Microbiology:

The study of microorganisms.

Microorganisms: Small living organisms that generally can
not be seen with the naked eye.
Include:
Bacteria
Fungi (yeasts and molds)
Protozoa
Algae
Multicellular parasites
Also include nonliving infectious agents:
Viruses
 Prions
• Classification of Microorganism
• Bacteriology deals about bacteria.
• Mycology deals about fungi.
• Virology deals about viruses.
• Parasitology deals with parasites
Structures of Prokaryotic Cells
Relationships Between Membrane Bound
Organelles of Eucaryotic Cells
Lysosomes: Intracellular Digestion
• Pathogens
• Subcellular (Non-living) Infectious Entities
• Prions (proteinaceous infectious particles). The evidence indicates that prions are
protein molecules that cause degenerative central nervous system (CNS) diseases
such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, kuru, scrapie in sheep, and bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) (general term: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
[TSE]).
• Viruses. Ultramicroscopic, obligate intracellular parasites that:
• contain only one type of nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA,
• possess no enzymatic energy-producing system and no protein-synthesizing
apparatus, and
• Force infected host cells to synthesize virus particles.
• Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Microorganisms
• According to a proposal byWoese that has been gaining
general acceptance in recent years, the world of living
things is classified into three domains bacteria,
archaea, and eucarya. In this system, each domain is
subdivided into kingdoms. Pathogenic microorganisms
are found in the domains of bacteria and eucarya.
• Bacteria. This domain includes the kingdom of the
heterotrophic eubacteria and includes all human pathogen
bacteria. The other kingdoms for instance that of the
photosynthetic cyanobacteria, are not pathogenic. It is
estimated that bacterial species on Earth number in the
hundreds of thousands, of which only about 5500 have
been discovered and described in detail.
• Archaea. This domain includes forms that live under
extreme environmental conditions, including thermophilic,
hyperthermophilic, halophilic, and methanogenic
microorganisms. The earlier term for the archaea was
archaebacteria (ancient bacteria), and they are indeed a
kind of living fossil. Thermophilic archaea thrive mainly in
warm, moist biotopes such as the hot springs at the top of
geothermal vents. The hyperthermophilic archaea, a more
recent discovery, live near deep-sea volcanic plumes at
temperatures exceeding 100 8C.
• Eucarya. This domain includes all life forms with cells
possessing a genuine nucleus. The plant and animal
kingdoms (animals and plants) are all eukaryotic life forms.
Pathogenic eukaryotic microorganisms include fungal and
protozoan species.
• Bacteria
• Classic bacteria. These organisms reproduce asexually by binary transverse fission.
They do not possess the nucleus typical of eucarya. The cell walls of these organisms
are rigid (with some exceptions, e.g., mycoplasma).
• Chlamydiae. These organisms are obligate intracellular bacteria that are able to
reproduce in certain human cells only and are found in two stages: the infectious,
non-reproductive particles called elementary bodies (0.3 lm) and the non-infectious,
intracytoplasmic, reproductive forms known as initial (or reticulate) bodies (1 lm).
• Rickettsiae. These organisms are obligate intracellular bacteria, rod-shaped to
coccoid, that reproduce by binary transverse fission. The diameter of the individual
cell is from 0.3–1 lm.
• Mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas are bacteria without rigid cell walls. They are found in a
wide variety of forms, the most common being the coccoid cell (0.3–0.8 lm).
Threadlike forms also occur in various lengths.
• Fungi and Protozoa
• Fungi. Fungi (Mycophyta) are nonmotile eukaryotes with rigid cell walls and a
classic cell nucleus. They contain no photosynthetic pigments and are carbon
heterotrophic, that is, they utilize various organic nutrient substrates (in contrast
to carbon autotrophic plants). Of more than 50 000 fungal species, only about
300 are known to be human pathogens. Most fungal infections occur as a result
of weakened host immune defenses.
• Protozoa. Protozoa are microorganisms in various sizes and forms that may be
free-living or parasitic. They possess a nucleus containing chromosomes and
organelles such as mitochondria (lacking in some cases), an endoplasmic
reticulum, pseudopods, flagella, cilia, kinetoplasts, etc. Many parasitic protozoa
are transmitted by arthropods, whereby multiplication and transformation into
the infectious stage take place in the vector.
