Characteristics, Identification and Classification of Bacteria

Bacteria are unicellular organisms and they are prokaryotic i.e. they do not have a membrane bound nucleus
and membrane bound organelles. They are ubiquitous i.e. they are found in all environments, where organic
matter is present. They are found in air, water, soil and also in or on the bodies of plants and animals. Some
of the bacteria live as commensals (i.e. interaction is beneficial to one species and the other species is
unaffected) e.g. Escherichia coli in the human intestine, and some live as symbionts (living in close
relationship with the host) eg. Rhizobium in the root nodules of leguminous plants. Several of them cause
diseases in plants, animals and human beings.
In 1676 Anton Van Leeuwenhoek discovered the microbial world by his simple microscope. It was only after
the invention of compound microscope by Hooke in 1820, that bacteria came to lime light. These very minute
creatures were designated as “small microscopic species” or “Infusorial animalcules”.
Louis Pasteur (1822-95) thereafter made a detailed study of bacteria and proposed germ theory of disease.
Robert Koch, a german microbiologist, was the first scientist to prove the cause and effect relationship
between microbes and animal diseases. The term bacterium was first used by Ehrenberg (1829). The branch
of study that deals with bacteria is called Bacteriology.

General characteristics of bacteria:

1. Structure:_
- Prokaryotic cells (lack true nucleus)
- Cell wall composed of peptidoglycan (also known as murein)
- May have a capsule, flagella, and pili
2. Size:
- Typically small in sizes, most being approximately 0.5 to 1 micrometers (μm) in diameter in diameter
and about 3 to 5 microns in length
- Smaller than eukaryotic cells, larger than most viruses
3. Genome:
- Composed of a single, circular chromosome (double-stranded DNA)
- Genome size varies from 1-10 megabase pairs (Mbp)
4. Metabolism:
- Carry out various metabolic processes (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration, fermentation)
- May be autotrophic (produce own food) or heterotrophic (obtain food from external sources)
5. Reproduction: It is the method by which many bacteria multiply very rapidly explaining the cause
of spoilage of food stuffs, turning of milk into curd etc.
- Asexual reproduction (binary fission) very common.
- Some species can form endospores (dormant, highly resistant structures)
- Typical sexual reproduction involving the formation and fusion of gametes is absent in bacteria.
However, gene recombination can occur in bacteria.
6. Mobility:_
- May be motile (move using flagella) or non-motile
- Some species can move using gliding or twitching motions
7. Nutrition:_
- Obtain nutrients from various sources (e.g., soil, water, organic matter)
- May be saprotrophic (obtain nutrients from dead organic matter) or symbiotic (obtain nutrients
from other organisms)
8. Ecological Roles:_
- Play important roles in ecosystems (e.g., decomposition, nitrogen fixation, food chains)
- May be pathogens (cause disease) or beneficial organisms (e.g., probiotics)
9. Response to Environment:_
- Can survive in various environments (e.g., extreme temperatures, high salinity, low pH)
- May form biofilms (complex communities attached to surfaces)
_10. Evolution:_
- Evolve rapidly due to high mutation rates and horizontal gene transfer
- Can develop resistance to antibiotics and other stressors
Classification of Bacteria
Classification of bacteria help scientists understand the diversity and relationships among bacteria,
and inform research, diagnosis, and treatment strategies.
Bacteria can be classified in various ways, including:
1. Shape:
The rigid bacterial cell wall determines the shape of a cell. Typical bacterial cells are;
- Sphere-shaped/spherical (cocci)
- Rod-shaped/straight rods (bacilli)
- Spiral-shaped (spirilla)
- Comma-shaped (vibrios)
Some bacterial cells are pleomorphic i.e. they can exhibit a variety of shapes eg. Arthrobacter.
Cocci bacteria appear in several characteristic arrangements depending on their plane of division.
a. Diplococci: Cells divide in one plane and remain attached in pairs.
b. Streptococci: cells divide in one plane and remain attached to form chains.
c. Tetracocci: Cells divide in two planes and form group of four cells.
d. Staphylococci: cells divide in three planes, in an irregular pattern, producing bunches of cocci.
e. Sarcinae: cells divide in three planes, in a regular pattern, producing a cuboidal arrangement of cells.
Bacilli forms occur singly or in pairs (diplobacilli) or form chains (streptobacilli). In Corynebacterium
diphtheriae which is a bacillus species, the cells are arranged side by side like match sticks (palisade
arrangement).
 Bacteria Shapes

