Topic 3 PPT

Cells – Prokaryotes in
Particular
 Outline
• Characteristics of life
• Two types of cells
• Size, Shape, and Arrangements of
Prokaryotic Cells
• Parts of a Prokaryotic Cell
– External
– Cell Membrane
– Internal
 Characteristics of life?
• Made of cells
– Has DNA for storage and transmission of genetic information
• Metabolism
– Takes in nutrients, uses enzymes, creates energy (ATP), and
excretes waste
• Reproduction
– Asexually or sexually
• Growth and development
• Movement and/or irritability
– respond to internal/external stimuli; self-propulsion of many
organisms
• Cell support, protection, and storage mechanisms
– cell walls, vacuoles, granules and inclusions
Characteristics of Life

4
 Cells
• Cell Theory of Life
– “All life is composed of cells and all cells can carry out
the basic life processes (metabolism and
reproduction).”
• Two types of Cells:
• Prokaryotic Cells
– lack nucleus and other membrane-bound structures
(organelles)
– Domains of Archaea and Bacteria are both
prokarytotes
• Eukaryotic Cells
– have a nucleus and organelles
– Domain of Eukarya or eukaryotes
– Includes protozoa/protists, fungi, helminthes, and
algae
 Before moving on…
• Brainstorm what you know about
prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
– What is the same?
– What is different?
• Can you diagram it? See the next slide
for an example.
Anything that is unique to eukaryotes would go in the
left circle. Anything unique to prokaryotes in the right
circle. Any structures, processes, or traits they share
would go in the portion that intersects in the middle.
 Similarities between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
(these would go in the middle portion of your circles)
• DNA
• the genetic material, made up of A, T, C, and G, and arranged in a double helix
• Plasma membrane
• a phospholipid bilayer with proteins that separates the cell from the surrounding
environment and functions as a selective barrier for the import and export of
materials
• Cytoplasm
• the rest of the material of the cell within the plasma membrane, excluding the
nucleoid region or nucleus, that consists of a fluid portion called the cytosol and
the organelles and other particulates suspended in it
• Ribosomes
• the organelles on which protein synthesis takes place
• Reproduction
• Both make exact copies of themselves
• Metabolism
• Both obtain nutrients, make energy, and expel waste
• Ability to maintain internal homeostasis
Differences Between Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic Cells (these
would go in one circle or the other)

• DNA location
– Prokaryotes have a central region called the nuclear region where genetic
material is concentrated, but not bound by a membrane
– Eukaryotes have a membrane bound organelle called the nucleus that contains
the genetic material

• DNA structure
– Prokaryotes have a singular, circular chromosome
– Eukaryotes have multiple, linear, paired chromosomes

• DNA storage (histone proteins)

– Present in Eukaryotic cells due to the massive amount of genetic material
present. Histones help condense it so it fits in the nucleus.
– Not present in Prokaryotes

• Extrachromosomal DNA
– Present in the mitochondria and chloroplasts of Eukaryotic cells.
– Present in plasmids in prokaryotic cells.
 More Differences Between
Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic Cells

• Cell Walls
• Found in Prokaryotic cells and made of peptidoglycan. Helps
the cell maintain shape and avoid lysis via osmosis.
• Found in some Eukaryotic cells like plants (cellulose) and fungi
(chitin). Absent in animal cells.

• Locomotion
• Some Prokaryotes are mobile via one or more flagella. The
flagella are thin and rotate like a propeller.
• Some Eukaryotes are mobile via flagella. The flagella are thick
and move side to side. Some eukaryotes have cilia.

• Reproduction
• Prokaryotes use binary fission.
• Eukaryotes use mitosis and meiosis.
 How many similarities and
differences did you come up with?

• Did you miss some that are on the list?

– Add them to your diagram.
• Did you come up with some that are not
on the list?
– Nice job!
• For many students, reading the information alone (in the form of a
textbook or PPT) is not enough for them to learn the information. Try to
organize the information in a way that lets you see the connections (like
the activity you just completed) to help you better understand the
material.
 Size of Prokaryotes
• prokaryotes are the smallest of all organisms

• they typically range 0.5 – 2.0 µm in diameter and 1.0 – 60 µm in

length (Note: 1 µm = 1 millionth of a meter)

• In Microbiology there is often

an exception to the general
rule!
• Most prokaryotes are very
small, but Epulopiscium
fishelsoni is huge in
comparison. (Compare its
size to the E. coli cell
pictured.)
• It is a bacterial symbiont of
sturgeon fish (80 µm in
diameter and 600 µm in
length.
Relative Size of Living Things
Magnification
 Why are prokaryotes so small?