• Animals
• Helminths. Parasitic worms belong to the animal kingdom. These
are metazoan organisms with highly differentiated structures.
Medically significant groups include trematodes (flukes or
flatworms), cestodes (tapeworms), and nematodes
(roundworms).
• Arthropods. These animals are characterized by an external
chitin skeleton, segmented bodies, jointed legs, special
mouthparts, and other specific features. Their role as direct
causative agents of diseases is a minor one (mites, for instance,
cause scabies) as compared to their role as vectors transmitting
viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths.
 Infection and its transmission
Entry of infection into human body (Port of entrance)
• Microorganisms may enter the body in one of the three
ways.
• Digestive tract – Swallowed in food or water
• Respiratory tract – breathed in with air.
• Skin and mucus membranes – through a wound,
weakened surface or injection, some parasites
(Helmenths)
• CONT…
• Organisms leave the body of an infected person in the
following ways (Port of Exit)
• Excreta – Faeces and urine
• Coughing sneezing and sputum.
• Pus and wound discharges
• Blood. Eg. Mosquito bites and injection needle
Route of transmission
Each type of organisms has its own special path for leaving an
infected person and going into a healthy person.
• Faeco oral route
• Through skin
• Airborne – droplet infection
• Vector (insects) to human
• Sexual transmitted Infection (STI)
• Vertical transmission
• Faecal to oral route: Faeces may contain
• Intestinal parasites or ova of worms.
• Amoeba Causing dysentery
• Bacteria causing cholera, typhoid fever or dysentery.
• Viruses of Polio or hepatitis (A, E, F, G)
• From the faeces,
• the organisms may get into drinking water, food.
• Flies and dirty hands act as carriers and spread infection by oral
route. Children may suck the dirty fingers and organisms enter
the body.
• Through skin:
• Hookworm ova passed in faeces hatch into larvae on the
ground. Then the larvae can bite through the skin, usually
through barefoot and grow into adult worms in the intestines.
Hookworm disease can be prevented if people use latrines
• The tetanus bacillus lives in the intestines of man and animals
and is present in cow dung and soil. It enters into the body
through a wound or a newborn baby’s umbilical cord. The
best way to prevent tetanus is by immunization with tetanus
toxoid.
• Vector transmission
• Examples are mosquito and flys
• Mosquito bites the sick person, pick parasite and
transmit to health persons
• There are many other insect vectors which transmits
infectious agents to human
• Droplet infection (Airborne):
• When a person with infection such as a common cold or tuberculosis,
coughs, sneezes or even talks, with his breath organisms are thrown
into the air in very small drops of sputum. The droplets may dry up,
leaving an infections dust on cloths, floors and furniture. When another
person breathes in or inhales the infection affects the same person.
The diseases which are spread by droplet infections are diphtheria,
mumps, measles, chickenpox, smallpox, whooping cough, pneumonia
and upper respiratory infections. Droplet infection is difficult to
prevent.
Microbes are Essential for Life on Earth:
Have many important and beneficial biological functions:
• Photosynthesis: Algae and some bacteria capture energy
from sunlight and convert it to food, forming the basis of
the food chain.
• Decomposers: Many microbes break down dead and
decaying matter and recycle nutrients that can be used by
other organisms.
• Nitrogen Fixation: Some bacteria can take nitrogen from
air and incorporate it into soil.
Important and beneficial biological functions of Microbes:
 Digestion: Animals have microorganisms in their digestive tract, that are
essential for digestion and vitamin synthesis.
 Cellulose digestion by ruminants (cows, rabbits, etc.)
 Vitamin K and B synthesis in humans.

 Medicine: Many antibiotics and other drugs are naturally synthesized by

microbes.
 Penicillin is made by a mold.
Important and beneficial biological functions of Microbes:
 Food Industry: Many important foods and beverages are made with
microbes:
 Alcoholic beverages (Wine, beer, rum, whiskey)
 Bread
 Vinegar
 Soy sauce
 Cheese
 Pickles, olives, sauerkraut
 Yogurt
 Buttermilk
 Sour cream
 Coffee
 Chocolate
 Hams, sausages
Important and beneficial biological functions of
Microbes:
 Genetic Engineering: Recent advances in gene splicing
allow us to design recombinant microbes that produce
important products:
 Human growth hormone (Dwarfism)
 Insulin (Diabetes)
 Blood clotting factor (Hemophilia)
 Recombinant vaccines
Hepatitis A and B vaccines
 Human hemoglobin (Emergency blood substitute)
 Taxol (Breast and ovarian cancer)
 Erythropoietin (Anemia)
 Monoclonal antibodies (Disease diagnosis and prevention).
