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coccus

 
Dictionary: coc·cus   (kŏk'əs) pronunciation
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n., pl., coc·ci (kŏk'sī, kŏk'ī).
  1. A bacterium having a spherical or spheroidal shape.
  2. Botany. A division containing a single seed that splits apart from a many-lobed fruit.

[New Latin, from Greek kokkos, grain, seed.]

coccal coc'cal (kŏk'əl) adj.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: coccus
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Spherical bacterium. Many species have characteristic arrangements that are useful in identification. Pairs of cocci are called diplococci; rows or chains, streptococci (see streptococcus); grapelike clusters, staphylococci (see staphylococcus); packets of eight or more cells, sarcinae; and groups of four cells in a square arrangement, tetrads. These characteristic groupings occur as a result of variations in the reproduction process.

For more information on coccus, visit Britannica.com.

Veterinary Dictionary: coccus
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Pl. cocci [L.] a spherical bacterium, usually slightly less than 1 μm in diameter, belonging to the Micrococcaceae family. It is one of the three basic forms of bacteria, the other two being bacillus (rod-shaped) and spirillum (spiral-shaped). Almost all of the pathogenic cocci are either staphylococci, which occur in clusters, or streptococci, which occur in short or long chains. Both staphylococci and streptococci are gram-positive and do not form spores.

Wikipedia: Coccus
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For the insect, see cochineal.
Arrangement of cocci bacteria.svg
Staphylococcus bacteria

Cocci (singular - coccus, from the Latin coccinus (scarlet) and derived from the Greek kokkos (berry) ) are any microorganism (usually bacteria)[1] whose overall shape is spherical or nearly spherical.[2] Describing a bacterium as a coccus, or sphere, distinguishes it from bacillus, or rod. This is the first of many taxonomic traits for identifying and classifying a bacterium according to binomial nomenclature.

Contents

Aggregations

Aggregations of coccoid bacteria often occur and these forms have specific names as well[3]; listed here are the basic forms as well as representative bacterial genera:

Clinical significance

Important human pathogens caused by coccoid bacteria include staphylococci infections, some types of food poisoning, some urinary tract infections, toxic shock syndrome, gonorrhea, as well as some forms of meningitis, throat infections, pneumonias, and sinusitis.[4]

References

  1. ^ coccus at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  2. ^ Madigan M; Martinko J (editors). (2005). Brock Biology of Microorganisms (11th ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-144329-1. 
  3. ^ Salton MRJ, Kim KS (1996). Structure. In: Baron's Medical Microbiology (Baron S et al., eds.) (4th ed.). Univ of Texas Medical Branch. (via NCBI Bookshelf) ISBN 0-9631172-1-1. 
  4. ^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9. 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coccus".  Read more