Classifying Bacteria: 6 Key Methods

cell shape, size, colony shape size and colour, smell, arrangement, and growth requirements

1. coccus - round
2. coccobaccilus - in between round and rod shaped
3. vibrio - comma shaped
4. helical- helix
5. filamentous - long rope shape
6. baccilus - rod shaped

1. diplo - two cells together
2. straphylo - cluster, grape arrangement
3. strepto - linear

energy source, oxygen requirements, temparature and pH

1.conjugation - DNA is transfered through the conjugation pilus, one strand of the plasmid is transferred then a copy is made. 2.transformation: small pieces of free DNA in the environment (usually from lysed bacterial cells) are taken up by bacteria and incorporated into the chromosome 3.transduction: genes transferred through bacteriophages 4.transposition: transposase enzymes excise DNA from one location in the DNA to another

lag phase - no increase in living bacteria log phase - exponential growth of bacteria stationary phase - plateau in division, same death rate as growth rate decline phase - exponential decrease in bacteria

structures made to protect the bacterial genome in a dormant state when environmental conditions are unfavourable. they can survive with no nutrient source or water making them hard to kill

purple after gram staining, thick peptidoglycan layer but no outer lipid membrane. no O-specific side chains present but teichoic and lipoteichoic acids are present. includes all staphylococcus and streptococci and some listera species

red colour after staining, thin peptidoglycan layer, outer lipid membrane side-O chains present but techoic and lipotechoic acids arent present. include salmonella, psuedomonas and enterococci species.