (e.g. escherichia, klebsiella)

Prokaryotes (Prokaryotic cell)

 No true nucleus
 No organelles like mitochondria
 Bacterial activity happens in the cytoplasmic membrane or cytoplasm
  Reproduction is by binary fission
 Surface to volume ratio is large – it is where the nutrients within the cell can move freely
 Pathogenic Prokaryotes:
o bacteria
o mycoplasma
o spirochetes
o chlamydia
o rickettsia
o actinomyces

Eukaryotes (eukaryotic cell)

 True nucleus
 DNA are enclosed by a nuclear membrane
 Cells of higher plants, animals, algae, fungi and protozoans
 Membrane bound organelles
 Reproduce both asexually through mitosis and sexually through meiosis and fusion of
gametes

Archaea (Archaebacteria)
 Cellular structures include cell wall, plasma membrane, flagella, ribosomes
 Cell wall contains: glycoprotein known as “S layer”, no peptidoglycan, nucleus,
membrane bound organelles
 Aerobes (bacteria that needs oxygen to survive), facultative anaerobes (need either the
presence of oxygen, or the absence of oxygen to survive) , obligate anaerobes (does not
need oxygen to survive)
 Budding, binary fission, fragmentation
 Stained through gram staining
 E.g. Methanospirilum, Halobacterium, Sulfolobus

Bacterial Cell
Parts of the bacterial cell

 Cell envelope
 Outermost structure, outer membrane, periplasm, plasma membrane which are
most common in gram negative bacteria
 Cell wall
 Peptidoglycan or murein layer which is composed of teichoic acid or lipoeichoic
acid (which is responsible of the rigid structure of the cell)
 Rigid structure of the cell
 Prevents from being easily ruptured from extreme conditions.
 Point of anchorage of flagella
 Staining properties
o Types of cell wall
 1. Gram positive cell wall
 Thick layer of peptidoglycan (murein layer), (N-acetyl-gucosamine
(NAG) and N-acetyl-D-muramic acid (NAM)
 Has negatively charge teichoic acid – will become the prime target
of antimicrobial agents such as penicillin which prevents them
from the destruction of peptidoglycan.
2. Gram negative cell wall
 Thin peptidoglycan which leads to high susceptibility to
mechanical destruction or extreme conditions
 Outer membrane is composed of proteins, phospholipids,
lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
 Periplasmic space, contains porins are involved in peptidoglycan
synthesis which also contributes to the cell wall permeability
 Does not have teichoic acid
3. Acid fast cell wall
 Same structure as positive cell wall structure, peptidoglycan layer
 waxy layer of glycolipids, and fatty acids, (mycolic acids) - strongly
hydrophobic which affects to the cell wall’s permeability.
 e.g Mycoplasma and Nocardia
4. Absence of a cell wall
 Steroids on their cell membrane
 E.g Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma
5. Plasma membrane
 Internal matric and deepest layer of the cell envelope
 Serves as the mitochondria, golgi complexes, lysosome of
eukaryotic cells
 Phospholpid layer functions as the osmotic barrier, site of
respiration and photosynthesis, transport of solutes, form of ATP
The cell
Function of the outer membrane
 Evade phagocytosis
 Acts as a barrier

Lipopolysaccharides
 Lipid A (major content as endotoxin), core polysaccharide, specific polysaccharide
antigenic O
 Makes them evade the host defenses
 Contributes to the negative charge of the bacteria which stabilize the membrane
structure and also considered an endotoxin

Cytoplasmic structures
 1. Genome
 Diffused nucleoid or chromatin body that is attached to a suck-like mesosome
 Mesosomes – sites of respiratory enzymes and coordinate nuclear/cytoplasmic
division during binary fission production and this is more prominent among gram
positive bacteria.
2. Ribosome
 Site of protein synthesis, cytoplasm- a granular structure
3. Inclusion bodies
 Serves as an energy source and food reserve of the cell in a form of
lipopolysaccharides and lessens osmotic pressure
4. Plasmid – extra chromosomal double stranded DNA associated with site of genetic code
for antibiotic resistance and toxin production.
- Sometimes disappear during cell division, but these makes the bacteria more
pathogenic, infectious, especially among gram negative bacteria.
 Large plasmid – production of beta lactamase enzyme (be able to react against
penicillin and oxacillin antibiotics)
 Small plasmid – beta lactamase enzymes be able to resist against antibiotics
tetracyclines and chloramphenicol
5. Endospores/Asexual spores
 Dormant, resistant structures composed of Dipicolinic acid and calcium ions
(calcium dipicolinates)
 Bacteria will be able to survive in external conditions, at the same time, it is a
tool in identification of specific bacteria according to the arrangement of the
spores, and at the same time, they are resistant to heat, drying, and radiation,
and remain dormant for many years

Types of spores according to location:

1. Terminal spore
2. Subterminal spore
3. Central spore

Cell appendages – clementous, fibrous attachment found in the surface of a bacterial cell
1. Glycocalyx – a polysaccharide that helps bacteria to attach to the surface of a solid
object or on the host’ tissue.

Can be in 2 forms:
 slime layer – unorganized material loosely attached to the cell wall and with this,
they will inhibit phagocytosis and adhere to host tissue or synthetic plants.
 capsule – organized material firmly attached to the cell wall and it protects the
virulous factors of bacteria from human defence. It also resists phagocytosis and
desiccation, as well as the effect of lytic enzymes. Identified microscopically
through negative staining using india ink; seen on Quellung reaction (wherein
the capsule is allowed to swell for easy detection.)
2. Flagella
 used an organ of locomotion
 composed of flagellin
 it is in response to chemotaxis – wherein the bacteria will respond to food or
poison

3. Pili/fimbriae
 Thin, hairlike pilin appendenges – common among gram negative bacteria and is
used as an organ of adhesion and resist lashing
 Common/somatic pili – short and abundant, for organ of attachment
 Sex pili – for conjugation (process of DNA transfer)