Coccus (plural cocci) bacteria are those that are oval or spherical in shape when viewed under a microscope. Coccus bacteria end up forming different shapes when they reproduce or multiply.
When they grow in clusters, they are referred to as Staphylococci, when in chains, they are streptococci and when they are arranged in pairs, they are diplococci. Enterococci are arranged in short chains or in pairs but usually gram positive in nature.
Bacteria can be grouped based on their physical characteristics. Cocci are spherical shaped bacteria, and based on their arrangement can be grouped as:
Diplococci: they appear in pairs
Streptococci: they appear in a chain
Staphylococci: they appear as a cluster (grape-like)
<em>Streptococcus </em>is a bacteria genus known to cause many types of diseases. They grow in pairs or chains.
Note that: staphylococci and streptococci are used denote to denote the arrangement of the cells, <em>Staphylococcus </em>and <em>Streptococcus </em>are bacteria genus. They are named so based on the shape and arrangement of their cells.
