Bacteria come in a surprising variety of shapes. In addition to rod-shaped representatives such as the widely known model bacterium E. coli, there are numerous curved and even spiral-shaped bacteria.

The non-descript, pill-shaped cell is why we understand fundamental life processes (think DNA replication and transcription).

E. coli is a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium which is typically around 1µm long and 0.35µm wide. It is able to survive with or without oxygen and thus is a “facultative aerobe”.

Escherichia coli is a rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium that inhabits the gut of warm-blooded animals. It is a prokaryotic model organism and is widely used as an experimental workhorse for DNA ...

E. coli is a rod-shaped organism that reproduces by dividing in the middle. Each resultant cell inherits an old end or pole and a new pole, which is made during the division.

Much to their relief, the altered E. coli did not die. The bacteria grow more slowly than regular E. coli and develop longer, rod-shaped cells. But they are very much alive.

E.coli bacteria. Coloured scanning electron micrograph of the rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli. These bacteria are normal inhabitants of the human ...