What magnification in a microscope is typically used to view filamentous bacteria?

When viewing filamentous bacteria under a microscope, a magnification of 100x is commonly used because it strikes a balance between detail and clarity. At this magnification, sufficient resolution is achieved to observe the structure and arrangement of filamentous bacteria, which are elongated and often complex in their morphology.

Using 100x magnification allows the analyst to distinguish the filaments and assess their characteristics effectively without losing too much contextual information about their surroundings in the sample. Higher magnifications, such as 400x and 1000x, while providing greater detail, may not be necessary for identifying filamentous bacteria and can make it challenging to visualize the entire organism and its interactions with other microbial communities in the sample. Magnifications lower than 100x may not provide enough detail to adequately assess the filamentous structures. Therefore, 100x is considered the optimal choice for this application.