Archea: Structures
external and internal to
cell wall
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this topic, students should be able to:
▪ Differentiate bacterial cells based on the size, shape and
arrangements
▪ Describe the external and internal components to cell wall of
prokaryote in terms of their structures, arrangements and functions
MORPHOLOGY OF BACTERIA
▪ Is the collective study of the physical characteristics of bacteria for
the purpose of its identification.
▪ Morphology can be studied in two ways:-
1. Individual Morphology
2. Colony morphology
▪ Individual Morphology: The study of the physical
characteristics of individual cell or a group of cells
as can be seen under a microscope.
▪ Important characteristics are:
➢ Size
➢ Shapes
➢ Motility
➢ Cells arrangement: ex: clumps, groups, chain:
Long strand
➢ Special characteristics:
o Endospore
o flagella
o capsule
▪ Colony morphology:
➢A colony is a form of growth produce by microorganisms (bacteria and fungi)
when growing on a solid surface of a growth medium (agar surface).
➢A colony is formed when one bacteria divides on one spot until the growth is
visible to the naked eye.
▪ Important characteristics are:
➢colony size
➢pigmentation
➢edges
➢ surface (rough / smooth)
**Fungal plate culture must be sealed using tape
to avoid accidental aerial contamination.
Some descriptive form of colony growth on agar
▪ Broth morphology:
➢Growth of microorganism in liquid medium
(broth) can also give valuable information that
can help in their identification.
▪ The characteristics such as:
▪ Tinge (colour slightly)
▪ physical appearance
▪ smell / odor
**Do not open and smell fungal plate culture as they
release aerial spore!!
SHAPE OF BACTERIA
▪ Generally bacteria have a few basic shapes:
1. Coccus/cocci – Spherical in shape.
o Diameter 0.1-1.0 um.
o Variation can occur due to environmental stress.
2. Bacillus/bacilli – cylindrical, rod-shaped bacteria.
o Variable sizes depending on species.
3. Spiral – Cylindrical like Bacillus but are twisted like a stretched
spring.
4. Other shapes; Recent studies revealed odd-shaped bacteria:
i) Square shaped (1981: Red Sea)
ii) Star shaped (Stella)
SHAPE OF BACTERIA
▪ Bacteria of the same species generally have similar shape.
▪ However size is subjected to environmental factors.
➢Abundant nutrients: Rods are Bigger, fatter. Old culture: Bacillus, long.
▪ Pleomorphism: Some bacteria show variation in shape within the same
culture, especially aging culture.
ARRANGEMENTS
▪ Bacteria are often found in distinctive
arrangement. Helps in identification.
These arrangements are due to their
plane of divisions.
▪ Cocci bacteria can have various
arrangements:
i. Single
ii. Diplococci – in a chain of two
iii. __________ – long chain
iv. Tetrads – four in a plane
v. Sarcinae – eight in a cube
vi. __________ – in cluster https://goo.gl/images/pNYDSr
ARRANGEMENTS
▪ Bacilli bacteria can have
several arrangements:
i. Single bacillus
ii. Diplobacilli
iii. Streptobacilli
iv. ________________
v. ________________
https://goo.gl/images/Z1ZZV3
ARRANGEMENTS
▪ Spirals come in one of three forms:
i. vibrio: a curved or comma-
shaped rod.
ii. spirillum: a thick, rigid spiral.
iii. spirochete: a thin, flexible
spiral.
▪ Spirals range in size from 1 µm to
over 100 µm in length.
Bacterial
Appendages and
Structures
1. Flagella / Flagellin
▪ Made of special protein called flagellin.
▪ Long (3-12 um), thin (12-25nm), filamentous hair like structure.
▪ Present on some bacteria.
o No association with shape or the Gram characteristics of the bacterium.
▪ Not critical to the life of the bacteria.
▪ They are not part of the cell wall, but arise and anchored to the cytoplasmic
membrane.
