For the corset manufacturer with a similar name, see
Spirella.
Spirillum in microbiology refers to a bacterium with a cell body that twists like a spiral.[1] It is the third distinct bacterial cell shape type besides coccus and bacillus cells.
Taxonomic [edit]
Spirillum is the bacteria of a genus of Gram-negative bacteria (family Spirillaceae).[2] There are two species, Spirillum volutans and Spirillum winogradskyi.[3] The taxonomic position of Spirillum minus and Spirillum pulli is uncertain.[2] Spirillum minus is associated with rat-bite fever.[4]
Appearance [edit]
It is a genus comprising elongated forms having tufts of flagellae at both poles and usually living in stagnant water rich in organic matter. They are twisted and aerobic. They are small regularly coiled rigid organism measuring about 3μm-4μm in length.
Characteristics [edit]
Spirilla are rigid, motile (for example, Spirillum minor is motile), and small and regularly coiled.
References [edit]
- ^ Spirillum at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
- ^ a b Garrity, George M.; Brenner, Don J.; Krieg, Noel R.; Staley, James T. (eds.) (2005). Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Volume Two: The Proteobacteria, Part C: The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria. New York, New York: Springer. pp. 354–361. ISBN 978-0-387-24145-6.
- ^ Podkopaeva (D.), Grabovich (M.), Kuever (J.), Lysenko (A.M.), Tourova (T.P.), Kolganova (T.V.) and Dubinia (G.): Proposal of Spirillum winogradskyi sp. nov., a novel microaerophilic species, an amended description of the genus Spirillum and Request for an Opinion regarding the status of the species Spirillum volutans Ehrenberg 1832. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2009, 59, 2916-2920.
- ^ "Spirillum" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
External links [edit]
