Bacterial Cell Envelope Flashcards
What are bacterial envelopes
Multilayered protective structures which provides protection against hostile external environment
What do the majority of bacterial envelopes consist of (3)
- Plasma membrane (lipid bilayer)
- Peptidoglycan (cell wall)
- Envelope proteins
Components of the bacterial cell envelope are targets for what
Antibiotics
Features of gram pos bacterial envelope
- Thick peptidoglycan layer -> increased turgor pressure
- Single membrane
- Lipotechnoic & Technoic acid polymers
Features of gram neg bacterial envelope
- Thin peptidoglycan layer
- Inner membrane & outer membrane
- Lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin) surface polymer
Features of mycobacterial bacterial envelope
- Thin peptidoglycan layer
- Single membrane
- Mycolic acid layer (hydrophobic)
- Arabinogalactan links mycolic acids and peptidoglycan
Features of wall-less bacterial envelope
- No peptidoglycan synthesis
- Must live in osmotically balanced environment
When & by who was the Gram Stain developed
In the 1880s by Hans Christian Joachim Gram
Function of Crystal Violet during gram stain
- Pos charged
- Binds to petidoglycan & neg charged polymers -> Teichoic acids & LPS
Function of Iodine during gram stain
- Complexes w crystal violet
- “Trapper” reagent -> prevents crystal violet being washed away in further steps
Function of 95% Ethyl Alcohol during gram stain
- Decolouriser reagent
- Removes any dyes from lipid membrane
Function of Safranin during gram stain
- Counterstain
- Binds to peptidoglycan & associated polymers to give pink colour
Gram Pos gram stain resulting colour
Purple
Gram neg gram stain resulting colour
Pink
What feature of Mycobacteria makes gram staining impossible
The hydrophobic mycolic acid layer
3 functions of the plasma membrane
- Permeability barrier - prevents leakage, gateway fro transport of nutrients
- Protein anchor - site of proteins that participate in transport, chemotaxis
- Energy conservation - site of generation & dissipation of proton motive force
What is the plasma membrane completely impermeable for
Ions
They require transport proteins
Components of the hydrophilic region of the phospholipid bilayer of the plasma membrane
- Glycerol
- Phosphate
- Ethanolamine
What are the components of the hydrophobic region of the phosphlipid layer
Fatty acids