A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study of the Colony Morphology of Thiobacillus Ferrooxidans

Colony formation is an important characteristic of a bacterial species. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, (SEM), it is possible to examine detailed structures not observable by any other microscopic method (Roth, 1971). Such structures include the following: the inter-relationships between cells in a colony; the attachment of cells to the supporting surface and their modification of that surface as the colony grows; the way in which the bacterial cells are arranged within the colony as their numbers increase during growth; and the changes occurring in colony structure because of their growth.