Home»Science»Biology»Microbiology»WhatistheDifferenceBetweenSpirillaandSpirochetesThe maindifference betweenspirillaandSpirochetesisthat spirillahaverelativelyshortandrigidcellswhereasspirocheteshavelongerandmoreflexiblecells.Furthermore,themotilitymechanismsofspirillaarebasedonpolarflagellawhilethemotilitymechanismsofspirochetesarebasedonaxialfilaments. Spirillaandspirochetesaretwogroupsofspiralbacteriathatbelongtoamorphologicalcategoryofprokaryoteswithhelicalshape cells. KeyAreasCovered 1.WhatareSpirilla   –Definition,Characteristics,Importance2.WhatareSpirochetes   –Definition,Characteristics,Importance3.WhataretheSimilaritiesBetweenSpirillaandSpirochetes   –OutlineofCommonFeatures4.WhatistheDifferenceBetweenSpirillaandSpirochetes   –ComparisonofKeyDifferencesKeyTerms CellWall,Motility,SpiralBacteria,Spirilla,SpirochetesWhatareSpirilla Spirillaarespiralbacteriaclassifiedinthegenus Spirillum underthefamily Spirillaceae.Thetwomaincharacteristicfeaturesofspirillaarethepresenceofarigidcellwallandthemotilitymechanismbasedonpolarflagella.Additionally,spirillaarelargeandelongatedcells. Figure1:SpirillaFurthermore,Spirillaarewidespreadinanumberofenvironments.Also,theyareaerobicbacteriawithahelicalshape.However,somespeciesofspirillasuchasSpirillumminorcancauseratbitefeverinhumans.Campylobacter,whichisanotherspiralbacterialgenuswithcommashapebacteria,containspathogenicspeciesthatcausecampylobacteriosis,atypeof intestinal infectionaccompaniedby diarrhea. WhatareSpirochetes Spirochetesarethespiralbacteriacharacterizedbythepresenceofaflexiblecellwallandaxialfilaments-basedmotilitymechanisms.Moreover,theaxialfilamentscontainfibrilsextendingtowardeachotherbetweentwolayersofthecellwall.However,spirochetesaredifficulttovisualizeunderthelightmicroscopeduetotheirveryslendernature.Additionally,theyareverydifficulttocultivateandstainbyGram-staining. Figure2:SpirochetesMoreover,somespirochetesliveinaquaticenvironments.Othersareparasiticinarthropodsandwarm-bloodedanimals.Additionally,t