Structure of Bacterial Cells

Tankeshwar Acharya
Lecturer
Patan Academy of Health Sciences

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 Learning objectives

Understand the structure of Bacterial cell

Understand the importance and characterstics of
each bacterial cell components

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 Overview of Bacterial cells

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 Capsule

Gelatinous layer covering the entire bacterium-found in some

bacterial cells.
Composed of polysaccharide
Exception: The capsule of Bacillus anthracis is
composed of polymerized D-glutamic acid
Variations in sugar component of
polysaccharide determines serologic types
within species. Example: Streptococcus
pneumoniae has 84 different serologic
types.
Examples of Capsulated bacteria:
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Neisseria meningitidis
Haemophilus influenzae

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 Medical Importance of Bacterial Capsule
Initiation of infection: Capsules helps the organism to adhere to host
cells.
Virulence determinants:
Capsules are antiphagocytic
? If mutation occurs?

Identification of bacteria:
a. Using specific antiserum against capsular polysaccharide. E.g.
Quellung reaction
b. Colony characteristics in culture media: Capsulated organisms forms
mucoid colonies

Development of Vaccines:
Used as the antigens in certain vaccines. E.g. The purified capsular
polysaccharides of 23 types of S. pneumoniae are present in
current vaccine.
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 Glycocalyx (Slime layer)
Polysaccharide coating secreted by many bacteria
Covers surface like a film and allows bacteria to adhere
firmly to various structures eg, skin, heart valves, and
catheters.
Mediates adherence of certain bacteria, such as
Streptococcus mutans, to the surface of teeth. This plays an
important role in the formation of dental plaque, the
precursor of dental caries.

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 Bacterial Spores
Bacterial spores are highly resistant, dormant structures formed
in response to adverse conditions.
Note: Do not get confused with Fungal spores
This resistance may be mediated
by dipicolinic acid, a calcium ion
chelator found only in spores.

Examples of Spore forming

Bacteria
1. Bacillus spp
2. Clostridium spp

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 Medical Importance of Bacterial Spores
Important features of Spores Medical Implications
Spores are highly resistant to heating; Medical supplies must be heated to
spores are not killed by boiling 121oC for atleast 15 minutes to be
(100OC) but are killed at 121OC. sterilized.
Spores are highly resistant to many Only solution designated as sporicidal
chemicals, including most will kill spores.
disinfectants.
Spores can survive for many years in Wound contaminated with soils can
soil and other inanimate objects. be infected with spores and cause
diseases such as tetanus, gas
gangrene.
Spores do not exhibit measurable Can survive for many years in
metabolic activity. dormant stage in environment.
Spores formed only when nutrients Spores are not often found at the site
are insufficient. of infection because nutrients are not
limiting.
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 Flagella are long, whip like appendages that move
the bacteria toward nutrients and other attractants.

The long filament of flagella is composed of many subunits

of a single protein, flagellin, arranged in several intertwined
chains. Most of the cocci (e.g. Staphylococci, Streptococci
etc) don’t have flagella (Atrichous) so they are non-
motile.
Bacterial
flagella

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 1. Atrichous: Bacteria without flagella
2. Monotrichous: Vibrio Cholerae
3. Lophotrichous: Tuft of flagella in one or both polar ends
(e.g. Bartonella Bacilliformis)
Flagellar Arrangement

4. Amphitrichous: Spirillum serpens

5. Peritrichous: Escherichia coli

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  Medical Importance of Flagella
Role in Pathogenesis: Escherichia coli and proteus spp are
common causes of Urinary tract infections. The flagella of these
bacteria help the bacteria by propelling up the urethra into the
bladder.

Roles in Organism identification

Some species of bacteria, eg. Salmonella species are identified in
the cilinical laboratory by the use of Specific antibodies against
flagellar proteins.
Organisms such as Vibrio cholerae (darting motility) and Proteus
species (swarming growth in common culture media)

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 Cell Wall
Outermost component common to all bacteria
Exception: Mycoplasma
Some bacteria have surface features external to the cell
wall
Flagella
Capsule
Pili

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 Gram Negative

Gram
Positive

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 Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
Outer layer of cellwall of gram negative bacteria
also called endotoxin.

Responsible for fever (pyrogenic effect of LPS), endotoxic

shock etc.

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 Composition of Lipopolysaccharides

The LPS is composed of three distinct units.

1. A phospholipid called Lipid A, which is responsible for
endotoxic properties

2. A core polysaccharide of five sugars linked through

ketodeoxyoctulonate (KDO) to lipid A

3. An outer polysaccharide consisting of up to 25 repeating

units of 3-5 sugars, also called somatic or O antigen. O
antigens are used to identify certain organisms in
microbiology laboratory.
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 Peptidoglycan (Murein/Mucopeptide)

Term: Peptidoglycan
Carbohydrate backbone is composed of alternating N-
acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine molecules.
Attached to each of the muramic acid molecules are a
tetrapeptide consisting of both D- and L- amino acids, the
precise composition of which differs between bacteria.

Special Aminoacids:
•Diaminopimelic acid: Unique to bacterial cells.
•D- alanine: Involved in the cross links between
tetrapeptides and in the action of penicillin.

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 Importance of Peptidoglycan
Rigid support to bacterial cells and maintains the characteristic
shape.

Allows bacterial cell to withstand media of low osmotic

pressure.

Peptidoglycan is a good target for antibacterial drugs. Eg.

Penicillins, cephalosporins etc inhibit transpeptidase reaction
which makes cross-links between the two adjacent tetrapeptides.

