FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY
OF PROKARYOTES
Charo B. Rojas, PhD
Prokaryotes
The Size, Shape, and Arrangement of
Bacterial Cells
Cell Shapes
Most bacteria are classified according
to shape:
1. bacillus (pl. bacilli) = rod-shaped
2. coccus (pl. cocci) = spherical
3.spiral shaped
a. spirillum (pl. spirilla) = spiral
with rigid cell wall, flagella
b. spirochete (pl. spirochetes) =
spiral with flexible cell wall, axial
filament
Cell Shapes
There are many more shapes beyond
those basic ones. A few examples:
1. Coccobacilli = elongated coccal form
2. Filamentous = bacilli that occur in long
threads
3. Vibrios = short, slightly curved rods
4.Fusiform = bacilli with tapered ends
Arrangement of Cells
❑bacilli divide along a single axis,
seen in pairs or chains.
❑cocci divide on one or more
planes, producing cells in:
- pairs (diplococci)
- chains (streptococci)
- cubelike (sarcinae)
- clusters (staphylococci).
Glycocalyx
➢ a viscous, gelatinous polymer that is external to
the cell wall and composed of polysaccharide,
polypeptide or both.
➢Capsule, slime layer, extracellular polymeric
substance
1. Slime Layer
- Glycoproteins loosely associated with the cell
wall.
- Slime layer causes bacteria to adhere to solid
surfaces and helps prevent the cell from drying
out.
- Streptococcus
• The slime layer of Gram+ Streptococcus mutans
allows it to accumulate on tooth enamel
• Other bacteria in the mouth become trapped in
the slime and form a biofilm & eventually a
buildup of plaque.
2. Capsule
• Polysaccharides firmly attached to the cell wall.
• Capsules adhere to solid surfaces and to nutrients in the
environment.
• Adhesive power of capsules is a major factor in the
initiation of some bacterial diseases.
• Capsule also protect bacteria from being phagocytized
by cells of the hosts immune system.
Flagella
❑are long
filamentous
appendages
that propell
bacteria
Structures external to the cell wall
3. Axial filaments
(endoflagella)
• bundles of fibrils that arise
at the ends of the cell
beneath an outer sheath
and spiral around the cell
• They are similar to that of
flagella (endoflagellum)
• Treponema pallidum
Axial Filaments
• Spirochetes
Treponema Borrelia
pallidum burgdorferi
Surface Appendages
1. Fimbriae (fimbria sing.)
➢ Most Gram-negative bacteria have these short,
fine appendages surrounding the cell
➢ Gram+ bacteria don’t have
➢ no role in motility
➢ help bacteria adhere to solid surfaces.
➢ major factor in virulence.
2. Pili (sing. Pilus)
➢ tubes that are longer than fimbriae, usually shorter
than flagella.
➢ Use for movement, like grappling hooks, and
also use conjugation pili to transfer plasmids
S-layers
• In bacteria, the S-layer is external
to the cell wall.
• In some archaea, the S-layer is the
only structure outside the plasma
membrane where it serves as the
cell wall. Deinococcus radiodurans
• are self-assembled paracrystalline
protein lattices that cover many
bacteria and almost all archaea.
The Cell Wall
• a complex, semi rigid structure
responsible for the shape of the
cell.
• The major function of the cell wall
is to prevent bacterial cells from
rupturing when the water
pressure inside the cell is greater
than that outside the cell
The Cell Wall
Cell Wall composition and
Characteristics
• Peptidoglycan consists of a
repeating disaccharide attached
by polypeptides to form a lattice
that surrounds and protects the
entire cell.
The Cell Wall
Prokaryotes - Cell Wall
Gram-Positive & Gram-Negative
From the Virtual Microbiology Classroom on ScienceProfOnline.com Images: Sources Unknown
The Cell Wall
The Cell Wall
The Cell Wall
The Cell Wall
The Cell Wall
The Cell Wall
Atypical Cell Walls
• Prokaryotic cells that have no
walls or have a very little wall
material.
