What are bacteria?
Bacteria are single-celled, or simple, organisms that are invisible to the naked
eye.//“Bacteria are unicellular organisms belonging to the prokaryotic group where the
organisms lack a few organelles and a true nucleus”.
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Bacteria often coat themselves with a slimy layer, mostly made up of polysaccharides and sometimes
made up of polypeptides. The capsule is thick, transparent, and hydrophilic in nature and gives protection
to the bacteria from its immediate environment.
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B. Cell wall
The cell wall is a characteristic feature of prokaryotic cells. It helps the bacteria in maintaining its specific
shape, preventing osmotic lysis of the cell, attaching to the surfaces, evading host defense mechanisms,
and preventing mechanical damage to the cell. Based on the bacterial cell wall organisms are majorly
classified into gram-positive and gram-negative ones. Their differences can be seen in the table below.
Gram-positive Gram-negative
Single layered, smooth cell wall with uniform Double layered, wavy cell wall with interrupted
attachment to the cell membrane attachment to the cell membrane
The cell wall is 20-80 nm thick The cell wall is 8-10 nm thick
Retain the Crystal violet stain during gram Do not retain the crystal violet stain during gram
staining staining
Appear purple under the microscope A thin layer of peptidoglycan present
Little to no Lipopolysaccharide content High lipopolysaccharide content
High in Lipoteichoic acid and Teichoic acid No Teichoic acid content
content
More susceptible to antibiotics More resistant to antibiotics
C. Cell membrane
The cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane of the bacteria made up of a phospholipid
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bilayer.
D. Flagella
Flagella are long filamentous structures distributed around the bacteria helping them with motility.
E. Pili are tiny hairlike projections with a tiny hollow-core present over the surface of the bacteria. A
special type of pilus, known as sex pilus, is used to exchange genetic information between two different
bacteria.
F. Cytosol
The cytosol is the granular interior of the bacterium. It appears granular due to
abundant ribosomes present in its core.
G. Nucleoid
Nucleoid or nuclear body contains one large, tightly packed, circular, double-stranded DNA molecule that
encodes all the information needed by the bacterium. It consists of approximately 4000 genes.
H. Plasmids
Plasmids are additional genetic material present in the form of small circular double-stranded DNA which
is functionally separate from the chromosomal DNA.
J. Spores
Certain bacteria form non-reproductive, dormant, resistant, and dehydrated structures called spores when
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they sense a change in their environment which is difficult to survive. These spores can reproduce the
cells which originally morphed into spores. Examples of bacteria that are spore-forming; Clostridium
tetani, Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus anthracis.
Types of Bacteria
1. Bacterial Classification based on Oxygen requirements
Obligate Aerobes – They need oxygen for survival as they are incapable of respiring anaerobically.
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For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Obligate Anaerobes – They cannot grow in the presence of oxygen as they are poisoned by it. For
example, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium botulinum
Facultative Anaerobes – They can grow either with or without oxygen. They respire aerobically in
the presence of oxygen and can ferment in the absence of it. For example., Enterobacteriaceae
group, Staphylococcus aureus
Microaerophiles – They grow best in low oxygen concentrations. If the oxygen concentrations
are increased beyond a certain point, they get poisoned by it. For example, Campylobacter jejuni,
Helicobacter pylori
Aerotolerant – They do not require oxygen for respiration. However, unlike obligate anaerobes,
they are not poisoned by oxygen. For example, Lactobacillus sp.
2) Bacterial classification according to the shape of the bodies of organisms
Cocci – bacteria that are round shaped
Bacilli – rod-shaped bacteria, are generally 0.2 to 2 µm wide and 1 to 10 µm long.
Coccobacilli – Small rod-shaped bacteria that are often mistaken to appear like cocci. Hence,
they are named coccobacilli.
Spirilla – bacteria with a spiral shape and a stiff body.
Spirochetes – bacteria with a spiral shape and a flexible body.
Fusiform – thick central body with tapering ends.
Vibrio – comma-shaped bacteria.
3) Bacterial classification according to the types of staining in microbiology.
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Gram-positive bacteria – They have the tendency to retain the crystal violet stain in their cell
walls due to their thick peptidoglycan layer. Hence, purple appearing bacteria under the
microscope are gram-positive.
Gram-negative bacteria – They do not retain the crystal violet stain during the decolorization step
of gram staining and get stained with the counterstain, safranin. Hence, they appear pink when
observed under the microscope.
Acid-fast bacteria – they are a group of bacteria that resist decolorization with
strong acids during the staining process. For example, Mycobacteria are acid-fast in nature due
to the high amount of mycolic acid present in their cell wall.
4) Bacterial classification according to the temperature requirements for growth
Psychrophiles – These bacteria grow optimally at refrigerator temperatures.
Thermophiles – these bacteria grow optimally at temperatures above 50° C.
Mesophiles – these bacteria grow optimally between 30-40° C.
5) Bacterial classification according to the source of nutrition
Heterotrophs – bacteria that derive their energy from organic compounds. For example, lactic
acid bacteria are used to make yogurt from milk by fermenting lactose.
Chemoautotrophs – bacteria that derive their energy from inorganic compounds. They are
generally extremophiles
.Bacteria structure
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1. Size
Bacteria are by far the smallest independently reproducing organisms. Most pathogenic bacteria are 0.1
– 10 µm in size. Have a look at some interesting facts about bacteria
The largest bacterium is Thiomargarita namibiensis that can reach up to a size of 0.75 mm.
The smallest bacterium is Mycoplasma genitalium of size 200 to 300 nm.
2. Shape
Coccus
Bacillus
Coccobacillus
Spirilla
Spirochete
Fusiform
Vibrio
3. Arrangement
Newly divided bacteria from certain genera have a special ability to stick together and form peculiar
arrangements. For
example, Streptococci often
arrange themselves in
chains, Staphylococci arrange
themselves in irregular
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clusters, Diplococci can be
seen arranging themselves in
pairs. These arrangements,
however, should not be used
for the purpose of identification
of bacteria.
Bacterial
Metabolism:
Growth, Reproduction, and Transformation
1st Phase: Lag Phase
In this phase, no active division of the cells is taking place. The cells are in the process of mobilizing the
nutrients to synthesize the macromolecules needed for division. No change in the population of cells
occurs during this phase.
2nd Phase: Exponential phase
In this phase active division of the bacterial cells Is taking place. The population of the bacteria can be
seen to be increasing exponentially. The slope of this phase is directly proportional to the growth rate of
the bacteria. Theoretically, this exponential growth can continue indefinitely provided the nutrients are
available.
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3rd Phase: Stationary phase
Due to the ongoing division of bacterial cells depletion of the nutrients occurs. This limits the number of
active divisions of the bacteria. During this phase, the number of bacteria dying is equal to the number of
new appearing bacteria. Hence, a straight line is observed on the graph. Most of the mutations occur
during this phase due to the endogenous reactive oxygen species.
4th Phase: The death phase
The bacteria start to die due to the depletion of nutrients and intolerable environmental conditions.
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Reproduction
Have you ever wondered how bacteria reproduce? Most prokaryotes, including bacteria, are reproduced
by binary fission. So, what is binary fission? Binary fission is a form of asexual reproduction which is
used by most prokaryotic organisms including bacteria. During the binary fission the organism first grows
in size, duplicates its genome and then the cell splits into two daughter cells each receiving a copy of the
genome.
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