Morphology of Bacteria

Morphology of Bacteria

Living organisms are differentiated from non living matter by their (1) ability to reproduce (2) ability to ingest or assimilate food and metabolize them for energy and growth (3) ability to excrete waste products (4) ability to react to changes in their environment (irritability) and (5) susceptibility to mutation. The living organisms include a variety of micro and macro organisms of different size, shape, morphology and behaviour. They include tiny bacteria, protozoans, worms, plants and animals.

Bacteria, cyanobacteria (blue green algae) microalgae, protozoa, yeasts and fungi represent the microorganisms. Prokaryotes are organisms with primitive type of nucleus lacking a well defined membrane (Figure 7.1). The nuclear material is a DNA molecule in prokaryotes compared to chromosomes of higher organisms. Eukaryotes are organisms with cells having true nuclei enclosed in a nuclear membrane and are structurally more complex than prokaryotes. There exists varying degree of localization of cellular functions in eukaryotes that occur in distinct membrane bound intracellular organelles like nuclei, mitochondria, chloroplasts. The cells of living organisms are either prokaryotic or eukaryotic in nature and there is not any intermediate condition. The size, shape, morphology and the internal cellular organizations are different in these two groups.

Satisfactory criteria to differentiate bacteria, fungi and algae could not be made until the development of electron microscope, which depicted the internal structure of these organisms. The absence of membrane bound internal structures in bacteria and their presence in fungi, algae, protozoa, plant and animal cells was taken as criterion to differentiate prokaryotes and eukaryotes.