SA/
V=6

SA/V=3
SA/V = 1.5

Small size is an advantage!

A larger Surface Area (SA) to Volume (V) ratio = easier diffusion of nutrients
in to any part of the cell and quick diffusion of waste products out of the cell.
 Bacterial Shapes

– Coccus – spherical
– Bacillus – rod
– Coccobacillus – very short and plump (too
long to be a cocci, too short to be a bacilli)
– Vibrio – gently curved, comma shaped
– Spirillum – helical, twisted rod, rigid
– Spirochete – spring-like, flexible

16
Common bacterial shapes

17
 Pleomorphism
• Variation in cell shape
and size within a
single species

• Bacteria of the genus

Mycoplasma are
noted for their
pleomorphism
– they lack a cell wall to
hold a single shape

18
 Bacterial Arrangements
• Arrangements happen when the cell walls of
bacteria remain attached following binary fission
(reproduction).
• There is no exchange of cytoplasm or other
materials between the connected cells.
• Cocci:
• Singles – no arrangement
• Pairs - diplococci
• Groups of four - tetrads
• Irregular cluster - staphylococci
• Chains - streptococci
• Cubical packets - sarcina
– Bacilli:
• Singles – no arrangement
• Pairs - diplobacilli
• Chains - streptobacilli
19
What arrangement is this? (1)
• Neisseria (22,578X)

• Notice how the cells

are still attached via
the cell wall (yellow)
and how there is no
sharing of cytoplasm
(blue.)
 Streptococcus (9605X)
What arrangement is this? (2)
What arrangement is this? (3)
 What arrangement is this? (4)
• Bacilli divide only on the
axis of the narrow ends
• Sometimes they
separate and you have
random arrangement of
single bacilli.
• Sometimes they remain
attached in chains. Bacillus megaterum (10,000X)
• They never divide along
*Rods in chains
the wide sides – or Streptobacilli
therefore you will never
see a cluster of rods.
Medically Important Bacteria
Structure of a bacterial cell
An Overview of Structure of
bacterial cells
1. External Structures: Capsules, slime layers,
flagella, fimbriae, and pili
2. Cell envelope: cell wall and cell membrane
3. Internal structures: Cytoplasm with
ribosomes, nuclear region, and in some cases
granules and/or vesicles
 External Structures
• Appendages
• Those used for motility
– flagella
– axial filaments (periplasmic flagella)
• Those used for attachment or as channels
– fimbriae
– pili

• Glycocalyx – surface coating

• Capsules
• Slime layers
27
 Flagella
• How to classify them based on number
and location?
• What are they made of?
• How do they make a bacterial cell
move?
• Can a bacterial cell actually “steer” itself
towards something it wants?
 Naming Flagellar Arrangements
Monotrichous –
single flagellum
at one end
Lophotrichous –
small bunches
emerging from
the same site
Amphitrichous –
flagella at both
ends of cell
Peritrichous –
flagella
dispersed over
surface of cell
29
1. One polar flagellum located at one end or pole
Monotrichous flagella
= monotrichous flagellum

Pseudomonas (3,300X)
 Amphitrichous flagella
Spirillum (694X)
3. Two or more flaggela at one or both ends =
Lophotrichous flagella
Lophotrichous flagella
 4. Flagella all over the surface =
Peritrichous
Peritrichousflagella
flagella (1)

Salmonella (1200X)
Peritrichous flagella (2)
Atrichous
 Parts of the Flagella
• 3 parts:
– Filament – long, thin, helical structure composed of
protein flagellin
– Hook – curved sheath
– Basal body – stack of rings firmly anchored in cell wall

36
 Flagella movement (1)
• Bacterial flagella do not move side to side like
eukaryotic flagella do instead they rotate like
a spinning propeller
• When it rotates counter clockwise the
bacterium moves in a straight line referred to
as a “run”
• When it rotates clockwise it causes the
bacteria to “tumble” and change
diretionrandomly
• Usually bacteria move in a random run and
tumble pattern
• Very fast, about 10 body lengths/sec!
Flagella movement (2)
 Flagella movement (3)
• Sometimes flagellar movement is nonrandom
movement towards a chemical (Chemotaxis) or
towards light (Phototaxis)

• Substances often exist in gradients: areas of

higher to lower concentration
• Bacteria can sense these gradients by “counting”
the number of a particular substance that hit
receptors on the cell surface
 Flagella movement (4)
• If the substance is desirable such as
nutrient it is called an attractant and the
bacterium will move towards it.
• If the substance is harmful, it is
considered a repellent and the
bacterium will move away from it.
• The bacterium cannot steer itself in one
direction or another. Rather it continues
to “run” if it is going in a favorable
direction or initiates a “tumble” if it is
going in an unfavorable direction.
 Flagella movement (5)
• What do you
notice about the
bacterium in
each of the three
conditions?