▪ Too small to be visualized using the light microscope.
▪ Flagella - long filamentous
appendage(s) is responsible for
the motility of bacteria.
▪ A flagellum consist of three basic
parts:
i. _____________________
ii. _____________________
iii. _____________________
▪ Location of the flagella can be
used to classify microorganisms:
o Monotrichous
o Peritrichous
o Lophotrichous
o Polartrichous.
o Amphilophotrichous.
▪ Presence of flagella can be
demonstrated by:
o Hanging Drop / Wet Mount
Technique.
o Stab agar / Swarm agar /
Semisolid Agar.
o Dark field Microscopy staining
with Tannic acid and fluorescent
antibody.
Functions of Flagella
1. Gives Motility:
o Flagella is responsible for the motility of the bacteria.
o Motility is important to ensure that bacteria is at the
optimum environmental location: Chemotaxis/ Aerotaxis/
phototaxis/ osmotaxis/ thermotaxis.
o Flagella movement: clockwise (spin and tumble)
counterclockwise (Swims in one direction).
2. Add to bacterial antigenicity (Flagellar antigen).
2. Pili / Fimbriae
▪ Short, tiny, hollow, nonmoving appendages.
▪ Made of Pilin.
▪ Present on some Gm+ and Gm-ve bacteria.
o Most Gm-ve have pili.
o Many Gm+ve do not.
▪ Two kind of pili (Differ by length and
functions).
i. F pili (long).
ii. Fimbriae (shorter).
2. Pili / Fimbriae
▪ Functions:
i. For attachment (fimbriae).
o Adhesins. Helps bacteria attach to surface.
ii. Add to pathogenicity.
o Better at colonization (the establishment of the pathogen at the
appropriate portal of entry - colonize host tissues that are in contact
with the external environment. Ex. the urogenital tract, the
digestive tract, the respiratory tract).
iii. For conjugation (F pili).
o Important in the development of antibiotic resistance.
Fimbriae
▪ Thin filaments called fimbriae like those shown in the picture below,
are used for attachment - that is, they help cells stick to objects and
surfaces in their environment.
Pili
▪ long appendages like flagella but they have a function more
similar to fimbria.
▪ Some pili allow cells to anchor to surfaces.
▪ Most common function of pili is to connect two bacterial
cells together in the process of bacterial conjugation -
Bacterial conjugation.
▪ Bacterial conjugation is the transfer of genetic material
between bacterial cells by direct cell-to-cell contact or by a
bridge-like connection between two cells. This takes place
through a pilus.
3. Cell envelope
▪ Made up of several layers.
▪ For Gm-ve: Glycocalyx, outer
membrane, cell wall, cytoplasmic
membrane
▪ For Gm +ve: Glycocalyx, cell wall,
cytoplasmic membrane
A. Glycocalyx – a gelatinous substance
secreted by some bacteria (external to the cell
wall).
▪ Made of complex polysaccharide (glucan,
mannan, dextran, uronic acid, complex protein),
polypeptide or both.
▪ Functions:
i. Give protection from phagocytosis.
Increased pathogenicity
ii. Ease of adherence to surfaces.
iii. Protection from drying.
iv. Increased antigenicity – capsular
antigen.
Glycocalyx
▪ Chemical composition varies with species:
i. Capsule – a very large structure of many bacteria.
o Virulence factor, prevent phagocytosis, protection from dryness
ii. Slime layer – unorganized layer of extracellular material that
surrounds bacteria cells.
o Protects from environmental dangers like antibiotics and
dryness.
iii. Extracellular polysachharides (EPS) – a complex mixture of
biopolymers primarily consisting of polysaccharides, as well as
proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and humid substances. Involved in
biofilm formation.
▪ Important for attachment of bacteria to surfaces for example to
the surface of your teeth.
