The first part of the name, the genus, is capitalized such as Streptococcus, spherical cells which occur in strips, Lactobacillus which are rod-shaped organisms commonly found in milk, or Pediococcus spherical cells which ferment pickles. The second part of the name is not capitalized and gives added information. Both parts of the name are underlined or italicized as in the case of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast which commonly ferments sausage. The cell is the basic unit of life. Our bodies are made up of millions of cells, but many microorganisms are single celled creatures.
Cells are basically packages of living matter surrounded by membranes or walls.
Within the cell are various organelles which control life processes for the cell such as intake of nutrients, production of energy, discharge of waste materials, and reproduction. Growth of the cell normally means reproduction. Bacteria and similar organisms reproduce by binary fission, a splitting of a single cell into two. The control center for the bacterial cell is the nuclear structure. Within it is the genetic material which is duplicated and transferred to daughter cells during reproduction.