What is the cell morphology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis?
When I looked at it under the microscope, it looked as if it were coccus by shape, but I looked it up and I found some sites consider it a bacillus, which one is it? I also need to double check on S. auerous, which I think it's coccus, M.smegmatis, which I think is bacillus. Thanks kids!
Biology - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
M. tuberculosis is an obligate aerobe ( weakly Gram-positive mycobacterium, hence Ziehl-Neelsen staining (Acid-fast staining) is used). While mycobacteria do not seem to fit the Gram-positive category from an empirical standpoint (i.e., they do not retain the crystal violet stain), they are classified as an acid-fast Gram-positive bacterium due to their lack of an outer cell membrane. M. tuberculosis divides every 15 to 20 hours, which is extremely slow compared to other bacteria, which tend to have division times measured in minutes (for example, E. coli can divide roughly every 20 minutes). It is a small bacillus that can withstand weak disinfectants and can survive in a dry state for weeks.
2 :
I'll give you a simpler answer for this one as well. The TB and Smegmatis are both considered AF bacilli while the Staph forms cocci usually in grape like clusters for S. aureus. Hope that helps you
Read more discussions :
