PHOTO: EAST NEWS/BSIP
This scanning electron micrograph (SEM) revealed some of the ultrastructural morphologic features of a Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterium.
K. pneumoniae is a non-motile, Gram-negative rod, and a facultative anaerobe, which means that it is able to adapt to an existence in an oxygenated or deoxygenated environment. It is an encapsulated bacterium that is commonly found in the human digestive tract, and is often the cause of hospital acquired, or nosocomial infections involving the urinary and pulmonary systems.