Habitat and Morphology of Shigella dysenteriae

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Habitat and Morphology of Shigella dysenteriae

Habitat of Shigella dysenteriae

  1. They are found worldwide.
  2. Humans are only the natural host.
  3. They are also found in human intestinal tract.
  4. They are mostly found in the area where there is overcrowded.
  5. Prevalent in low waste management areas and no safe drinking water supply.
  6. Houseflies serves as vectors.
  7. They are also found in contaminated food and water.
  8. They causes endemic dysentery in Africa, Southeast Asia and Indian Sub-continent.
  9. Risk for day care ages (1-4 years) and elderly adults.
  10. Custodial (Housekeeping) are also at high risk of infection.
  11. They are spread by the fecal-oral route.

Morphology of Shigella dysenteriae

  1. They are gram -ve small rod shaped bacteria.
  2. They are non-capsulated.
  3. They are 2-4 µm long and 0.4-0.6 µm wide.
  4. They are non-sporing.
  5. They are non-acid fast bacteria.
  6. They have rounded ends.
  7. Around 15 serotypes are present.
  8. They are non-motile.

Genome (Sd17) of Shigella dysenteriae

  1. They have one circular chromosome.
  2. Number of nucleotides: 4,369,232
  3. Number of genes: 4664
  4. Plasmid: 182,726 nucleotides and 224 genes

About Author

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Sagar Aryal, PhD

Dr. Sagar Aryal is a microbiologist, researcher, and science communicator from Nepal. He is also co-founder and Research Head of the Department of Natural Products at the Kathmandu Research Institute for Biological Sciences (KRIBS), where he leads research on natural product discovery and microbial biodiversity. Dr. Aryal earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2025, supported by a DAAD Research Grant and a University Grants Commission (UGC) Nepal Ph.D. Fellowship. His research interests include Actinomycetes, Myxobacteria, microbial taxonomy, and natural products, particularly the discovery of bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications. He isolated and identified Nocardia nepalensis, a novel bacterial species from Nepal, contributing to understanding microbial diversity in the region. Dr. Aryal has published more than 16 research articles in international journals and contributed three book chapters to established academic publications. He has presented scientific research findings and developed international research collaborations through visits to more than 18 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. From 2023 to 2025, he served as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Young Ambassador to Nepal. Since December 2025, he has served as an Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio journal. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Dr. Aryal received the NAST Science and Technology Youth Award 2025 from the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. He previously received the Frs. Locke and Stiller Research Award (LSRA) for the 2017-2018 cycle from St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, and a Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Research Grant for 2017-2018. Alongside his scientific career, Dr. Aryal has more than 15 years of experience in blogging, content writing, and search engine optimization (SEO).

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