MCB 3020 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Mota, 23S Ribosomal Rna, Biodegradation

• School: University of Florida
• Department: Microbiology and Cell Science
• Course: MCB 3020
• Professor: Abdolkarim Asghari

Document Summary

Shape, arrangement, and size: bacterial cells: two most common shapes are cocci and rods, cocci are spherical cells. Can exist singly or associated in characteristic arrangements that can be useful in identification: diplococci arise when cocci divide and remain together to form pairs, bacillus megaterium (found in long chain) example of bacterium with rod shape. Some rods occur singly and some together to form pairs or chains: other bacteria are pleomorphic, variable in shape and lacking single characteristic form, some bacteria can be thought of as multicellular. Many actinobacteria form long filaments called hyphae: hyphae form a network called mycelium, many cyanobacteria (group of photosynthetic bacteria) also filamentous. Being filamentous allows some degree of differentiation among cells in filament: some filamentous cyanobacteria form heterocysts within filament; specialized cells that carry out nitrogen fixation, bacterial cells often surrounded by several layers, collectively called cell envelope.