The Bacterial Cell

Dr. Alvin Fox

1
 Key Words
Prokaryotic Outer membrane
Eubacteria (Bacteria) Periplasmic space
Archaebacteria (Archaea) Oxidative phosphorylation
Eukaryotic Spheroplast/protoplast
Plasmid Flagella
Chromosome Chemotaxis
Ribosome Axial filament
Peptidoglycan (murein, mucopeptide) Periplasmic binding protein
Gram stain Permeases
Gram negative Storage Granules
Gram positive Pili (fimbriae)
Cell envelope Capsule (slime layer, glycocalyx)
Cell membrane Endospore (spore)
Cell wall
2
 EUKARYOTES

PROKARYOTES

BACTERIA ARCHAEA

3
Prokaryotes (Bacteria)
• Eubacter "True" bacteria
– human pathogens
– clinical or environmental
– one kingdom
• Archaea
– Environmental organisms
– second kingdom
4
 Eukaryotes
• Other cell-based life e.g.
– plants
– animals
– fungi

5
Prokaryotic Cell (versus Eukaryotic
Cell)

• Not compartmentalized
• Cell membranes lack sterols (e.g. cholesterol)
• Single circular chromosome
• Ribosomal are 70S
- subunits
• 30S (16S rRNA)
• 50S (5S & 23S rRNA)

6
 Bacteria versus
Archaebacteria
• Eubacteria
– peptidoglycan (murein)
– muramic acid

• Archaebacteria
– pseudomurein
– no muramic acid

7
 Bacteria versus
Archaebacteria

• 16S rRNA
– sequence different

8
 Eukaryotic cell Prokaryotic cell
(e.g. animal) Gram + Flagellum
Rough endoplasmic Cell membrane Nucleoid Cell wall
reticulum
Nucleus

Gram -
Pili

Granule
Capsule
Cytoplasm
Cell (inner) membrane Outer membrane
Mitochondria 9
Ribosomes Cell wall
 Bacteria
• Plasmids
• Extra-chromosomal DNA

• multiple copy number

• coding
- pathogenesis factors
- antibiotic resistance factors

• bacterial replication
10
The Cell Envelope

Gram Positive Gram Negative

11
 Oxidative phosphorylation occurs at cell membrane
(since there are no mitochondria).

Cell Wall

Cytoplasm Cell membrane

The cell wall is outside of cell membrane

– rigid, protecting cell from osmotic lysis. 12
 GRAM POSITIVE
Lipoteichoic acid Peptidoglycan-teichoic acid

Cytoplasmic membrane

Cytoplasm

GRAM NEGATIVE Porin

Lipopolysaccharide
Periplasmic space

Outer Membrane Braun lipoprotein

Inner (cytoplasmic) membrane

Cytoplasm 13
 Outer Membrane
Gram negative bacteria
• major permeability barrier
• space between inner and outer membrane
– periplasmic space
store degradative enzymes
• Gram positive bacteria
• no periplasmic space

14
 GRAM NEGATIVE
CELL ENVELOPE
Outer Membrane
(Major permeability barrier) Lipopolysaccharide
Porin

Braun lipoprotein

Periplasmic space Degradative enzyme

Periplasmic binding protein

Inner (cytoplasmic) membrane Permease

Cytoplasm 15
 GRAM POSITIVE
CELL ENVELOPE
Degradative enzyme

Lipoteichoic acid Peptidoglycan-teichoic acid

Cytoplasmic membrane

Cytoplasm
16
 FLAGELLA
• Some bacteria are motile
• Locomotory organelles- flagella
• Taste environment
• Respond to food/poison
– chemotaxis

17
• Flagella
– embedded in cell membrane
– project as strand
– Flagellin (protein) subunits
– move cell by propeller like action

18
 Axial filaments

– spirochetes
– similar function to flagella
– run lengthwise along cell
– snake-like movement

19
 Making Wall-less forms
• Result from action of:
– enzymes lytic for cell wall
– antibiotics inhibiting peptidoglycan biosynthesis

• Usually non-viable

• Wall-less bacteria that don’t replicate:

– spheroplasts (with outer membrane)
– protoplasts (no outer membrane).

• Wall-less bacteria that replicate

– L forms
20
Naturally Wall-less Genus
• Mycoplasma

21
 Pili (fimbriae)
• hair-like projections of the cell
• sexual conjugation
• adhesion to host epithelium

22
Capsules and slime layers
• outside cell envelope
• well defined: capsule
• not defined: slime layer or glycocalyx
• usually polysaccharide
• often lost during in vitro culture
• protective in vivo

23
 Endospores (spores)
• Dormant cell
• Produced when starved
• Resistant to adverse conditions
- high temperatures
- organic solvents
• contain calcium dipicolinate
• Bacillus and Clostridium

24