Class 11

Prokaryotic Cell
Cell : The Unit of Life Part 2

Presented by

Concept Tutorial
 Glycocalyx (Mucilage Sheath)
 It may form a loose sheath called slime layer or thick and tough
covering called capsule.
 It gives a sticky characteristic to the cell.

Functions of glycocalyx:
 Prevention of desiccation (dehydration)
 Protection from toxic chemicals and drugs
 Protection from virus
 Enhances virulence (disease causing ability).
Streptococcus pneumonia
(bacterium causing pneumonia)

R Strain Lacks mucilage sheath.

S Strain has mucilage sheath,

hence appears shiny and smooth.
 Cell Wall
Cell Wall consists of Peptidoglycans, lipids and proteins.

Note:
 Some antibiotics prevent cell wall formation in bacteria during cell
division. In absence of cell wall bacteria cannot survive.
 Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme present in tears, saliva and
other body secretions. It kills bacteria by hydrolysing their cell wall.
Gram Staining Technique
 Gram Staining is the common and most used differential
staining techniques in microbiology, which was introduced
by Danish Bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram in 1884.
 This test differentiate the bacteria into Gram Positive and
Gram Negative Bacteria, which helps in the classification
and differentiations of microorganisms.
 The differences in cell wall composition of Gram positive
and Gram negative bacteria accounts for the Gram staining
differences. Gram (-) bacteria do not retain the stain due to
high content of lipid in cell wall which gets dissolved in
absolute alcohol.
Cell wall
Procedure
Principle of the Staining Technique
 The cell walls of gram positive bacteria have a thick layer of
peptidoglycan and lipid content is low. Alcohol is a dehydrating agent
that causes this thick layer of peptidoglycan to dehydrate and shrink,
and prevents the stain from exiting the cell. So the ethanol cannot
remove the Crystal Violet-Iodine complex that is bound to the cell wall
of gram positive bacteria and appears blue or purple in color.
 In case of gram negative bacteria, cell wall also takes up the stain but
due to the thin layer of peptidoglycan and thick outer layer which is
formed of lipids, CV-Iodine complex gets washed off. When they are
exposed to alcohol, decolorizer dissolves the lipids in the cell walls,
which allows the crystal violet-iodine complex to leach out of the cells.
Mesosomes are formed by infolding of plasma membrane. They
help in:
 Cell wall formation
 DNA replication and its distribution to daughter cells.
 Respiration by increasing surface area of plasma membrane and
enzymatic content.
Chromatophores are membranous extensions into the cytoplasm
and contain photosynthetic pigments. These are present in
photosynthetic bacteria like Cyanobacteria.
Ribosome Polysome
 Ribosome
 These are 70S in nature.
 Consist of two subunits: large unit (50S) and smaller unit (30S).
 Ribosomes are of two types: fixed and free.
 Free ribosomes occur free in cytoplasm and synthesize proteins for
intracellular use.
 Fixed ribosomes are attached to plasma membrane and synthesize
proteins for transport to outside.
 Several ribosomes may attach to a single mRNA and form a chain
called polyribosome or polysome.
 Ribosomes translate mRNA into proteins.
 Nucleoid
 Represents genetic material of prokaryotes which is naked and
devoid of any membrane.
 Consists of a single circular strand of DNA duplex which is
equivalent to a single chromosome.
 Note: DNA is coiled with the help of polyamines (special proteins)
that are different from histone protein in eukaryotes.
 Prokaryotic DNA is considered as naked because of its non-
association with histone protein and absence of nuclear envelope
around it.
 Plasmids
These are extra-chromosomal, self-
replicating, circular, double-stranded DNA
molecules, found naturally in many bacteria
and some yeasts.
Plasmids do not carry genes essential for
normal cell growth and division but they
confer some useful traits to the organism like
resistance to certain antibiotics or toxins.
Flagella (Singular: Flagellum)
 Consists of 3 parts: basal body, hook and
filament.
 Basal body is inserted in the cell
envelope.
 Hook is curved tubular structure which
connects the filament with basal body.
 Filament is long tubular structure which
causes turbulence in water and makes the
bacteria motile.
Pili (Singular Pilus) are elongated tubular structures helpful in attaching to
recipient bacterial cell during conjugation.

Fimbriae are small bristle-like fibres sprouting from cell surface helpful in
attaching bacteria to rocks in streams and host tissues.