▪ Demonstration:
➢Negative Staining
➢Quellung’s Reaction
➢Smooth wet colonies
*Cryptococcus neoformans-fungi. Causes brain inflammation
*Streptococcus pneumoniae. Causes pneumonia
*Streptococcus mutans. Tooth decay
B. Outer Membrane
▪ A layer of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) present only on Gm-ve
o Outside of the cell wall.
▪ Bilayer: Inner layer is phospholipid, outer layer is LPS ( Unique to Gm-ve;
Therefore antigenic: Lipid A).
Functions:
▪ Provide protection against action of chemicals, antibiotics (eg. Rifampin).
o Gm-ve are more resistant than Gm+ve.
▪ Endotoxin of Lipid A – Increase antigenicity and pathogenicity.
▪ Osmotic barrier.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram Negative Bacteria
C. Cell wall
▪ Is a semi-rigid structure around the body of a bacterium, outside of the cell
membrane.
▪ Components: Made up of:-
i. Peptidoglycan (also called murein).
o Is a strong polysaccharide polymer made up of two main components:
• N-acetylglucosamine(NAG) and N-acetlymuramic acid(NAM).
o These two molecules are crosslinked by tetrapeptides (4 amino acids chain)
making it strong.
o Thick in (40 layers in Bacillus) Gram positive.
o Thin in (1-2 layers ) Gram negative.
Structure of Peptidoglycan
Functions of Cell Wall:
▪ Determines the shape of a cell.
▪ Prevent cell from bursting due to
osmosis.
▪ Protection from physical forces.
Spheroplast and protoplast of cell wall:
▪ Occur if the cell wall of a bacterium is
digested by lysozymes.
Spheroplast: results if the bacterium is a
Gram-ve.
▪ The shape is maintained due to the
presence of the outer membrane.
Protoplast which is spherical results if the
bacterium is a Gram+ve.
D. Cell membrane / cytoplasmic / periplasmic / plasma
▪ Is the membrane that separates the internal of the cells and their
environment
▪ Dynamic, constantly changing, has fluidity.
▪ Fluid Mosaic model: Made up of phospholipids which is fluid and
changing.
o When at higher temp, membrane become less fluid (controlled by the level
of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids).
Components of Cell Wall
1. Phospholipids bilayer. Made up of a hydrophobic head and a hydrophilic tail.
▪ Form a layer not permeable to solute.
2. Protein molecules: Interspersed among the phospholipids; Transport protein: Porin
A. Gram-positive bacteria have
a single lipid bilayer
surrounded by a thick but
porous layer of
peptidoglycan, with teichoic
and lipoteichoic acids
providing a negative charge.
B. Gram-negative bacteria have
a double lipid bilayer (inner
and outer membrane)
separated by periplasm and
peptidoglycan. The outer
membrane contains porins
and lipoproteins and is
decorated with
lipopolysaccharide chains
with a negative charge.
Functions of Cell Wall
1. Act as the main osmotic barrier (Semi permeable membrane passable to gas
and water only).
2. House the transport system (enzymes and protein).
o Intake of nutrient, excretion of waste.
3. Permease system. Active, passive, facilitated diffusion.
4. Biosynthesis and metabolic center.
o (Metabolism, energy generation, cell synthesis).
Stages of development of bacterial
endospore
Periplasmic space
▪ Is a gap in between the cell
wall and the cell membrane.
▪ Contain many enzymes for
metabolism and biosynthesis.
▪ Act as a transit point for
incoming nutrients and
exiting waste.
Cytoplasm
▪ Is the body of the cell. Fluid and contains all the necessary elements for
the wellbeing and growth of a cell.
▪ Contains:
▪ DNA / chromosomes / nucleus. Absence of nuclear membrane. Double
stranded.
▪ Mesosomes: Irregular folding of the internal of the cell membrane. For
compartmentalization.
▪ Ribosomes
▪ Granules
▪ Plasmid if present
▪ Endospore if present
Cytoplasm
