Staph.y.lo.coc'cus. Gr. n.
staphyle
bunch of grapes; Gr. n.
kokkos
a grain or berry; N.L. masc. n.
Staphylococcus
the grape‐like coccus.
Firmicutes / “Bacilli” / Bacillales / “Staphylococcaceae” / Staphylococcus
Cells spherical
, 0.5–1.5 µm in diameter, occurring singly, in pairs, in tetrads, in short chains (3–4 cells), and characteristically dividing in more than one plane to form irregular grape‐like clusters.
Gram‐stain‐positive
. Nonmotile. Resting stages not produced.
Cell wall contains peptidoglycan and teichoic acid. The diamino acid present in the peptidoglycan is
L
‐lysine
(
peptidoglycan group A3
). Usually unencapsulated or limited capsule formation.
DNA G
+
C content
(
mol
%): 27–41 (
T
m
, Bd).
Type species
:
Staphylococcus aureus
Rosenbach 1 8 8 4, 18
AL
.