Coccus
A coccus (plural cocci) is any bacterium or archaeon that has a spherical, ovoid, or generally round shape.[1] It is one of the three distinct bacterial shapes, the other two being bacillus (rod-shaped) and spiral-shaped cells.
Cocci is an English loanword of a modern or neo-Latin noun, which in turn stems from the Greek masculine noun cóccos (κόκκος) meaning "berry".[2]
Arrangements
Cocci may occur as single cells or remain attached following cell division. Those that remain attached can be classified based on cellular arrangement:[1]
Diplococci are pairs of cocci (e.g. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae)
Streptococci are chains of cocci (e.g. Streptococcus pyogenes).
Staphylococci are irregular (grape-like) clusters of cocci (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus).
Tetrads are clusters of four cocci arranged within the same plane (e.g. Micrococcus sp.).
Sarcina is a genus of bacteria that are found in cuboidal arrangements of eight cocci (e.g. Sarcina ventriculi).
References
^ ab Pommerville, J.C. (2013). Fundamentals of Microbiology (10th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett. p. 106. ISBN 9781449647964..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ κόκκος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project