Ask a Teacher

Search



How many types of bacteria are there? On the basis of shape and size bacteria are classified into how much?

The classification of bacteria is based on many factors like morphology, DNA sequencing, requirement of oxygen and carbon-dioxide, staining methods, presence of flagellae, cell structure, etc.
Rod-shaped bacteria (Bacilli) - e.g. E.Coli and Salmonella
Spherical-shaped bacteria (Cocci) - e.g. Staphylococcus and Streptococcus
Spiral-shaped bacteria (Spirilla) - e.g. Treponema and Borellia
Comma-shaped bacteria - e.g. Vibrio Cholera
Flagellated bacteria - e.g. Tetanus Bacteria.
Currently, estimates of the total number of species range from about 10 million to a billion, but these estimates are tentative, and may be off by many orders of magnitude.


comments powered by Disqus