Bacterial Morphology and Structure

Xiao-Kui Guo PhD

http://basic.shsmu.edu.cn/passw/micro2/index.asp
 SIZE OF BACTERIA
 Unit for measurement :
Micron or micrometer,μm:
1μm=10-3mm
 Size:
Varies with kinds of bacteria, and
also related to their age and
external environment.

 Cocci: sphere, 1μm

 Bacilli: rods , 0.5-1 μm in width -3 μm in length
 Spiral bacteria: 1~3 μm in length and 0.3-0.6 μm in width
 Structure of Bacteria
Essential structures
cell wall 细胞壁
cell membrane 细胞膜
Cytoplasm 细胞质
nuclear material 核质

Particular structures
capsule 荚膜
flagella 鞭毛
pili 菌毛
spore 芽胞
 1884: Christian Gram: First publication for the Gram stain method)
Editor's note: I would like to testify that I have found the Gram method to be one of
the best and for many cases the best method which I have ever used for staining
Schizomycetes.
Flagellum
Cell membrane Nucleoid Cell wall

Gram +

Pili
Gram -
Granule
Capsule
Cell (inner) membrane Outer membrane Gram, C. 1884. Ueber die isolirte
Farbung der Schizomyceten in
Ribosomes Cell wall SchnittÄund Trockenpraparaten.
Fortschritte der Medicin, Vol. 2, pages
 Cell wall
 Situation:
outmost portion.
15-30nm in
thickness, 10%-
25% of dry
weight.
 Cell wall :Common peptidoglycan layer
 A backbone of N-acetyl glucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid: Both discovered
in Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria.
 A set of identical tetrapeptide side chain attached to N-acetyl-muramic acid:
different components and binding modes in Gram positive and Gram negative
bacteria.
 A set of identical peptide cross bridges: only in Gram positive bacteria
 Special components of
Gram positive cell wall
Teichoic acid

SPA / M POTEIN
pecial components of Gram
negative cell wall
 Functions of Cell Wall
 Maintaining the cell's characteristic shape- the rigid
wall compensates for the flexibility of the
phospholipid membrane and keeps the cell from
assuming a spherical shape
 Countering the effects of osmotic pressure
 Providing attachment sites for bacteriophages
 Providing a rigid platform for surface appendages-
flagella, fimbriae, and pili all emanate from the
wall and extend beyond it
 Play an essential role in cell division
 Be the sites of major antigenic determinants of the
cell surface 。
 Resistance of Antibiotics
Wall-less forms of Bacteria.

 When bacteria are treated with 1) enzymes that are lytic for
the cell wall e.g. lysozyme or 2) antibiotics that interfere
with biosynthesis of peptidoglycan, wall-less bacteria are
often produced.
 Usually these treatments generate non-viable organisms.
Wall-less bacteria that can not replicate are referred to as
spheroplasts (when an outer membrane is present) or
protoplasts (if an outer membrane is not present).
 Occasionally wall-less bacteria that can replicate are
generated by these treatments (L forms).
 Cell
membrane

• Site of biosynthesis of DNA, cell wall polymers and membrane lipids. Selective
permeability and transport of solutes into cells
• Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation
• Excretion of hydrolytic exoenzymes
 Mesosomes
• Mesosomes are specialized structures formed by
convoluted inveigh-nations of cytoplasmic
membrane, and divided into septal and lateral
mesosome.
 Cytoplasm
 Composed largely of water, together with proteins, nucleic
acid, lipids and small amount of sugars and salts
 Ribosomes: numerous, 15-20nm in diameter with 70S;
distributed throughout the cytoplasm; sensitive to
streptomycin and erythromycin site of protein synthesis

 Plasmids: extrachromosomal
genetic elements
 Inclusions: sources of stored
energy, e,g volutin
Plasmid Plasmids are
small ， circular/line ， extrachromosomal
， double-stranded DNA molecules 。 They
are capable of self-replication and contain
genes that confer some properties ， such as
antibiotic resistance ， virulence
factors 。 Plasmids are not essential for
cellular survival.
 Inclusions are
aggregates of various
Inclusions of
granulo compounds that are
normally involved in Bacteria
storing energy
se reserves or building
blocks for the cell.
Inclusions accumilate
when a cell is grown
in the presence of
excess nutrients and
they are often
observed under
laboratory
Nucleus

 Lacking nuclear
membrane, absence
of nucleoli, hence
known as nucleic
material or nucleoid,
one to several per
bacterium.
Capsules and slime layers  Attachment
 Protection from phagocytic
engulfment.
 Resistance to drying.
 Depot for waste products.
 Reservoir for certain nutrients.
 protection

 These are structures surrounding the outside of the cell envelope. They usually
consist of polysaccharide; however, in certain bacilli they are composed of a
polypeptide (polyglutamic acid). They are not essential to cell viability and some
strains within a species will produce a capsule, whilst others do not. Capsules
are often lost during in vitro culture.
Some bacterial species are mobile and possess
locomotory organelles - flagella. Flagella consist of a
number of proteins including flagellin Flagella
The diameter of a flagellum is thin, 20 nm, and
long with some having a length 10 times the
diameter of cell. Due to their small diameter,
flagella cannot be seen in the light microscope
unless a special stain is applied. Bacteria can have
one or more flagella arranged in clumps or spread
all over the cell.
 Identification
of Bacteria
 Pathogenesis
 Motility of
bacteria

Monotrichate/Amphitrichate/Lophotrichate/Peritrichate
 Pili

 Pili are hair-like projections of the cell , They are known

to be receptors for certain bacterial viruses. Chemical
nature is pilin
 Classification and Function
a. Common pili or fimbriae: fine , rigid numerous,
related to bacterial adhesion
b. Sex pili: longer and coarser, only 1-4, related to
bacterial conjugation
 Endospores  Identification of
(spores) Bacteria
 Pathogenesis
 Resistance

• Dormant cell
• Resistant to adverse • Produced when starved
conditions • Contain calcium dipicolinate
- high temperatures DPA, Dipicolinic acid
- organic solvents • Bacillus and Clostridium
Methods
Microscope
 Light Microscope
 Electron Microscope
 Darkfield Microscope
 Phase Contrast Microscope
 Fluorescence Microscope
 Cofocal Microscope ）
Staining Methods
 Simple staining;
 Differential staining ( Gram
stain, Acid-fast stain),
 Special staining( Negative stain,
Spore stain, Flagella stain)