SOMEONE SAID

Contents
I. Cell Shape and Size
A. Cell Morphology
B. Cell Size
C. Microbial Cells
II. Cell Structure and Evolutionary History
1. Elements of Microbial Structure
2. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
3. Types of Microorganisms
II. Metabolic Diversity
 A. Cell Morphology
In microbiology, the term morphology means cell shape

Major Cell Morphologies

• Examples of bacterial morphologies are shown in Figure 3.1.

• A bacterium that is spherical or ovoid in morphology is called a coccus
(plural, cocci).
• A bacterium with a cylindrical shape is called a rod or a bacillus. Some rods
twist into spiral shapes and are called spirilla.
Figure 3.1 Representative cell morphologies of prokaryotes. Next to each drawing is a phase-contrast photomicrograph
showing an example of that morphology. Organisms are coccus, Thiocapsa roseopersicina (diameter of a single cell = 1.5
µm); rod, Desulfuromonas acetoxidans (diameter = 1 µm); spirillum, Rhodospirillum rubrum (diameter = 1 µm); spirochete,
Spirochaeta stenostrepta (diameter = 0.25 µm); budding and appendaged, Rhodomicrobium vannielii (diameter = 1.2 µm);
filamentous, Chloroflexus aurantiacus (diameter = 0.8 µm).
B. Cell Size
• Prokaryotes vary in size from cells as small as about 0.2 µm in diameter to
those more than 700 µm in diameter.
• The vast majority of rod-shaped prokaryotes that have been cultured in
the laboratory are between 0.5 and 4 µm wide and less than 15 µm long,
but a few very large prokaryotes, such as Epulopiscium fishelsoni, are
huge, with cells longer than 600 µm (0.6 millimeter) (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2 Some very large prokaryotes. (a) Dark-field
photomicrograph of a giant prokaryote, Epulopiscium
fishelsoni. The rod-shaped cell in this field is about 600 µm
(0.6 mm) long and 75 µm wide and is shown with four cells
of the protist (eukaryote) Paramecium, each of which is
about 150 µm long. E. fishelsoni is a species of Bacteria,
phylogenetically related to Clostridium. (b) Thiomargarita
namibiensis, a large sulfur chemolithotroph (phylum
Proteobacteria of the Bacteria) and currently the largest
known prokaryote. Cell widths vary from 400 to 750 µm.
 1.2 Microbial Cells
• Basic tenet of biology is that the cell is the fundamental unit of life.
• A single cell is an entity isolated from other such entities by a membrane. The
membrane defines the compartment that is the cell, maintains the correct
proportions of internal constituents and prevents leakage.
• Many cells also have a cell wall outside the membrane (Figure 1.2). The wall
lends structural strength to the cell.

Fig. 1.2 Electron micrograph of a sectioned. The light area is

aggregated DNA, the nucleoid of the cell.
• But the fact that a cell is a compartment does not mean that it is a sealed
compartment. Instead, the membrane is semipermeable and thus the cell is an
open, dynamic structure.
• Cells can communicate, move about, and exchange materials with their
environments, and so they are constantly undergoing change.
We now consider some basic concepts of microbial cell structure
that underlie many topics in biology books.
1. Elements of Microbial Structure
All cells have much in common and contain many of the same
components.
For example:
• All cells have a permeability barrier called the cytoplasmic
membrane that separates the inside of the cell, the cytoplasm,
from the outside (Figure 2.11).
• The cytoplasm is an aqueous mixture of macromolecules—
proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and polysaccharides—small
organic molecules (mainly precursors of macromolecules),
various inorganic ions, and ribosomes, the cell’s protein-
synthesizing structures.
• Ribosomes interact with cytoplasmic proteins and transfer RNAs
in the key process of protein synthesis (translation).
• The cell wall lends structural strength to a cell. The cell wall is
relatively permeable and located outside the membrane (Figure
2.11a); it is a much stronger layer than the membrane itself. Plant
cells and most microorganisms have cell walls, whereas animal
cells, with rare exceptions, do not.

Figure 2.11 Internal structure

of cells. Note differences in scale and
internal structure between the
prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
2. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
Examination of the internal structure of cells reveals two distinct
patterns: prokaryote and eukaryote (Figure 2.12).

§ Prokaryotes : no nucleus and organelles

§ Eukaryotes : membrane bound nucleus and organelles
§ Acellular agents: genomes contain either DNA or RNA
• Eukaryotic microorganisms include algae and protozoa,
collectively called protists, and the fungi and slime molds. The
cells of plants and animals are also eukaryotic cells.
• Eukaryotes house their DNA in a membrane-enclosed nucleus
and are typically much larger and structurally more complex than
prokaryotic cells.
• In eukaryotic cells the key processes of DNA replication,
transcription, and translation are partitioned; replication and
transcription (RNA synthesis) occur in the nucleus while
translation (protein synthesis) occurs in the cytoplasm.
• A major property of eukaryotic cells is the presence of
membrane-enclosed structures in the cytoplasm called
organelles.
• These include, first and
foremost, the nucleus, but
also mitochondria and
chloroplasts (the latter in
photosynthetic cells only)
(Figures 2.2a and 2.12c).