Lysozyme enzyme present in human tears, mucus, and saliva

cleave peptidoglycan backbone breaking its glycosyl bonds.
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 Teichoic Acid
Fibres of glycerol phosphate or ribitol phosphate
Located in the outer layer of certain gram positve bacteria
(such as staphylococci, streptococci, lactobacilli and
Bacillus spp). acids have not been found in Gram
So far teichoic
Negative Bacteria.
Lipoteichoic acid: Teichoic acid that covalently linked
to the lipid in the cytoplasmic membrane. Some techoic
acids anchor to the muramic acid in the peptidoglycan.
Medical Importance of Teichoic Acid:
They induce septic shock through the same pathways as does
endotoxin (LPS) in gram negative bacteria.
Mediate the attachment of staphylococci to mucosal cells.

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 Self Assessment-Class
 The endotoxin property of Gram negative bacteria is due to
the presence of:
a. Peptidoglycan
b. Lipopolysaccharide
c. Teichoic acid
d. Polypeptide

 Which of the following is likely to contain structure composed

of N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine?
a. Spheroplasts
b. Protoplasts
c. Mycoplasmas
d. Escherichia coli
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 Cytoplasmic Membrane

Lies just inside the peptidoglycan layer of the cellwall

Composed of phospholipid bilayer, unlike eukaryotes
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don’t contain sterols (exceptions: Mycoplasma).
 Functions of Cytoplasmic membrane

Active/passive transport of molecules into the cell

Energy production by oxidative phosphorylation
Synthesis of precursors of the cell wall, and
Secretion of enzymes and toxins

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 Bacterial Pili (Fimbriae)
Fimbriae or pili are harilike filaments that extend from the
cell membrane into the external environment.

Found mainly in Gram Negative organisms.

Fimbriae (pili) are shorter and straighter than flagella and

are composed by subunits of protein called pilin.
Length: up to 2 µm

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 Medical Importance of Fimbriae or Pili
Types: Two general types of Pili are known they are: Sex pili
and Common pili.

Note: Pili does not have any roles in Motility

Common pili
•Adhesins
•Mutants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae that do not form
pili are nonpathogen.

Sex pili
•conjugation tube
•This process is well characterized in the gram negative
bacillus Escherichia coli.
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 Two distinct areas
An amorphous matrix that contains ribosomes, nutrient
Bacterial Cytoplasm

granules, metabolites, and plasmids.

An inner, nucleoid region composed of DNA

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 Cytoplasmic Nucleoprotein particle
Sites of mRNA translation and protein synthesis
Size: 70 S with 50 S and 30 S subunits
Basis of selective actions of several antibiotics that
inhibit bacterial, but not human protein synthesis.
Ribosomes

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 Nucleoid
Nucleoid: Area in the bacterial cytoplasm in which
DNA is located.
The Nucleoid contains no nuclear membrane, no
nucleolus, not mitotic spindle, and no histones.
DNA of prokaryotes is a single circular molecule that
contains about 2000 genes.

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 Plasmids
Extrachromosomal , double stranded, circular DNA
molecules that are capable of replicating independently of
the bacterial chromosome.
Can be integrated into the bacterial chromosome.
Plasmids occur in both gram
positive and gram negative
bacteria and several different
types of plasmids can exist in
one cell.

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 •Transmissible plasmids: They can be transferred from cell to
cell by conjugation. They are large (MW 40-100 million)
usually present in a few copies (one to three copies) per cell.
•Nontransmissible plasmids: Are small (MW 3-20 million),
present in many (10-60) copies per cell.

Medical Importance of Plasmid

Plasmids carry the genes for the following functions and
structures:
 Antibiotic resistance
 Resistance to heavy metals
 Resistance to ultraviolet light,
 Pili (fimbriae)
32  Exotoxins, including several enterotoxins etc
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Transposons (Jumping genes)

Transposons are pieces of DNA that move readily from one

site to another, either within or between the DNA’s of
bacteria, plasmids, and bacteriophage.
Not capable of independent replication; they replicate as
part of the recipient DNA.

They can code for Drug resistance enzymes, toxins, or a

variety of metabolic enzymes.

They either cause mutations in the gene into which they

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insert or alter the expression of nearby genes.
 Granules
Located in cytoplasm of some
bacteria

Serves as storage areas for nutrients, example: volutin

granules are reserve of high energy stored in the form
of polymerized metaphosphate.
Stain characteristically with certain dyes. Volutin appears as
“metachromatic” granule, stains red with methylene blue dye
(instead of blue, as one would expect).
Metachromatic granules are characteristics of
Corynebacterium diphtheriae

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 Self Quiz:
Which of the following structure is essential for
survival of most bacteria?
A. Cell Wall
B. Plasma membrane
C. Capsule
D. A and B
E. A, B and C

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 Host Microbe Interactions

Host Defense Virulence:

microrganisms
State of Health
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 Normal Flora Locations & Species

Note that much of those

locations not mentioned are
sterile in healthy individuals.
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 Bacteria are constantly associated with our body
surfaces
Normal flora/commensals
Resident flora Vs. Transient flora

SYMBIOSIS: Neutral, antagonistic or synergistic relationship

between two dissimilar organisms living in close association
with each other;

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 Types of Interactions

Mutualism: Both partners benefit (+/+)

E. coli produces vitamins, K and B and
bacteriocins (chemical that ward off
harmful species)
Large intestine provides nutrients

Commensalism: One partner benefits, other is neutral (+/0)

The ability of a microorganism to live on the external or
internal surfaces of the body without causing disease.

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 Parasitism (+/-): (One partner benefits while the
other is harmed)
Many protozoan, helminths, bacteria, virus and fungi.

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 Thank You
Any Questions?

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