Bacillus (shape)
A bacillus (plural bacilli) is a rod-shaped bacterium. Bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria. However, the name Bacillus, capitalized and italicized, refers to a specific genus of bacteria. The name Bacilli, capitalized but not italicized, can also refer to a less specific taxonomic group of bacteria that includes two orders, one of which contains the genus Bacillus. When the word is formatted with a lowercase and not italicized, 'bacillus', it will most likely be referring to shape and not to the genus at all. The shape bacillus can also be called rods. [1]
Bacilli usually divide in the same plane and are solitary, but can combine to form diplobacilli, streptobacilli, and palisades.[2]
- Diplobacilli: Two bacilli arranged side by side with each other.
- Streptobacilli: Bacilli arranged in chains.
- Coccobacillus: Oval and similar to coccus (circular shaped bacterium).
There is no connection between the shape of a bacterium and its color in the Gram staining. MacConkey agar can be used to distinguish among Gram negative bacilli such as E. coli and salmonella.[4]
Examples of Gram positive bacilli
- Clostridium genus
- Corynebacterium genus
- Listeria genus
- Propionibacterium genus
Examples of Gram negative bacilli
- Salmonella species
- Escherichia species
- Pseudomonas species
- Bacteroides species
- Shigella species
- Proteus species
- Enterobacter species
- Citrobacter species
- Serratia species
- Yersinia species
References
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