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Representative species Leptospira interrogans, Borrelia recurrentis, Treponema denticola, spirillum minus, Borrelia hermsii | ||
Spiral bacteria do their thing
Spiral bacteria, bacteria of spiral (helical) shape, form the third major morphological category of prokaryotes along with the rod-shaped bacilli and round cocci. Spiral bacteria can be subclassified by the number of twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility.
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Spiral bacteria
Spirillum
A Spirillum (plural spirilla) is a rigid spiral bacterium that is Gram-negative and frequently amphitrichous or lophotrichous. Examples include:
Spirochete
A spirochete (plural spirochetes) is a very thin, elongate, flexible, spiral bacteria that is motile via endoflagella. Owing to their morphological properties, spirochetes are difficult to Gram-stain but may be visualized using dark field microscopy or Warthin–Starry stain. Examples include:
Vibrio
A vibrio (plural vibrios) is a member of the genus Vibrio, containing Gram-negative, comma-shaped rods with a partial twist. Examples include: