BACTERIAL

CLASSIFICATION AND
NORMAL FLORA
 BACTERIAL CLASSIFICATION
• Groups of Prokaryotic Organisms:
1. Eubacteria: contains the more common bacteria.
2. Archaebacteria
- Do not produce peptidoglycan.
- Live in extreme environment (High temperature, low pH,
high salt…)
- Has unusual metabolic reactions.
- Has characteristic ribosomal RNA.
- Has diversity of shapes: spherical, spiral, plate or rode-
shape; unicellular and multi-cellular forms.
- Multiplication occurs by either binary fission, budding,
constriction, fragmentation or by unknown mechanisms.
TAXONOMY RANKS OF BACTERIA
Taxonomy Classification
Bacteria Bacteria
Kingdom Bacteria
Phylum Firmicutes
Class Bacilli
Order Lactobacillales
Family Streptococcaceae
Genus Streptococcus
Species Mutans
Bacteria are classified initially according to
1. Shape
- Cocci: spheres
- Bacilli: rods
- Cocco-Bacillus
- Vibrios: curved rods
- Spirochaetes: coils

BACTERIA SHAPE AND ARRANGEMENT

2. Gram stain
– depends upon the ability of some bacteria (designated Gram
positive) to retain dyes, despite washing with lipid solvents
such as alcohol.
– Reflect differing cell wall composition
3. Aerotolerence
➢ Ability of bacteria to grow in various concentration of oxygen, as
follow.
– Strict aerobes:
Grow only in the presence of oxygen.
– Facultative aerobes:
Grow with or without oxygen.
– Microaerophilic bacteria:
Grow only in reduced oxygen concentration, often requiring
CO2,as well.
– Strict anaerobes:
Grow only in very low concentration of oxygen.
4. Spores
– Are formed within the bacteria.
– Resist heat, drying and antiseptics.
– Are present in two genera of medical interest:
a. Bacillus species- aerobic bacilli.
b. Clostridium species- anaerobic bacilli.
5. Motility
• Bacteria move with the aid of flagella one or more long hair-
like projections containing contractile proteins.
− Hanging drop preparations examined by light, phase or
dark ground microscope.
− Stain revealing flagella (e.g. silver).
− Electron microscope.
− Movement of growing culture in semisolid agar.
• The disposition of flagella is used in the classification of:
− Polar: originate from one or both ends of the cell.
− Peritrichous: originate from the side of cell.
6. Production of acid from glucose
• The metabolic activity of the cell is designated:
• Fermentative: acid is produced under anaerobic conditions.
• Oxidative: acid is produced only in aerobic conditions.
• The nature of fermentation products is used in the classification of some
anaerobes.
7. acid-fastness
• The presence of mycolic acids in the cell walls of Mycobacteria and
Nocardias enables these cell to retain dyes despite washing with acid.
8. Producation of certain amounts
a. Oxidase
• Is detected using tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine solution, which
reduced by bacteria containing electron-transporting oxidases to a
deep purple colour.
b. Catalase
• Is detected as the production of oxygen from 10 vol hydrogen
peroxide solution.
c. Reduction of nitrate to nitrite and nirtrogen
• anaerobic respiration.
Bergey’s Manual of Systemic Bacteriology:
I. Gram-negative Eubacteria that have cell
walls.
II. Gram-positive eubacteria that have cell
walls.
III. Eubacteria lacking cell walls.
IV. Archaebacteria.
NORMAL FLORA
Normal flora (Normal microbiota)
− microorganisms that establish more or less
permanent residence (colonise) but that do not
produce disease under normal conditions are
members of the body flora.
− Transient microbiota are microorganisms that
may be present for several days, weeks, or
months and then disappeared.
− A variety of bacteria and fungi are members of
the normal flora.
• The viruses and parasites, are usually not considered
members of the normal flora, although they can be
present in asymptomatic individuals
• Although the normal flora extensively inhabits many
areas of the body, the internal organs usually are
sterile (free of all) but the occasional transient
organism is possible.
Examples of such areas :
- central nervous system,
- blood,
- lower bronchi and alveoli,
- liver,
- spleen,
- kidneys,
- Bladder.
• In utero:
- Human (also animals) are generally free of microbes.
• At birth:
- Normal and characteristic microbes begin to establish.
- E.g:
. Newborn’s first contact with Lactobacilli (mother’s
vagina) which predominate the newborn’s intestine
. Other organisms are introduced from the environment.
• After birth
- E. coli (coming from food) inhabit the large intestine
- These organism, usually, remain there throughout the life.
 Relationship between normal flora and the host
• Normal flora benefit the host by preventing the overgrowth of
harmful microorganisms (microbial antagonism), by
competing with these harmful agents:
− Producing harmful for invading microorganisms.
− disturbing pH.
− Affecting oxygen.
• If the balance between normal flora and pathogenic microbes
disturbed, disease can result.
e.g:
- The normal flora of the vagina (pH 3.5-4.5) inhibits Candida albicans.
- The normal flora mouth (Streptococcus) inhibits the growth of most
gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.
- Normal flora of large intestine (E. coli) produce bacteriocin to inhibit other
bacteria of the same or closely related (Salmonella, Shigella).
- Normal flora of large intestine inhibit Clostridium diffcille by producing
bacteriocin or by influencing the availability of host receptors.
Symbiosis
This the relationship between normal flora and the host.
1. Commensalism:
- One of the organisms is benefit and the other is
unaffected.
- E.g. Corynebacteria (inhabit eye surface), Mycobacteria
(inhabit ear and genital tract).
- These bacteria live on secretions and sloughed cells
(bring no benefit or harm to the host).
2. Mutualism
- Is the type of symbiosis that benefit both organisms.
- E. coli produce vitamin K for the host while it survives on
nutrients provided by large intestine.
3. Parasitism
- One organism benefits at the expense of the other.
Opportunistic microorganisms
• Under some circumstances, a mutualistic organism can
become harmful.
• e.g. E. coli, generally, is harmless in the large intestine,
but if accessed other sites (lungs, bladder, spinal cord
and wounds) may cause infections. Such microbes are
called opportunistic pathogens.
• Condition predispose to opportunistic infection:
− Host compromised by infection.
− Immune suppressed host (AIDS patient).
− Others (using of Steroid..)
• Opportunistic pathogens possessed other features that
contribute to their ability to cause disease:
− Their presence in high number.
− Exist in a location protected from body’s defences.
− Resistant to antibiotics.
Cooperation among microorganisms
− There are some circumstances in which Cooperation
among microorganisms is factor in causing disease.

Body Normal Flora

[See TABLE]
Bacterial taxonomy and nomenclature
– The classification of microorganisms is essential for the
understanding of clinical microbiology.
– Bacteria are designated by a binomial system, with the genus
name (capital letter) followed by the species name (without
capital letter),
– e.g. Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus.
– Names are often abbreviated, e.g. E. coli and S.aureus.
– Many nomenclature problems exist with this system that can
lead to confusion, e.g. ‘bacillus’ refers to any rod-shaped
bacteria, whereas the genus Bacillus includes only the
aerobic sporebearing rods.
– Other complications include the use of alternative
terminology. Streptococcus
– pneumoniae is referred to as the pneumococcus, Neisseria
meningitidis as the meningococcus and
– Neisseria gonnorhoeae as the gonococcus.
– Occasionally, collective terms are used, e.g. the
term ‘coliform’ may indicate E. coli or a closely
related Gram-negative bacillus found within the
gut, and the term ‘coagulase-negative
staphylococci’ means staphylococci other than S.
aureus. In this text, conventional terminology is
used and, where appropriate, common
alternatives are indicated,
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