Final answer:
Bacterial colony morphology refers to the appearance of colonies formed by bacterial species. There are basic categories to describe colony morphology, including texture, transparency, color, and form.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bacterial colony morphology refers to the appearance of colonies that are formed by bacterial species on an agar plate. There are several basic categories to describe bacterial colony morphology:
- Texture: The texture of a colony can be described as smooth, rough, wrinkled, or mucoid.
- Transparency: The transparency of a colony can be described as opaque, translucent, or transparent.
- Color: The color of a colony can vary and can be described as white, cream, yellow, red, pink, purple, green, or black, among others.
- Form: The form of a colony refers to its size, overall shape, margin, and elevation. For example, a colony can be round, irregular, filamentous, or rhizoid; it can have an entire or undulate margin; and it can be raised, convex, or flat.
By examining these characteristics, microbiologists can differentiate between different bacterial species based on their colonial morphology.