2. Gram Staining:
- Gram-positive (retain Gram stain)
- Gram-negative (lose Gram stain)
3. Flagellation:
- All spirilla, about half of the bacilli and a small number of cocci are flagellated. Flagella vary
both in number and arrangement according to two general patterns.
i. In a polar arrangement, the flagella are attached at one or both ends of the cell. Three sub types of
this pattern are:
a. monotrichous – having a single flagellum
b. lophotrichous – with small bunches or tufts of flagella emerging from one end
c. amphitrichous – with flagella at both poles of the cell
ii. In a peritrichous arrangement, flagella are dispersed randomly over the surface of the cell.
iii. Atrichous bacteria lack flagellum.
4. Nutrition/Metabolism:
- Bacterial mode of nutrition can either be autotrophic or heterotrophic. Some bacteria are autotrophic and
are photosynthetic. i.e. they can synthesize their organic food in the presence of sunlight eg. Spirillum.
Some bacteria are chemosynthetic i.e. they can synthesize their organic food by deriving energy from
some chemical reactions. eg. Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter.
Many other bacteria like Rhizobium, Azotobacter and Clostridium can fix atmospheric nitrogen into
ammonia. This phenomenon is called Biological Nitrogen Fixation. Some bacteria are parasites and others
live as symbionts.
5. Respiration/Oxygen Requirements:
- Aerobic bacteria: require oxygen and will not grow under anaerobic conditions (i.e in the absence of O2)
- Anaerobic bacteria: (do not require oxygen for growth and metabolism but obtain their energy from
fermentation reaction) eg. Clostridium species.
- Facultative anaerobe (can grow with or without oxygen).
 Bacteria that are facultative anaerobes are often termed “aerobes”. When a facultative anaerobe such as
E. coli is present at a site of an infection like an abdominal abscess it can rapidly consume all available
O2 and change to anaerobic metabolism, producing an anaerobic environment and thus, allow the
anaerobic bacteria that are present to grow and cause disease.
Endospores are structures formed in bacillus bacteria during unfavourable conditions. Fortunately most
pathogenic bacteria (except tetanus and anthrax bacteria) do not form endospores.
6. Temperature:
- Thermophilic (grow at high temperatures)
- Mesophilic (grow at moderate temperatures)
- Psychrophilic (grow at low temperatures)
7. Salinity:
- Halophilic (grow in high salt concentrations)
- Halotolerant (grow in moderate salt concentrations)
- Non-halophilic (grow in low salt concentrations)
8
. Phylum: 10. Order:
- Proteobacteria - Enterobacteriales
- Firmicutes - Pseudomonadales
- Actinobacteria - Rhodobacterales
- Bacteroidetes - Rhizobiales
- Cyanobacteria - Streptomycetales
9. Class: 11. Family:
- Alphaproteobacteria - Enterobacteriaceae
- Betaproteobacteria - Pseudomonadaceae
- Gammaproteobacteria - Rhodobacteraceae
- Deltaproteobacteria - Rhizobiaceae
- Epsilonproteobacteria - Streptomycetaceae

Identification of bacteria
Methods for Identifying Bacteria:
1. Morphology: Shape, size, and arrangement of cells.
2. Staining: Gram stain, acid-fast stain, and other special stains.
3. Biochemical Tests:
- Sugar fermentation (e.g., lactose, glucose)
- Protein degradation (e.g., gelatin, casein)
- Lipid degradation (e.g., Tween 80)
- Enzyme activity (e.g., catalase, oxidase)
4. Metabolic Tests:
- Carbon source utilization (e.g., glucose, lactose)
- Nitrogen source utilization (e.g., ammonia, nitrate)
5. Serological Tests: Antibody-based tests (e.g., agglutination, ELISA)
6. Molecular Tests:
- PCR (polymerase chain reaction)
- DNA sequencing (e.g., 16S rRNA gene)
- DNA-DNA hybridization
7. Mass Spectrometry: MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight)
8. Chromatography: GC (gas chromatography), HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography)

Steps in Bacterial Identification:

1. Isolation: Isolate bacteria from a sample using appropriate media.
2. Preliminary Identification: Perform initial tests (e.g., Gram stain, morphology).
3. Definitive Identification: Conduct additional tests (e.g., biochemical, metabolic, molecular).
4. Confirmation: Verify identification using multiple methods.
5. Characterization: Determine bacterial properties (e.g., antibiotic susceptibility, virulence factors).

Importance of Bacterial Identification:

1. Diagnosis: Accurate identification for proper treatment and management.
2. Epidemiology: Tracking outbreaks and understanding disease transmission.
3. Research: Understanding bacterial pathogenesis, ecology, and evolution.
4. Public Health: Informing policy and prevention strategies.

