BACTERIAL STRUCTURE

1. Smallest organisms capable of independent existence.

2. range from 0.1 to 10 μm
3. SHAPES
a. Spherical or oval bacteria are called cocci, usually arranged
in clusters or chains.
b. Rods are called bacilli - straight or curved.
c. Bacilli that are small and pleomorphic, and resemble cocci --
> called coccobacilli.
d. Spiral shaped bacteria --> may be rigid or flexible and
undulating.
4. Prokaryotic design includes envelope, appendages, cytosol, and
nucleoid.
5. Small and simple design --> Allows rapid growth --> Feature in
producing diseases.
 COCCI -
Appear in several characteristic arrangements, depending upon
plane Of division
6. Diplococci - Two in no. ,E.g. Pneumococci [S.pneumoniae],
Neisseria species
7. In Chains -E.g. Streptococci species — divide in one plane.
 8. In clusters — Grape like clusters — divide in 3 planes
[perpendicular plane Of division], irregular pattern. E.g.
Staphyloccus Species.
9. Tetrads- Divide in Two planes 4 in No. E.g. Micrococcus species .
10. Cuboidal — Divide in 3 planes, regular pattern E.g.
Sarcinae

BACILLI
11. Appear singly or in pairs [Diplobacilli]
12. Most bacteria included- e.g. E.coli . Klebsiella etc.
13. Bacilli in chains — Streptobacilli
14. Coccobacilli —length of bacilli is approx. the same as its
width, e.g. Brucella .
15. Palisade arrangement — cells are lined side by side like
match sticks & at angles to one another [chinese letter pattern]
E.g. C. diphtheriae
16. Rigid spiral forms — Spirilla e.g. spirillum

OTHER SHAPES
17. Comma shaped curved bacteria with a twist -Vibroid
shaped -- e.g. V. cholerae .
18. Spirochetes — [spira — coil , chait —hair ] Highly flexible,
slender. e.g. Treponema pallidum
19. Actinomycetes [Actis — ray, mykes — fungus ] Branching
filamentous bacteria resembling fungi. E.g.- Actinomyces israelii

ENVELOPE AND APPENDAGES

20. Capsule

21. Outermost hydrophilic layer- Mostly polysaccharides,

some polypeptides.
22. May or may not be present
23. If the material forms a reasonably discrete layer, it is
called a capsule; if it is amorphous, it is referred to as a slime
layer.
24. Function - Protect from immune system
25. Need special stains.

B. Cell Wall

1. Rigid cell wall - surrounds all bacterial cells except wall-less

bacteria ( Mycoplasmas and Chlamydia)
2. Site for action Of Antibiotics
Cell wall property studied by transmission electron microscopy
[TEM ]
Gram Staining — Christian gram 1884 — study of shapes & helps
differentiates between Gram positive & Gram negative bacteria
3. FUNCTIONS
a. Protects the cell from mechanical disruption
b. Protects against osmotic lysis
c. Protects against toxic chemical and biologic agents.
d. Responsible for the shape of the cell- peptidoglycan
e. Takes part in cell division .
4. Poorly staining bacteria still have a Gram category depending on
their cell wall. For e.g.-
a. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (gram positive) --> has lipids in
its cell wall that resist the uptake of most stains.
b. Treponema pallidum (gram negative) - stains poorly, too thin
to be seen in LM.
5. PERIPLASMIC SPACE - Between plasma membrane and cell wall,
gel like fluid filled, contains enzymes needed for PG synthesis,
hydrolytic enzymes which attack nucleic acids & binding proteins
which are involved in transport of materials Into the cell .
6. Gram-positive Cell Wall
a. Mainly peptidoglycan and teichoic Acids
b. Peptidoglycan/MUREIN- only in prokaryotes
 i. Consists of a linear glycan chain of two alternating
sugars, N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-
acetylmuramic acid (NAM)
ii. Adjacent glycan chains -cross-linked into sheets by
peptide bonds between peptide amino acids side chains.
iii. Different amino acids — D-glutamic acid, D-Alanine,
meso — di amino pimilic acid [DAP] or L-lysine.
iv. Scaffold-like sac surrounds cell
v. Large mechanical strength --> Due to single, covalently
bonded structure. Not degraded by most enzymes in
host bodies (EXCEPT Lysozyme)
vi. Penicillin inhibits peptidoglycan, after which cell lysis
occurs.
7. Teichoic acid
a. Polymers of either glycerol phosphate or ribitol
(sugar)phosphate.
b. Teichoic and lipoteichoic acids promote adhesion and
anchor wall to membrane
c. Teichoic acid- negatively charged gives the gram positive
cell wall negative charge.
  Teichoic acids that are anchored to the lipid membrane are
referred to as lipoteichoic acids (LTAs), whereas teichoic
acids that are covalently bound to peptidoglycan are referred
to as wall teichoic acids (WTA).

