Bacteria

Microbiologists broadly classify bacteria according to their shape: spherical,

rod-shaped, and spiral-shaped. Pleomorphic bacteria can assume a variety of
shapes. Bacteria may be further classified according to whether they require
oxygen (aerobic or anaerobic) and how they react to a test with Grams stain.
Bacteria in which alcohol washes away Grams stain are called gramnegative, while bacteria in which alcohol causes the bacterias walls to
absorb the stain are called gram-positive.

TYPE ----- CHARACTERISTICS

Acetic acid

Rod-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic; highly tolerant of acidic conditions;

generate organic acids

Actinomycete

Rod-shaped or filamentous, gram-positive, aerobic; common in soils; essential

to growth of many plants; source of much of original antibiotic production in
pharmaceutical industry

Coccoid

Spherical, sometimes in clusters or strings, gram-positive, aerobic and

anaerobic; resistant to drying and high-salt conditions; Staphylococcus
species common on human skin, certain strains associated with toxic shock
syndrome

Coryneform

Rod-shaped, form club or V shapes, gram-positive, aerobic; found in wide

variety of habitats, particularly soils; highly resistant to drying; include
Arthrobacter, among most common forms of life on earth

Endospore-

forming

Usually rod-shaped, can be gram-positive or gram-negative; have highly

adaptable, heat-resistant spores that can go dormant for long periods,
possibly thousands of years; include Clostridium (anaerobic) and Bacillus
(aerobic)

Enteric

Rod-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic but can live in certain anaerobic

conditions; produce nitrite from nitrate, acids from glucose; include
Escherichia coli, Salmonella (over 1000 types), and Shigella

Gliding

Rod-shaped, gram-negative, mostly aerobic; glide on secreted slimy

substances; form colonies, frequently with complex fruiting structures

Lactic acid

Gram-positive, anaerobic; produce lactic acid through fermentation; include

Lactobacillus, essential in dairy product formation, and Streptococcus,
common in humans

Mycobacterium

Pleomorphic, spherical or rod-shaped, frequently branching, no gram stain,

aerobic; commonly form yellow pigments; include Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, cause of tuberculosis

Mycoplasma

Spherical, commonly forming branching chains, no gram stain, aerobic but

can live in certain anaerobic conditions; without cell walls yet structurally
resistant to lysis; among smallest of bacteria; named for superficial
resemblance to fungal hyphae (myco- means "fungus")

Nitrogen-fixing

Rod-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic; convert atmospheric nitrogen gas to

ammonium in soil; include Azotobacter, a common genus

Propionic acid

Rod-shaped, pleomorphic, gram-positive, anaerobic; ferment lactic acid;

fermentation produces holes in Swiss cheese from the production of carbon
dioxide

Pseudomonad

Rod-shaped (straight or curved) with polar flagella, gram-negative, aerobic;

can use up to 100 different compounds for carbon and energy

Rickettsia

Spherical or rod-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic; cause Rocky Mountain

spotted fever and typhus; closely related to Agrobacterium, a common gallcausing plant bacterium

Sheathed

Filamentous, gram-negative, aerobic; "swarmer" (colonizing) cells form and

break out of a sheath; sometimes coated with metals from environment

Spirillum

Spiral-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic; include Bdellovibrio, predatory on

other bacteria

Spirochete

Spiral-shaped, gram-negative, mostly anaerobic; common in moist

environments, from mammalian gums to coastal mudflats; complex internal
structures convey rapid movement; include Treponemapallidum, cause of
syphilis

Sulfate- and

Sulfur-reducing

Commonly rod-shaped, mostly gram-negative, anaerobic; include

Desulfovibrio, ecologically important in marshes

Sulfur- and

iron-oxidizing

Commonly rod-shaped, frequently with polar flagella, gram-negative, mostly

anaerobic; most live in neutral (nonacidic) environment

Vibrio

Rod- or comma-shaped, gram-negative, aerobic; commonly with a single

flagellum; include Vibrio choler, cause of cholera, and luminescent forms
symbiotic with deep-water fishes and squids

FAMILY ----- VIRUS ----- DISEASE

Adenovirus

Common cold

Bunyavirus

Hantaan
La Crosse
Sin Nombre

Kidney failure
Encephalitis (brain infection)
Lung syndrome

Calicivirus

Norwalk

Gastroenteritis (diarrha, vomiting)

Coronavirus

Corona

Common cold

Filovirus

Ebola
Marburg

Hemorrhagic fever
Hemorrhagic fever

Flavivirus

Hepatitis C (non-A, non-B)

Yellow fever

Hepatitis
Hepatitis, hemorrhage

Hepadnavirus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)

Hepatitis, liver carcinoma

Herpesvirus

Cytomegalovirus
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
Herpes simplex type 1
Herpes simplex type 2
Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8)
Varicella-zoster

Birth defects
Mononucleosis, nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Cold sores
Genital lesions
Kaposi's sarcoma
Chicken pox, shingles

Orthomyxovirus

Influenza types A and B

Flu

Papovavirus

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

Warts, cervical carcinoma

Picornavirus

Coxsackie virus
Echovirus
Hepatitis A
Poliovirus
Rhinovirus

Myocarditis (heart muscle infection)

Meningitis
Infectious hepatitis
Poliomyelitis
Common cold

Paramyxovirus

Measles
Mumps
Parainfluenza

Measles
Mumps
Common cold, ear infections

Parvovirus

B19

Fifth disease, chronic anemia

Poxvirus

Orthopoxvirus

Smallpox (eradicated)

Reovirus

Rotavirus

Diarrhea

Retrovirus

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I)

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Adult T-cell leukemia, lymphoma, neurologic disease

Rhabdovirus

Rabies

Rabies

Togavirus

Eastern equine encephalomyelitis

Rubella

Encephalitis
Rubella, birth defects