The Physiology of Prokaryotic

Cell
By
Intan Taufik, M. Si.
 Physiology?
A property of communities or groups compare with Morphology,
Taxonomy.....
The Prokaryotic Cell

0,5 µm
 Table 1. Major differences in genome organization of prokaryotes and eukaryotes

a. Average gene size of Eschericia coli and the number of its genes
b. Average gene size ofCaenorhabditis elegans and the number of its genes
c. It results in polycistronic messenger
d. For instance, spacer regions between Rrna operons
e. Group II self-splicing introns in cyanobacteria and proteobacteria
f. For example, Rrna genes
g. Sometimes with additionsl replicons (plasmids) approaching the size of the genophore. (Vellai & Vida, 1999)
 The Relevance of Being Small

• the smallest and

simplest form of life
that can metabolize,
grow and reproduce.
• Have had more
opportunity to evolve
(by orders of
magnitude) than plants
or animals have had
FIGURE 50.1 Phylogenetic relatedness of
cellular organisms. Major groups of
cellular organisms are indicated by genus
names. The lengths of branches
connecting two genera indicate the
molecular divergence between them, as
defined by the sequences of small-subunit
ribosomal RNAs (16S rRNAs of bacteria
and archaea, 18S rRNAs of eukarya
[eukaryotes]). The gray box approximates
the molecular diversity of multicellular
organisms as measured by small-subunit
rRNA

(Grogan, 2012)
 PROKARYOTIC CYTOLOGY
Cells of the simplest structural type have only a nucleoid, a cytoplasm and a
cytoplasmic membrane

• FIGURE 50.3 Examples of prokaryotic cellular structure. The

limited range of cellular complexity found among prokaryotic cells
has been represented in this diagram by four structural types.
• I: The minimal cell includes only a nucleoid, cytoplasm and
cytyoplasmic membrane (CM).
• II. Most archaea (A) have an additional S-layer (SL), composed of
glycoprotein subunits, providing external structural support for
the cell membrane, whereas Gram-positive bacteria (B) have a
thick cell wall (CW) composed of peptidoglycan.
• III. Gram-negative bacteria have a thin cell wall sandwiched
between the CM and a second diffusional barrier, the outer
membrane (OM).
• IV. Gram-negative photosynthetic bacteria produce a system of
intracytoplasmic membranes (ICM). These contain specialized
light-harvesting pigments and may be topologically continuous
with each other and the CM.
(Grogan, 2012)
 Nucleoid
• Nuclear region or nucleoid convoluted region near the
center of the cell
• The prokaryotic chromosome consists of a single circular
DNA of several million base-pairs.
• This DNA is neither confined within a nucleus nor evenly
dispersed throughout the cytoplasm.
• It eplicates and partitions into daughter cells during
growth and cell division, and maintains its compacted
form despite ongoing replication, transcription and repair
• Cations, including Mg2+, spermidine and other
polyamines and small “histone-like” proteins contribute
to this DNA in vivo condensation.
 Cytoplasm
• All other components of the cell interior are
collectively termed the cytoplasm.
• Cytoplasmic Membrane (CM) a unit membrane
called the cytoplasmic (cell) membrane (CM)
which chemically separates the cytosol and
nucleoid from the external environment.
• Highly concentrated and probably quite viscous.
• consists primarily of metabolic enzymes and
ribosomes, reflecting the central importance of
rapid growth for prokaryotic organisms.
• Prokaryotic cells have no diffusional barriers
segregating the sources of energy, raw material,
and sequence information needed for DNA,
RNA, and protein synthesis, and the small
dimensions of the cell ensure that diffusion is
extremely rapid.
• Transcription and translation are temporally and spatially coupled
• ribosomes begin “reading” the mRNA before the mRNA itself has been
completed and released from the transcription complex. This coupling
not only supports rapid growth, but also provides uniquely prokaryotic
modes of genetic regulation, as demonstrated by the phenomenon
called attenuation.
• In this regulatory mechanism, adequate levels of particular amino acids
lead to disruption of the normally tight coupling between ribosome and
RNA polymerase as it begins to transcribe the corresponding amino acid
biosynthetic genes.
• This transient uncoupling, in turn, causes RNA polymerase to terminate
transcription before it reaches the biosynthetic genes, thereby avoiding
wasteful overproduction of the corresponding enzymes (Yanofsky and
Crawford, 1987).
An E. coli cell adapted to
growth in simple glucose
medium at 37 ~ contains
about 19 000 ribosomes.
The ribosomes, transfer
RNA, and various
translation factors
together account for
nearly half of the total cell
mass; this high ribosomal
content enables the E. coli
cell to reproduce itself
every 40 min under these
conditions (Neidhardt et
al., 1990).
Electron micrograph (ultrathin
section) of a bacterial cell. An E.
coli cell is shown that has been
engulfed by a macrophage and is
in the late stages of cell division.
The nucleoid is visible as a clear
zone in each of the nascent
daughter cells. The arrowhead
shows a region in which the
three-layer structure of the gram-
negative cell envelope can be
seen. (Photograph courtesy of A.
J. Mukkada.)
 Membranes
• Properties, permeability,
“function“
• Building blocks
• Differences between
Bacteria, Archaea,
Eukarya
• Thickness 2.5 + 3 + 2.5 = 8
nm
• Sidedness: defined by the
proteins
• Semi-permeable
• Stands a membrane
potential of 160 mV
• Permeable for uncharged
small molecules
• Impermeable for the rest,
if not mediated by
transport proteins
Membrane Building
Blocks
 Cell wall
• Properties, permeability, “function“
• Building blocks
• composed of a covalently cross-linked polymer,
called peptidoglycan or murein (The repeating unit
(two amino sugars linked via b-1,4 glycosidic
bonds) is linked to form linear glycan chains, which
are joined at frequent intervals by peptide bridges)
• Differences between Bacterial groups and Archaea
• Pressure resistant (20 atm osmotic (turgor)
pressure)
• Shaping the cell
• Not a barrier for diffusing molecules
Lipopolysaccharides typical for the cell wall of Gram-
negative bacteria
 S-Layer
• Some archaea synthesize a polymeric cell wall material similar to
peptidoglycan, called surface- (S-) layers, it can be very strong
structurally, despite the fact that they form by non-covalent
association of individual subunits.

• S-layers are the outermost component of the cell wall of many

bacteria and most of archaea.

• S-layer proteins form natural twodimensional protein crystals

covering the cell completely and confering stability in addition to
other structures of the cell envelope.
 Cell surface structures
- Flagella, Fimbriae

Spiroch(a)ete and Spirilli

- Capsules

- Spores