Important and beneficial biological functions
of Microbes:
 Medical Research: Microbes are well suited for
biological and medical research for several reasons:
 Relatively simple and small structures, easy to study.
 Genetic material is easily manipulated.
 Can grow a large number of cells very quickly and at
low cost.
Short generation times make them very useful to study
genetic changes.
Microbes and Disease: Most microbes are either
beneficial or harmless to humans.
 Less than 1% of microbes cause disease.
 In 1962, the surgeon general of the United States stated: “The war
against infectious diseases has been won”.
Today it is clear that this was overly optimistic:
 Emerging diseases: New diseases like AIDS, hantavirus, Ebola fever, Lyme
disease, Hepatitis C, and others that did not exist a few years ago.
 Antibiotic and Drug Resistance: Many old diseases are becoming resistant to
traditional therapies: Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, etc.
 Today infectious diseases cause 50% of the 52 million worldwide
deaths per year.
External structure of bacteria
 Bacterial Surface and Cell Wall Structures
The cells of bacteria can be distinguished from those of all other forms of
cellular life (fungi, protozoans, plants and animals) by their prokaryotic
organization
• In contrast to the situation with eukaryotic cells, the DNA of prokaryotic
cells is not enclosed in a separate nuclear compartment
• The DNA of Eukaryotic cells is always associated with specific
chromosomal proteins, the histone. Histone-like proteins are found in
some prokaryotic cells, but are not common
• In contrast to the Eukaryotic cells, the DNA of prokaryotic cells does not
become condensed into the "chromosomes"
 Bacterial Surface and Cell Wall Structures
(CONT…)
• Prokaryotic cells also lack other membrane-bound organelles -
mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, chloroplasts - found in
eukaryotic cells
• It's important to note that, with all of these differences,
prokaryotic cells carry out all of the functions of cells; for
example, while they lack mitochondria for respiration, they
may carry respiratory enzymes in the cytoplasmic membrane
• Although prokaryotic bacterial cells may seem relatively
"simple" when compared to those of Eukaryotes, they do
exhibit considerable structural complexity.
Bacterial Surface and Cell Wall Structures
(CONT…)
• Bacterial cells are usually very small, less than 2 μm (0.2
1/1000ths of a millimetre) in diameter.
• The shape (cocci, bacilli, or spirilla) and arrangement of
bacterial cells can be very useful for identification in the
laboratory
• It's important to note that environmental conditions can
influence the shape and arrangement of bacterial cells
The Procaryotic Cell: Size, Shape, and Arrangement of
Bacterial Cells
Cell Size:
 Dimensions of most bacterial cells:
 Diameter: 0.2 to 2.0 mm.
 Human red blood cell is about 7.5-10 mm in diameter.
 Length: 2 to 8 mm.
 Some cyanobacteria are up to 60 mm long.
 Bacterial cells have large surface to volume ratios. Therefore
all parts of the cell:
 Are close to the surface.
 Can be quickly reached by nutrients.
Bacterial Cell Size Compared to Eucaryotic
Cells and Viruses
The Procaryotic Cell: Size, Shape, and Arrangement
of Bacterial Cells
Bacterial Cell Shapes & Arrangements:
 Coccus (plural: cocci): Spherical.
 May have the following arrangements:
 Diplococci: A pair of attached cocci. Remain attached after dividing.
 Streptococci: Chainlike arrangement.
 Tetrads: Groups of four. Divide in two planes.
 Sarcinae: Groups of eight. Divide in three planes.
 Staphylococci: Grapelike clusters. Divide in multiple planes.
Common Arrangements of Cocci
The Procaryotic Cell: Size, Shape, and Arrangement
of Bacterial Cells
Bacterial Cell Shapes & Arrangements:
 Bacillus (plural: bacilli): Rod-shaped. Most bacilli appear as
single rods but may see:
 Diplobacilli: A pair of attached bacilli. Remain attached after
dividing.
