2.3 Flashcards
how many bacteria contain cell wall
the vast majority
rare to not have one
primary functions of cell wall
-prevent cell from bursting due to osmotic pressure
-[solutes] high inside cell
-provides shape and rigidity
gram positive vs gram negative cell wall
G+ - thick cell wall and no outer membrane
G- thin cell wall and have an outer membrane
what cells have peptidoglycan
bacteria only
peptidoglycan
lattice like structure formed from chains of glycans linked together by peptide bridges
components of peptidoglycan
sugar backbone and peptide crosslinks
sugar backbone of peptidoglycan
alternating N- Acetylglocosamine (NAG) and N acetylmuramic acid (NAM)
peptide crosslinks
-short peptide chains attached to NAM covalently linked to peptide from adjacent link
-attached to other chain via peptide bond
glycan chains in peptidoglycan
N-Acetylglocosamine and N- acetylmuramic acid alternating but connected by beta(1,4) linkage
beta(1,4) linkage
glycosidic bond
peptide composed of what amino acids
D isomer amino acids
different from aa that proteins are made of
peptide crosslinks names and positions
peptide bonds
between position 3 and position 4
gram negative bacteria cell wall features
-1-3 peptidoglycan layers 2-7 nm thick
-flexible, porous, and strong
-additional strength provided by outer membrane
gram positive cell wall
thick peptidoglycan layer- 15+ layers
what heps connect peptidoglycan layers in gram positive bacteria
interbridges
polypeptide peptide sequence
-different for given bacterium
-not random
-specific sequences in diff organisms
teichoic acids
in Gram Positive cell wall
long polymers comprised of glycerol phosphate or ribitol phosphate with attached D- glucose or/and D- alanine
what is teichoic acid attached to
peptidoglycan or cytoplasmic membrane
teichoic acids attached to cytoplasmic membrane called
lipoteichoic acids
function of teichoic acids
-provide cell strength through ionic interactions b/w neighbor strains w metal ion bridge
- help trap divalent metal ions(like Mg2+ (has negative charge)
- barrier and attachment functions
wall associated proteins functions
-gram positive bacteria- associate with cell wall covalently or not
-cell adhesion
-interact with teichoic acids, breaking down proteins
cell wall permeability
it is porous but not a permeability barrier–> except to large molecules like proteins and protein complexes
is cell wall dynamic?
not stagnant, constantly being synthesized, degraded and remodelled, lots of this happens during cell growth
gram positive staining
peptidoglycan dehydrated and pores close, this prevents escape of crystal violet dye