• As mentioned, the nucleus

houses the cell’s genome
and is also the site of RNA
synthesis in eukaryotic cells.

• Mitochondria and
chloroplasts are dedicated to
energy conservation and Figure 2.2 Bright-field photomicrographs of pigmented
carry out respiration and microorganisms. (a) A green alga (eukaryote). The green
structures are chloroplasts. (b) Purple phototrophic bacteria
photosynthesis, respectively. (prokaryote). The algal cell is about 15 m wide, and the
bacterial cells are about 5 m wide.
• In contrast to eukaryotic cells, prokaryotic cells have a simpler
internal structure in which organelles are absent. However,
prokaryotes differ from eukaryotes in many other ways as well.
• For example, prokaryotes can couple transcription directly to
translation because their DNA resides in the cytoplasm and is not
enclosed within a nucleus as in eukaryotes.
• In terms of cell size, a typical rod-shaped prokaryote is 1–5 µm
long and about 1 µm wide, but considerable variation is possible.
The range of sizes in eukaryotic cells is quite large. Eukaryotic
cells are known with diameters as small as 0.8 µm or as large as
several hundred micrometers.
• The prokaryotic world consists of two evolutionarily distinct
groups, the Bacteria and the Archaea.
• Moreover, the word “prokaryote” should not be considered
synonymous with “primitive,” as all cells living today—whether
prokaryotes or eukaryotes—are highly evolved and closely adapted
to their habitat.
3. Types of Microorganisms
• Bacteria
• Archaea
• Fungi
• Protozoa
• Algae
• Viruses
• Multicellular animal parasites
• Prions (Proteinaceous infectious agents)
3.1 Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are relatively
simple, single-celled (unicellular) organisms. Because their genetic
material is not enclosed in a special nuclear membrane, bacterial
cells are called prokaryotes, from Greek words meaning
prenucleus.
Bacterial cells generally appear in one of several shapes.
• Bacillus (bah-SIL-lus) (rodlike)

• Coccus (KOK-kus)
(spherical or ovoid)

• spiral (corkscrew or curved)

• some bacteria are star shaped or square

• Individual bacteria may form pairs, chains, clusters, or other
groupings; such formations are usually characteristic of a
particular genus or species of bacteria.
• Bacteria are enclosed in cell walls that are largely composed of a
carbohydrate and protein complex called peptidoglycan.
• Bacteria generally reproduce by dividing into two equal cells; this
process is called binary fission.
• For nutrition, most bacteria use organic chemicals, which in
nature can be derived from either dead or living organisms.
• Some bacteria can manufacture their own food by
photosynthesis, and some can derive nutrition from inorganic
substances.
• Many bacteria can “swim” by using moving appendages called
flagella.
Kingdom Prokaryotae: Bacteria lack nucleus
and membrane bound organelles
 3.2 Archaea
• Like bacteria, archaea (AR-kē-ah) consist of prokaryotic cells, but if
they have cell walls, the walls lack peptidoglycan.
• Archaea, often found in extreme
environments, are divided into three main
groups.
I. The methanogens produce methane as a
waste product from respiration.
II. The extreme halophiles (halo = salt;
philic = loving) live in extremely salty
environments such as the Great Salt Lake
and the Dead Sea.
III. The extreme thermophiles (therm =
heat) live in hot sulfurous water, such as
hot springs at Yellowstone National Park.
Archaea are not known to cause disease
in humans.
 3.3 Fungus/Fungi
• Fungi (singular: fungus) are eukaryotes
(ū-KAR-ē-ōts), organisms whose cells
have a distinct nucleus containing the
cell’s genetic material (DNA),
surrounded by a special envelope called
the nuclear membrane.
• Organisms in the Kingdom Fungi may be unicellular or
multicellular.
• Large multicellular fungi, such as mushrooms, may look
somewhat like plants, but unlike most plants, fungi cannot
carry out photosynthesis.
• The unicellular forms of fungi, yeasts, are oval
microorganisms that are larger than bacteria.
• The most typical fungi are molds.
Molds form visible masses called
mycelia, which are composed of long
filaments (hyphae) that branch and
intertwine. The cottony growths
sometimes found on bread and fruit
are mold mycelia.
• Fungi can reproduce sexually or
asexually.
• They obtain nourishment by absorbing
solutions of organic material from their
environment—whether soil, seawater,
freshwater, or an animal or plant host.
• Fungi are major agents of decomposition
in nature and recycle much of the
organic matter produced in soils and
other ecosystems.
 3.4 Protozoa
• Protozoa (singular: protozoan) are
unicellular eukaryotic microbes.
• Protozoa move by pseudopods,
flagella, or cilia.
• Protozoa have a variety of shapes and
live either as free entities or as
parasites (organisms that derive
nutrients from living hosts) that
absorb or ingest organic compounds
from their environment.
• Some protozoa, such as Euglena (ū-
GLĒ-nah), are photosynthetic. They An ameba, a protozoan,
use light as a source of energy and approaching a food particle
carbon dioxide as their chief source of carbon to produce sugars.
• Protozoa can reproduce sexually or asexually.
3.5 Algae (Sing. Alga)
• Algae are photosynthetic eukaryotes
with a wide variety of shapes and both
sexual and asexual reproductive forms.
• The algae of interest to microbiologists
are usually unicellular.
• The cell walls of many algae are composed of a carbohydrate
called cellulose.
• Algae are abundant in freshwater and saltwater, in soil, and in
association with plants.
• As photosynthesizers, algae need light, water, and carbon
dioxide for food production and growth
• As a result of photosynthesis, algae produce oxygen and
carbohydrates that are then utilized by other organisms,
including animals. Thus, they play an important role in the
balance of nature.
3.6 Viruses
• Viruses are very different from the other
microbial groups mentioned here. They
are so small that most can be seen only
with an electron microscope, and they
are acellular (not cellular).
• Structurally very simple, a virus particle contains a core
made of only one type of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA.
• This core is surrounded by a protein coat, which is
sometimes encased by a lipid membrane called an
envelope.
• All living cells have RNA and DNA, can carry out chemical
reactions, and can reproduce as self-sufficient units.
• Viruses can reproduce only by using the cellular machinery
of other organisms.
• Viruses only replicate within a living host cell
3.7 Multicellular Animal Parasites