 Streptobacilli: Chainlike arrangement.
 Coccobacillus: Intermediate shape between coccus and
bacillus. Oval rods.
Different Types of Bacilli
The Procaryotic Cell: Size, Shape, and Arrangement
of Bacterial Cells
Bacterial Cell Shapes & Arrangements :
 Spiral Bacteria: Have one or more twists:
 Vibrio: A comma shaped cell. Look like curved rods.
 Spirilla: Helical, corkscrew shaped bacteria with rigid bodies.
 Use whiplike external flagella to move.
 Spirochetes: Helical bacteria with flexible bodies.
 Use axial filaments (internal flagella) to move.
Spiral Shaped Bacteria
The Procaryotic Cell: Size, Shape, and Arrangement
of Bacterial Cells
Bacterial Cell Shapes & Arrangements :
 Other less common shapes:
 Star
 Flat and square
 Triangular
 Pleomorphic bacteria: Have several possible shapes. Found in a
few groups:
 Mycoplasma
Most bacteria are monomorphic: Maintain a single shape.
However environmental factors may affect cell shape.
 External Structure of the bacteria
Glycocalyx
• Usually made of polysaccharide, sometimes protein
• May be firmly attached to individual cells - capsules
• May be loosely associated with clusters of cells -slime layer
• Possession of a glycocalyx may be important to the "lifestyle"
of a bacterium
• May contribute to virulence of pathogenic bacteria.
Pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria frequently possess
capsules, which are thought to interfere with
phagocytosis by white blood cells
• glycocalyx may also enhance a bacterium's ability to
adhere to surfaces; in nature, most bacteria live in
biofilms composed of extracellular polysaccharide
 External Structure of the bacteria (CONT…)
• Bacterial flagella are long protein filaments used for locomotion
• Bacterial flagella are much simpler than the flagella of eucaryotic cells, and are anchored
into the cytoplasmic membrane through a series of rings
• Flagellar arrangement is useful for identification purposes
• Monotrichous - A single polar flagellum
• Amphitrichous - One or more polar flagellum at both poles
• Lophotrichous - Multiple flagella at one pole
• Peritrichous - Flagella distributed over the entire cell
• The movement of a prokaryotic flagellum results from rotation of the basal body in a
manner analogous to an electric motor
• The movements of flagellated bacteria alternate between "runs", in which the flagella are
all rotating in the same direction and the cell appears to be swimming, and "tumbles"
caused by abrupt reversal of flagellar rotation
• By varying the frequency of runs and tumbles, bacteria are able to exhibit taxis in response
to positive and negative stimuli
• Spirochaetes possess flagella-like axial filaments that are used for locomotion
Characteristic Arrangements of Flagella
External Structure of the bacteria (CONT…)
• Pili and fimbriae are protein filaments, thinner
than flagella, found on the surface of some
bacteria.
• Like the filaments of flagella, pili and fimbriae are
composed of helically arranged molecules of a
single protein (pilins in pili, flagellins in flagella)
• The general function of pili and fimbriae is to aid in
attachment to surfaces, including tissue surfaces
 Cell wall (peptidoglycan)
• The shape of a bacterial cell is determined by the cell wall, which serves
to protect the cell from osmotic lysis
• The major polymer of most bacterial cell walls is peptidoglycan, which
forms a continuous network around the cell
• One part of peptidoglycan consists of polysaccharide chains composed of
repeating units of two monosaccharides, N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-
acetylmuramic acid (NAM)
• Attached to each molecule of NAM is a chain of four amino acids, the
"tetrapeptide side chain"; the amino acids include D-isomers, making them
different from protein polypeptides
• The tetrapeptide side chains are covalently linked, sometimes through additional
amino acids, forming a strong three-dimensional network
 Cell wall (peptidoglycan)
• Major function is protection against
osmotic lysis
• The cell wall determines bacterial size
and shape
• The major polymer of most bacterial
cell walls is peptidoglycan
• The polymeric backbone of
peptidoglycan is a repeating
disaccharide of N acetylglucosamine
(NAG) and Nacetylmuramic acid
(NAM)
Peptidoglycan Structure
 Cell wall (peptidoglycan)
• The cell walls of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are very different from one another
• Gram-positive bacteria are surrounded by a relatively thick layer of peptidoglycan
• Negatively-charged teichoic acids are covalently bound to the peptidoglycan
• Lipoteichoic acids and wall teichoic acids make the surface of Gram-positive bacteria negatively charged
• Gram-negative bacteria possess a much thinner layer of peptidoglycan, surrounded by an outer membrane.
