| Colony Form |
Description |
| Pinpoint |
Smaller than 1 mm. |
| Circular |
A circle larger than 1 mm. |
| Irregular |
A non-circular shape. |
| Filamentous |
Resembling a bunch of strings. |
| Colony Elevation |
| Cushion |
 |
| Raised |
 |
| Flat |
 |
| Raised Center |
 |
| Colony Surface |
| Smooth |
Smooth colony surface. |
| Rough |
Rough colony surface. |
| Ringed |
A colony surface with rings. |
| Colony Texture |
| Amorphous |
A typical textureless colony. |
| Granular |
Chunky and sand-like. |
| Fluffy |
A fluffy texture, like bread or a smoothie. |
| Mucoid |
Runny, like mucous. |
| Colony Optics |
| Opaque |
Light does not penetrate the colony. |
| Translucent |
Light somewhat penetrates the colony. |
| Transparent |
Light can fully penetrate the colony. |
| Iridescent |
Colony is iridescent, like foil. |
| Cell Morphology |
Description |
| Coccus |
Sphere |
| Baccilus (Rod) |
Rod. |
| Spirilium |
Curved baccilus. Spirilium is also spelled spirrilium. |
| Spirochete |
Spiral. |
| Appendaged |
Bacteria possessing extensions as tubes or stalks. |
| Filamentous |
Bacteria which form long, thin cells or chains of cells. |
| Endospore |
Endospore nucleuses can be centered (central), at one end (terminal) or off-center (subterminal). |
| Flagella |
Peritrichous flagella are located all across the cell surface; polar flagella are located at one location. |
| Capsule |
Capsules have a thick polysaccharide layer surrounding the cell. |
|
| Environment |
Microbe |
| Very Cold |
Psychrophile |
| Cold Viable |
Psychrotolerant |
| 25º-37º |
Mesophile |
| Hot |
Thermophile |
| Extremely Hot |
Hyperthermophile |
| pH < 5 |
Acidophile |
| 5 < pH < 9 |
Neutrophile |
| pH > 9 |
Alkaliphile |
| Dies w/ O2 |
Obligate anaerobe |
| Dies w/o O2 |
Obligate aerobe |
| Viable w/ & w/o O2 |
Facultative aerobe |
| Viable w/o O2 |
Tolerant anerobe |
| High [NaCl] |
Halophile |
|
| Metabolism |
Microbe |
| Uses Unfixed Carbon |
Autotroph |
| Needs Fixed Carbon |
Prototroph |
| Ferments Lactose |
Coliform |
There are three cardinal temperatures: minimum, optimum, and maximum. The minimum and maximum are the most extreme temperatures at which the microbe can grow. At the optimum temperautre, the microbe can grow the most. The optimum temperature is generally near the maximum.