• Although multicellular animal

parasites are not strictly
microorganisms, they are of
medical importance to be
discussed.
• Animal parasites are eukaryotes.
• The two major groups of parasitic
worms are the flatworms and the
roundworms, collectively called
helminths.
• During some stages of their life
cycle, helminths are microscopic
in size.
Three Domain Classification

• Bacteria
• Archaea
• Eukarya
• Protista
• Fungi
• Plants
• Animals
 Bacteria Fungi Protozoa Viruses ALGAE

1 Cells Uni-cellular Uni/multi Uni-cellular Acellular Uni/multi

cellular No. cellular
2 Size (µ) 0.2 -5 3-10 15-25 0.02-0.2 ~ 150

3 Type of Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic None Eukaryotic

nucleus DNA/RNA DNA/RNA DNA/RNA DNA/RNA
4 Ribosomes 70 S 80 S 80 S x 80 S
5 Mitochondria Absent Present Present x Present
6 Outer surface Rigid wall Rigid wall Flexible Protein Rigid
Carbohydrate & membrane coat Carbohydrate
protein cell wall
[Peptidoglycan] [Cellulose]

7 Motility Yes [Flagella] None Most No NO

Pseudopods
Flagella&
Cilia
 Bacteria Fungi Protozoa Viruses ALGAE

8 Nutrition Photosynthesis No Photosynthet x Photosynth

[Organic] Photosynthesi ic etic
Use [inorganic s Absorb
matter] Absorb solutions of Has
solutions of organic Chlorophyll
organic materials
material from
environment
9 Method Binary fission Budding/ mitosis Using Sex/Asex
of mitosis Sex/Asex Cellular
Replicatio Sex/Asex machinery
n of other
organisms
parasite
10 Example E-Coli Yeast Ameba SARS Blue-green
Anthrax Malaria Typhoid Algae
Cryptosporidi Covid-19
osis
11 Benefit Antibiotics Bread Environment Genetic Produce O2
Bear al balance Engineerin
g
 • All cells require an energy source and a metabolic strategy for
conserving energy from it to drive energy-consuming life
processes.
• As far as is known, energy can be tapped from three sources in
nature: organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, and light
(Figure 2.18).

Figure 2.18 Metabolic options for conserving

energy. The organic and inorganic chemicals listed
here are just a few of the chemicals used by one
organism or another. Chemotrophic organisms
oxidize organic or inorganic chemicals, which
yields ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Phototrophic
organisms use solar energy to form ATP.
• All cells need sources of carbon and energy for growth.
Chemoorganotrophs, chemolithotrophs, and phototrophs use organic
chemicals, inorganic chemicals, or light, respectively, as their source of
energy.
• Autotrophs use CO2 as their carbon source, while heterotrophs use
organic compounds. Extremophiles thrive under environmental
conditions of high pressure or salt, or extremes of temperature or pH.
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