• Like the cytoplasmic membrane, the outer membrane is based on a phospholipid bilayer,
and contains macromolecules unique to these bacteria
• Lipoproteins consist of a lipid portion embedded in the "inner face" of the outer membrane
and a protein portion covalently bound to the peptidoglycan; lipoproteins anchor the outer
membrane to the peptidoglycan layer
• Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) consist of a lipid portion embedded in the "outer face" of the
outer membrane and a complex polysaccharide extending away from the membrane; like
teichoic acids, the polysaccharides of LPS are negatively charged
• The outer membrane is quite porous, due to the presence of protein channels composed of
porins and specific channel proteins
• In the clinical setting, LPS is known as endotoxin; when released from dying cells,
it causes profound metabolic responses in host animals, including fever and
shock.
 Cell wall (peptidoglycan)
• Certain natural and artificial defenses are targeted to
peptidoglycan cell walls
• Lysozyme, an enzyme found in many secretions (including tears),
catalyzes hydrolysis of the covalent bond between NAG and NAM
• The antibiotic penicillin acts by interfering with formation of the
peptide cross-links; thus, bacteria growing in the presence of penicillin
construct weakened cell walls and may lyse
• Structural and functional differences between Gram-positive and
Gram-negative cell walls can be exploited for identification and
treatment of bacterial infections.
Gram-positive Cell Wall
Gram-negative Cell Wall
Atypical Cell Walls:
Acid-Fast Bacteria: Mycobacteria
• Cell wall is thick like that of Gram-positive bacteria.
• Contains 60% lipids and much less peptidoglycan. Has a
waxy consistency.
• Lipids make cells impermeable to many stains, and
protect them from acids, alkalis, and antibiotics.
• Organisms grow slowly because nutrients penetrate
inefficiently and cells spend a lot of energy making lipids.
• Stain as Gram-positive.
Atypical Cell Walls:
Mycoplasmas:
• Smallest known bacteria that can grow and reproduce outside of host
cells.
• They have no cell wall.
• Pass through most bacterial filters. Originally mistaken for viruses.
• Unique plasma membrane contains lipids called sterols, which protect
them from osmotic lysis.
Archaebacteria
• May lack cell walls or have cell walls without peptidoglycan.
• Instead of peptidoglycan, may have pseudomurein.
Bacterial classification
Gram stain for bacterial identification

• Because bacteria are colorless and usually invisible to

light microscopy, colorful stains have been developed
to visualize them. The most useful is the Gram stain,
which separates organisms into 2 groups: gram-
positive bacteria and gram-negative bacteria.
ere are 4 steps to the Gram stain
 Gram staining and Microscope
• When the slide is studied microscopically, cells that absorb the
crystal violet and hold onto it will appear BLUE. These are called
gram-positive organisms. However, if the crystal violet is
washed off by the alcohol, these cells will absorb the safranin
and appear RED. These are called gram-negative organisms.
 Bacteria are classified based on Oxygen spectrum

• How bacteria deal with oxygen is a major factor in their classification.

Molecular oxygen is very reactive, and when it snatches up electrons, it can
form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radicals (O2-), and a hydroxyl
radical (OH•). All of these are toxic unless broken down. In fact, our very own
macrophages produce these oxygen radicals to pour over bacteria. There are 3
enzymes that some bacteria possess to break down these oxygen products:
• Catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide in the following reaction :
• 2H2O2 = 2H2O + O2
• Peroxidase also breaks down hydrogen peroxide.
• Superoxide dismutase breaks down the superoxide radical in the following
reaction:
• O2- + O2- + H2+ = H2O2 + O2
 Bacteria are classified based on Oxygen spectrum (CONT…)

Bacteria are classified based Oxygen presence. At one end are those that love oxygen, have
all the preceding protective enzymes, and cannot live without oxygen. On the opposite end
are bacteria which have no enzymes and cannot survive in the presence of oxygen:
• Obligate aerobes: These bacteria are just like us in that they use glycolysis, the Krebs TCA
cycle, and the electron transport chain with oxygen as the final electron acceptor. These
bacteria have all the above enzymes
• Facultative anaerobes: These bacteria are aerobic. They use oxygen as an electron
acceptor in their electron transfer chain and have catalase and superoxide dismutase. The
only difference is that they can grow in the absence of oxygen by using fermentation for
energy. Thus they have the faculty to be anaerobic but prefer aerobic conditions. This is
similar to the switch to anaerobic glycolysis that human muscle cells undergo during
sprinting.