Economic Importance of Bacteria

Bacteria play an important role in day to day activities of human beings. Some of them have harmful
effects and others are useful to mankind.
Harmful activities
1. Diseases caused by bacteria in plants:
Name of the host Name of the disease Name of the pathogen
Citrus Citrus Canker Xanthomonas citrii
Rice Bacterial blight Xanthomonas oryzae
Cotton Angular leaf spot Xanthomonas malvacearum
Pears Fire blight Pseudomonas solanacearum
Carrot Soft rot Erwiinia caratovora
2. Diseases caused by bacteria in animals:
Name of the host Name of the disease Name of the pathogen
Sheep Anthrax Bacillus anthracis
Cattle Brucellosis Brucella abortus
Sheep, goat Brucellosis Brucella melitensis

3. Diseases caused by bacteria in human beings:

Name of the disease Name of the pathogen
Cholera Vibrio cholerae
Typhoid Salmonella typhi
Tuberculosis Mycobacterium

Beneficial Activities of Bacteria

1. Sewage disposal: Organic matter of the sewage is decomposed by saprotrophic bacteria.
2. Decomposition of plant and animal remains: Saprotrophic bacteria cause decay and
decomposition of dead bodies of plants and animals. They release gases and salts to atmosphere
and soil. Hence these bacteria are known as nature’s scavengers.
3. Improving soil fertility:
i. The ammonifying bacteria like Bacillus ramosus and B. mycoides convert complex proteins in the
dead bodies of plants and animals into ammonia which is later converted into ammonium salts.
ii. The nitrifying bacteria such as Nitrobacter, Nitrosomonas convert ammonium salts into nitrites
and nitrates respectively.
iii. Nitrogen fixing bacteria such as Azotobacter and Clostridium and Rhizobium (a symbiotic
bacterium) are capable of converting atmospheric nitrogen into organic nitrogen. All these
activities of bacteria increase soil fertility.
Recycling of matter
Bacteria play a major role in cycling of elements like carbon, oxygen, Nitrogen and sulphur. Thus,
they help in maintaining environmental balance. As biological scavengers they oxidize the organic
compounds and set free the locked up carbon as CO2. The nitrogenous organic compounds are
decomposed to form ammonia which is oxidized to nitrite and nitrate ions by the action of
nitrifying bacteria. These ions are used by higher plants to synthesize nitrogenous organic
compounds.
The nitrogenous compounds are also oxidized to nitrogen by denitrifying bacteria.
4. Role of Bacteria in Industry
a. Dairy Industry: Lactic acid bacteria e.g. (Streptococcus lactis) are employed to convert milk sugar
lactose into lactic acid.
C12H22O11 + H2O 4C3H6O3 + Energy
Sugar Water Lactose Lactic Acid
Different strains of lactic acid bacteria are used to convert milk into curd, yoghurt (Lactobacillus
bulgaricus) and cheese (Lactobacillus acidophobus).
b. Vinegar (Acetic acid): is obtained by the activity of acetic acid bacteria (Acetobactor aceti). This
bacterium oxidizes ethyl alcohol obtained from molasses by fermentation to acetic acid or vinegar.
c. Alcohols and Acetone: Butyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and acetone are prepared from molasses by
the fermentation activity of the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum.
d. Curing of tobacco,tea and coffee: The leaves of tea, tobacco and beans of coffee are fermented by
the activity of certain bacteria to impart the characteristic flavour. This is called curing of tea,
tobacco and coffee.
e. Retting of fibres: The fibres from the fibre yielding plants are separated by the action of bacteria
like Clostridium species. This is called retting of fibres.
5. Role of bacteria in medicine
a. Antibiotics: Antibiotics such as bacitracin (Bacillus subtilis), polymyxin (Bacillus polymyxa),
Streptomycin (Streptomyces griseus) are obtained from bacterial sources.
b. Vitamins: Escherichia coli living in the intestine of human beings produce large quantities of
vitamin K and vitamin B complex. Vitamin B2 is prepared by the fermentation of sugar by the
action of clostridium species.
6. Role of bacteria in genetic engineering
Most of our knowledge in genetics and molecular biology during 20th century has been due to
research work on microorganisms, especially bacteria such as E. coli. One success has been the
transfer of human insulin genes into bacteria and commercial production of insulin has already
commenced.
7. Role of bacteria in biological control of pest
Certain Bacillus species such as B. thuringiensis infect and kill the caterpillars of some butterflies
and related insects. Since the bacteria do not affect other animals or plants they provide an ideal
means of controlling many serious crop pests.