GRAM NEGATIVE CELL WALL

9. Much more complex than gram positive cell wall .
10. PG thin, 5-10 % Of weight. I-2 layers of PG , 2 nm thick e.g.
E coli.
11. Outer-membrane - Outside the PG. Protects against toxic
substances (Bile salts, antibiotics etc.)
12. Lipoprotein- connects the membrane to the PG.
13. Braun's lipoprotein — most abundant membrane protein
covalently joined to the underlying PG & embedded in the outer
membrane by its hydrophobic end. Links Outer membrane & PG
firmly.
14. LIPOPOLYSACHHARIDE - LPS
a. Large complex molecule contain lipid & CHO
b. extremely toxic to humans and other animals even in
small amounts- called endotoxin.
c. In a gram-negative infection, this substance can produce
a fever and shock syndrome called gram-negative or
endotoxic shock.
d. Consists Of 3 parts-
i. Lipid A
ii. Core Polysaccharide
iii. O side chain
e. LIPID A — Toxic part
 Contains 2 Glucosamine sugar derivatives each with
3 fatty acids & phosphates or pyrophosphates
attached buried in the outer membrane & the
remainder Of the LPS molecule projects from the
surface.
 Helps stabilize cell wall
f. CORE POLYSACHARIDE -Joined to LIPID A, constructed Of
10 sugars . Gives wall -ve charge
g. "O" SIDE CHAIN - or "O" Antigen
i. Polysaccharide chain extending outward from the
core
ii. Has peculiar sugars
iii. Varies among bacterial strains.
iv. "O" side chain readily recognized by host antibodies,
but evades host defense by changing the nature of
their side chain to avoid detection
15. No Teichoic acid
16. OUTER MEMBRANE more permeable than plasma
membrane due to Porin proteins.
17. Porins- 3 mols. Cluster together - form large water-
filled channels which allow the diffusion of hydrophilic molecules
(less than 600-700 dl) into the periplasmic space.

18. PLASMA MEMBRANE

19. Contains both proteins & lipids

20. BILAYER- outer surface hydrophilic [polar end],
hydrophobic (polar end) end buried in the interior away from
water.
21. NO sterols
22. Lipids — Phospholipids .
 23. 2 types Of membrane protein — Peripheral (20-30 %)
AND Integral (70-80 %)
24. Contains the entire electron transport system of the
cell (and, hence, is functionally analogous to the mitochondria of
eukaryotes).
25. Functions —
a. Selectively permeable
b. Retains cytoplasm
c. Helps in uptake of nutrients
d. Waste excretion & protein secretion
e. Crucial spot for metabolic processes LIKE respiration, and
photosynthesis

INTERNAL MEMBRANE SYSTEM

26. NO mitochondria, no chloroplast.
27. MESOSOMES —
a. Invagination Of plasma membrane in the shape of vesicles,
tubules or lamella
b. More in gram positive bacteria
c. May be involved during cell division since they are
sometimes attached to bacterial chromosome .
28. NUCLEOID
a. No nuclear membrane
b. Single haploid chromosome in ds DNA- approx. 1 mm long in
unfolded state, negatively charged , multiple copies can be
present all of same type.
c. Some bacteria have linear DNA e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi
d. DNA contains some amounts of RNA and RNA polymerase
e. Plasmids in many bac.— ds DNA mol usually circular,
replicates independently, inherited & passed to next
generation. May be lost during cell division .
 f. Plasmids contain genes for Drug Resistance, which gives new
metabolic abilities and makes bacteria pathogenic due to
toxin production
29. Ribosomes
a. Cell packed with ribosomes
b. May be loosely attached to plasma membrane
c. Protein & RNA
d. Site for protein synthesis.
e. Prokaryote ribosomes are smaller than eukaryotes, called
70s ribosomes (50s & 30s subunits].

Inclusion Bodies
 Storage granules are membrane-bounded vesicles
containing condensed materials.
 They are also known as zymogen granules or
condensing vacuoles.
32. Granules of organic or inorganic material
33. Used for storage (e.g., carbon compounds, inorganic
substances, and energy), and also reduce osmotic pressure by
tying up molecules in particulate form.
34. Non-membrane bound granules- polyphosphate granules,
cyanophycin granules, and some glycogen granules.
35. Membrane-enclosed(single layer)- poly—hydroxybutyrate
granules, some glycogen and sulfur granules, carboxysomes, and
gas vacuoles.

GRANULES
36. ORGANIC — Glycogen granules stains reddish brown with
Iodine, PHB stains with Sudan black, both are carbon storage
granules used for energy & biosynthesis .
37. Inorganic granules
a. Store phoshate — polyphophate granules or Volutin
granules
 b. Metachromatic granules - appear red or different shades Of
blue when stained with methylene blue or toluidine blue .
c. Sulphur granules — formed by photosynthetic bacteria

ALBERT