Characterization of

microorganisms

Lecture- 13
Characterization of microorganisms
Microorganisms can be characterized based
on different features including-
 Morphology
 Cultural properties
 Nutrition
 Metabolism
 Antigenic properties
 Pathogenicity
 Genetics
Morphological characterization
 Bacteria come in a great many sizes and
several shapes. Most bacteria range from 0.2
to 2.0 µm in diameter and from 2 to 8 µm in
length.
 They have a few basic shapes.
a) Spherical coccus (plural: cocci, meaning
berries)
b) Rod-shaped bacillus (plural: bacilli,
meaning little staffs)
c) Spiral shaped
 Cocci
 Cocci are usually round but can be oval, elongated, or flattened on
one side. When cocci divide to reproduce, the cells can remain
attached to one nother. Cocci can be arranged in different ways-
a) Cocci that remain in pairs after dividing are called diplococci;
b) those that divide and remain attached in chain like patterns are
called streptococci
c) Those that divide in two planes and remain in groups of four are
known as tetrads.
d) Those that divide in three planes and remain attached in cube
like groups of eight are called sarcinae.
e) Those that divide in multiple planes and form grapelike dusters
or broad sheets are called staphylo cocci.
 These group characteristics are frequently helpful in identifying
certain cocci
 Bacilli

 Bacilli divide only across their short axis, so there

are fewer groupings of bacilli than of cocci.  
 Bacilli arrangements include several types: 
a) Most bacilli appear as single rods.
b) Diplobacilli appear in pairs after division
c) Streptobacilli occur in chains.
d) Some bacilli look like straws or may have
tapered ends.
e) Some bacilli are oval and look so much like cocci
that they are called coccobacilli . 
 Spiral
 Spiral bacteria have one or more twists;
they are never straight.
 Bacteria that look like curved rods are
called vibrios
 Spirilla, have a helical shape, like a
corkscrew, and fairly rigid bodies
 Some spirals that are helical and flexible-
are called spirochetes. Spirochetes move
by means of axial filaments.
 Other Unusual Shapes
 Inaddition to the three basic shapes, there
are some other shapes. For example-
Star-shaped cells (genus Stella);
Rectangular, flat cells (halophilic archaea
of the genus Haloarcula); and
Triangular cells
 Colony Morphology

The characteristics used to accurately and

consistently describe the morphology of a
bacterial colony:
 Size
 Shape
 Color (also known as pigmentation)
 Texture
 Elevation
 Margin
Morphological characteristics
 Size: The size of the colony can be described in two ways. The
more accurate technique would be to measure the diameter of
the colony with a ruler and report the size in millimeters. The
second technique would simply be to describe the colonies as
punctiform (tiny pinpoints), small, medium, or large.
 Shape refers to the overall appearance of the colonies. Shape
can be described as punctiform, circular, irregular, filamentous
(has individual thin projections), or rhizoid (has thin,
branching projections).
 Color/ Pigmentation: Some bacteria produce pigments,
giving the colony a distinct color. Pigments span the entire
color spectrum. Recording the color is the first step. In
addition to describing the color, this is also the time to identify
the colony as opaque, translucent, dull, or shiny.
Morphological characteristics
 Texture refers to the characteristics of the colony
surface. Colonies can be dry, mucoid (thick, stringy, and
wet), moist, smooth, rough, rugose (wrinkled), or
contain concentric rings.
 Elevation is the description of how the colony grows
vertically. The descriptors here are flat, raised, convex
(sloping up from the edges), pulvinate (sloping steeply
from the edges and very high in the center), and
umbonate (has a raised center).
 Margin/Edge- describes the borders of the colony. The
edge can be entire (smooth, with no projections),
undulate (wavy), lobate (lobed), filamentous, or rhizoid. 
 Genetic characteristics
The genetic elements of bacteria is
constitutes of –
 Chromosomal DNA
 Plasmids
 RNA
 Chromosomal DNA
 The nucleoid of a bacterial cell usually contains
a single long, continuous. and frequently
circularly arranged thread of double-stranded
DNA called the bacterial chromosome.
 This is the cell's genetic information, which
carries all the information required for the
cell's structures and functions.
 The nucleoid can be spherical, elongated, or
dumbbell-shaped and attached to the plasma
membrane.
 Chromosomal DNA
The basic building blocks of DNA are
adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine.
Of the total number of nucleotide bases
present in the DNA, the percentage
represented by guanine and cytosine is
termed as moles% G+C value.
Values of G+C for various organisms
range from 23-75.
 Plasmids
 Bacteria often contain small usually circular, double-
stranded DNA molecules called plasmids.
 These molecules arc extra chromosomal genetic elements
and they replicate independently of chromosomal DNA.
 Plasmids usually contain from 5 to 100 genes that are
generally not crucial for the survival of the bacterium under
normal environmental conditions; plasmids may be gained
or lost without harming the cell.
 Plasmids may carry genes for such activities as antibiotic
resistance, tolerance to toxic metals, the production of
toxins, and the synthesis of enzymes.
 Plasmids can be transferred from one bacterium to another.
 Metabolic characterization
 The life processes of all microbial cell are a
complex integrated series of chemical
reactions collectively known as metabolism.
 The variety of these reactions gives
opportunities to characterize and
differentiate various groups of
microorganisms.
 Some organisms may obtain energy by
absorbing light, others by oxidizing various
organic or inorganic compounds.
Metabolic characterization
 The various chemical reactions of an organism are
catalyzed by proteins called enzymes.
 Different metabolic pathways and activities of
microorganisms can be demonstrated by different
biochemical tests. For example- Some bacteria
possess the enzyme tryptophanase, which converts
the amino acid tryptophan to pyruvate and indole
through a deamination reaction. The pyruvate, then,
can be used in fermentation or respiration
reactions. Production of indole is used as a test to
differentiate tryptophanase positive and
tryptophanase negative organisms.
Metabolic characterization
 Production of metabolites and their regulation of
enzymes can also be identified by biochemical
tests. For example- Catalase test utilizes
metabolic reactions that occur in the presence of
water and oxygen often result in the formation of
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).  This compound is
toxic to cells.  Therefore, most organisms that can
grow in the presence of oxygen possess catalase,
an enzyme that converts hydrogen peroxide to
water and oxygen.
2H2O2 + catalase --> 2H2O + O2