Spiral bacteria

Campylobacter jejuni is a spiral shaped bacterium.

Spiral bacteria, bacteria of spiral (helical) shape, form the third major morphological category of prokaryotes along with the rod-shaped bacilli and round cocci.^[1][2] Spiral bacteria can be subclassified by the number of twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility.

Spirillum

A spirillum (plural spirilla) is a rigid spiral bacterium that is Gram-negative and frequently amphitrichous or lophotrichous. Examples include:

• Members of the genus Spirillum
• Campylobacter species, such as Campylobacter jejuni, a foodborne pathogen that causes campylobacteriosis
• Helicobacter species, such as Helicobacter pylori, a cause of peptic ulcers which are the strongest known factor to increase the risk of gastric cancer

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.^[3] Examples include:

• Members of the phylum Spirochaetes
• Leptospira species, which cause leptospirosis.
• Borrelia species, such as Borrelia burgdorferi, a tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease
• Treponema species, such as Treponema pallidum, subspecies of which causes treponematoses, including syphilis

Vibrio

A vibrio (plural vibrios) is a member of the genus Vibrio, containing Gram-negative, comma-shaped rods with a partial twist. Examples include:

• Vibrio cholerae, a marine bacterium that causes cholera (with severe diarrhea)
• Vibrio fluvialis, a marine bacterium that causes another infectious diarrhea

References