Many bacteria are capable of movement in their environment either by flagella or gliding motility. In the case of flagella, the bacteria have a long, flexible, spiral shaped structure, the flagellum, that helps to push the microbe through solution. Flagella also help in the detection of favorable or unfavorable conditions and move the bacteria in an appropriate direction. As a microbe grows it has to synthesize more of itself. Knowing what it is made of and how it is put together is critical to gain an understanding of the growth process.
Microbes are also capable of exchanging genetic information by mating .
This process involves another type of surface structure, the F-pilus. Bacteria will take steps to insure their survival. During abundant times, many microbes will store excess carbon, nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorous in inclusions in the cell. Not only is structure important to understand functional relationships, it's also fascinating to observe what these little architects come up with. Realize that no one bacteria contains all these structures and that this survey is not exhaustive.