Mycoplasma
Halobacterium sp.
The Cell Wall
Acid-Fast Cell Walls
• Bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium and
pathogenic species of Nocardia.
Structures internal to the cell wall
Structures internal to the
prokaryotic cell wall:
1. Cell membrane
2. Cytoplasm
3. Nucleoid
4. Ribosomes
5. Inclusions
6. Endospores
The Plasma Membrane
➢ separate the cell from its
environment
➢ phospholipid molecules
oriented so that hydrophilic (
water-loving head) directed
outward and hydrophobic
(water- fearing tail) directed
inward
➢ proteins are embedded in 2
layers of lipids (lipid bilayer)
Structures internal to the cell wall
1. Plasma membrane
Structures:
• The phospholipids molecules
are arranged in two parallel
rows.
• The protein molecules in the
membrane can be arranged in a
variety of ways.
Structures internal to the cell wall
1. Plasma membrane
Functions:
• The most important function of
the plasma membrane is to
serve as a selective barrier
through which materials enter
and exit the cell.
• Breakdown of nutrients and the
production of energy.
Structures internal to the cell wall
1. Plasma membrane
Functions:
• Breakdown of nutrients and the
production of energy.
• Chromatophores or thylakoids.
• Mesosomes serves as
compartment of DNA at cell
division and sporulation and are
pricipal sites of respiratory
enzymes..
Structures internal to the cell wall
1. Plasma membrane
Destruction:
• Plasma membrane is vital to the
bacterial cell, several
antimicrobial agents exert their
effect at this site.
Structures internal to the cell wall
2. Cytoplasm
• The substance inside the
plasma membrane.
• Thick, aqueous,
semitransparent, and
elastic.
• Major structures found in
the cytoplasm are nucleoid,
ribosomes, and inclusions.
Structures internal to the cell wall
3. Nucleoid
• It usually contains a single,
long, continuous, and
frequently circularly
arranged thread of double-
stranded DNA.
• It can be spherical,
elongated, or dumbbell-
shaped.
• Plasmids are circular,
double-stranded DNA
molecules.
Structures internal to the cell wall
4. Ribosomes
• The sites of protein
synthesis.
• Several antibiotics work by
inhibiting protein synthesis on
prokaryotic ribosomes.
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
a. Metachromatic granules
b. Polysaccharide granules
c. Lipid inclusions
d. Sulfur granules
e. Carboxysomes
f. Gas vacuoles
g. Magnetosomes
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
a. Metachromatic granules
➢large inclusions that take their
name from the stain red with
certain blue dyes.
b. Volutin represents a
reserve of inorganic phosphate
(polyphosphate) that can be
used in the synthesis of ATP.
Corynebacterium diphteriae
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
b. Polysaccharide granules
• typically consist of glycogen and
starch, and their presence can be
demonstrated when iodine is
applied to the cells.
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
c. Lipid inclusions
• appear in various species of
Mycobacterium, Bacillus,
Azotobacter , Spirillum and
other genera.
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
e. Carboxysomes
• inclusions that contain the
enzyme ribulose 1,5 -
diphosphate carboxylase.
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
f. Gas vacuoles
• Hollow cavities found in many
aquatic prokaryotes, including
cyanobacte ia, an oxygenic
photosynthetic bacteria, and
halobacteria.
Structures internal to the cell wall
5. Inclusions
g. Magnetosomes
• inclusions of iron oxide
(Fe304), formed by several
gram- negative bacteria such
as Magnetospirillum
magnetotacticum, that act
like magnets
Structures internal to the cell wall
6. Endospores
• highly durable dehydrated cells with
thick walls and additional layers.
• The process of endospore formation
within a vegetative cell takes several
hours and is known as sporulation or
sporogenesis
• Dormant, tough, non-reproductive
structure produced by small number of
bacteria.
Structures internal to the cell wall
6. Endospores
• the water present in the
forespore cytoplasm is
eliminated by the time
sporulation is complete, and
endospores do not carry out
metabolic reactions.
Structures internal to the cell wall