• Microaerophilic bacteria (also called aerotolerant anaerobes): These bacteria use
fermentation and have no electron transport system. They can tolerate low amounts of
oxygen because they have superoxide dismutase (but they have no catalase).
• Obligate anaerobes: These germs hate oxygen and have no enzymes to defend against it.
Internal structure of bacteria
 Internal structure of Bacteria
• The plasma (cytoplasmic) membrane of Prokaryotic (bacteria) cells is composed primarily of
phospholipids and proteins.
• 50% or more of the mass of the bacterial plasma membrane may be protein
• This is greater than the amount of protein in Eucaryotic plasma membranes, perhaps
because many of the functions of organelles in Eucaryotes are done by the plasma
membrane of prokaryotes
• In contrast to Eukaryotic plasma membranes, prokaryotic plasma membranes usually lack
sterols
• The plasma membrane is a fluid mosaic structure, in which phospholipids and proteins are able
to move freely in two dimensions
• The proteins in the membrane can be arranged in a variety of ways, depending on their
functions
• peripheral proteins are loosely held on the inner surface of the membrane
• integral proteins are embedded in the phospholipid bilayer, and may penetrate it completely
 Internal structure of Bacteria (CONT…)
The most important function of the plasma membrane is to serve as a selectively
permeable (semipermeable) barrier through which materials enter and exit the
cell
• The permeability of the membrane depends on several factors
• Small molecules pass through the membrane more easily than larger molecules
• In general, the membrane is more permeable to hydrophobic molecules than to
hydrophilic molecules. Hence, lipid molecule pass easily through the plasma membrane.
• Some of the integral proteins are carriers that selectively promote passage of certain
molecules
• Prokaryotic plasma membranes are also important sites for energy metabolism
• These functions are carried out by integral and peripheral membrane proteins
• Respiration and photosynthesis are carried out in plasma membranes of prokaryotes
• Antimicrobial agents, including disinfectants and some antibiotics, may exert
their effects through disruption of the plasma membrane
Internal structure of Bacteria (CONT…)
• The mechanism through which compounds are moved across the plasma
membrane depends on the concentration gradient of the compound across the
membrane
• Small molecules (e.g., water, O2, CO2) pass through the membrane by
simple diffusion, moving from a region of high concentration to a region
of low concentration
• Facilitated diffusion, though driven by a concentration gradient, involves
participation of membrane carrier proteins, permeases
• Permeases are highly specific; that is, they will only "carry" a single compound or
a small group of chemically related compounds
• One model of how permeases work is that association of the compound with its
permease induces a conformational change (change in shape) in the protein such
that the compound is carried across the membrane
Internal structure of Bacteria (CONT…)
• The free diffusion of water through the semipermeable plasma
membrane - osmosis - causes a bacterial cell to be subjected to
osmotic pressure.
• This is because most environments in which bacteria live are
hypotonic relative the cytoplasm (that is, they contain lower solute
concentrations)
• A major function of the cell wall is to prevent osmotic lysis
• In a hypertonic environment, plasmolysis (movement of water out of
the cell) will occur; this is why high concentration solutions of salt and
sugar are often used as preservatives
Internal structure of Bacteria (CONT…)
• If a molecule must be moved from a region of low concentration to a
region of high concentration (such as is the case for uptake of many
nutrients), metabolic energy must be spent
• In active transport, carrier proteins like permeases are used, but there is
some mechanism (which may involve ATP hydrolysis) which allows
movement in only one direction
• In group translocation, the substance is chemically altered so that it
cannot pass back through the membrane
• In the best-studied example, transport of glucose into bacterial cells is linked with its
conversion to glucose-6-phosphate
• The phosphate group on glucose-6-phosphate is provided by hyrolysis of
phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP); like ATP, PEP is a high-energy phosphate compound