The structure of bacterial flagella have been described by Simon (1978), Doestsch and Sjoblad (1980) and Ferris and Beveridge (1985). A flagellum consists of three basic parts, the basal body, hook and filament (Fig. 4.3). (a) Basal body: M. L. De Pamphilis and J. Alder (1971) isolated the basal body of a flagellum of E. coli and B. subtilis and [...]
Actinomycetes are classified into 7 families. The classification is based on hyphal and reproductive structures. Family 1: Streptomycetaceae: Hyphae non-fragmented, aerial mycelium with chains of spores with 5 to 50 or more conidia per chain e.g. Streptomyces, Microdlobaspone and Sporictilhya. Family 2: Nocardiaceae: Hyphae typically fragmented e.g. Nocardia, Pseudonocardia. Family 3: Micromononsporaceae: Hyphae non-fragmented conidia borne singly or in pairs [...]
In this article we will discuss the structure and functions of pili and fimbriae. Structure of Pili and Fimbriae: Both fimbriae and pili are like flagella as both are the appendages on bacterial cell wall. They originate from cytoplasm that protrudes outside after penetrating the peptidoglycan layer of cell wall. Fimbriae are made up of 100% protein called fimbrilin or [...]