Set 4 — Bacterial Shape, Size & Organization

What determines bacterial arrangement?

The plane of cell division and whether daughter cells separate after division.

What does filamentous bacterial growth produce?

Hyphae that can form a mycelium.

What are examples of filamentous bacteria from the lecture?

Cyanobacteria and Streptomyces.

What is an example of a complex bacterial form?

Myxococcus forming fruiting bodies.

What happens to surface-area-to-volume ratio as cell size increases?

It decreases.

Why are small bacterial cells efficient at nutrient transport?

They have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio.

What happens to transport efficiency as surface-area-to-volume ratio decreases?

Transport becomes less effective.

According to the lecture, which shape is more transport-efficient: rods or cocci?

Rods.

What is one reason bacterial cell size is limited?

Efficient movement of nutrients and wastes across the membrane.

What major bacterial cytoplasmic structures were discussed?

Cytoskeleton, intracytoplasmic membranes, inclusions, ribosomes, nucleoid, and plasmids.