– Is there net
movement to one
side or the other?

– When does the

bacteria “run” for
a longer period of
time?
– What makes it
“tumble?”
Axial Filaments or Periplasmic
Flagella
• Found in spirochetes
• Attached to cell membrane at each end
of the cytoplasmic cylinder that forms
the body between the cell wall and an
outer sheath
• Twisting action causes the rigid body to
rotate like a corkscrew
Axial filaments or Endoflagella

Leptospira interrogans (50,000X)

Cross section of Axial Filaments
• Fine, proteinaceous, Fimbriae
hair-like bristles
emerging from the cell
surface
• Function in adhesion
to other cells and
surfaces
• Makes bacteria more
dangerous as they are
able to adhere and
colonize a surface
instead of being
washed away by
mucous, urine, etc. 45
 E. coli (14,300X)
Conjugation
Pili
• Attach two cells and form
a pathway for the transfer
of genetic material
(conjugation)
• Found only in gram-
negative cells
• Leads to genetic variety
• Problematic for us
because this is one of the
ways antibiotic resistance
genes are spread among
bacterial populations
 Glycocalyx
• Coating of molecules external to the cell wall,
made of sugars and/or proteins
• Two types:
1. Slime layer - loosely organized and attached
2. Capsule - highly organized, tightly attached

47
 Capsule
• Complex polysaccharide molecules arranged in a
loose gel
• Secreted by cell wall
• Only certain bacteria form capsules and may not
do so under all conditions
– I.e. outside a host Bacillus anthracis does not form a
capsule and inside a host it will
– Why???
– Because encapsulated bacteria are able to evade host
defense mechanisms (phagocytosis) because the
capsule covers up all the bacterial structures the
immune system would recognize as foreign
 Slime Layer
• Less tightly bound to the cell wall and is
usually thinner than a capsule
• Protects the cell against drying, traps
nutrients and binds cells together
(biofilm)
• Allows for adherence to rock surfaces
or root hairs of plants to keep them near
nutrients or oxygen
• Even allows for adherence to tooth
surfaces to cause plaque
 Biofilms
• The slime layer helps
Biofilms form. This
picture is of a biofilm
of bacteria growing on
tooth enamel.
• What is a biofilm?
How does the ability
to form a biofilm
makes a bacterial
species more virulent
(able to cause disease.)
 The Cell Envelope
• Under the capsule and the slime layer, external
covering outside the cytoplasm
• Composed of two basic layers:
– Cell wall and cell membrane
• Maintains cell integrity
• Two different groups of bacteria demonstrated by
Gram stain:
– Gram-positive bacteria: thick cell wall composed
primarily of peptidoglycan and cell membrane
– Gram-negative bacteria: outer cell membrane, thin
peptidoglycan layer, and cell membrane
51
 Prokaryotic Cell Wall
• Main functions
– Maintains characteristic shape of the cell
• I.e. if the cell wall is removed the cell will take on a spherical shape

– Prevents the cell from bursting from osmotic shock

• Osmotic shock is a sudden change in the solute concentration around a cell,
causing a rapid change in the movement of water across its cell membrane.
– Under conditions of high concentrations of either salts, substrates ,or any solute in the environment
surrounding the cell, water is drawn out of the cells through osmosis. This also inhibits the transport
of substrates and cofactors into the cell thus “shocking” the cell. Alternatively, at low concentrations
of solutes, water enters the cell in large amounts, causing it to swell and either burst or undergo
apoptosis.

– Does not regulate entry of materials into and out of the cell (job of
cell membrane)
• is rigid yet extremely porous

– Differences in the properties of cell walls result in different appearances

when stained and the ability to distinguish between G-, G+, and acid-fast
bacteria.
 Structure of
Cell Walls
• Peptidoglycan is the
primary component:
– Unique
macromolecule
composed of a
repeating framework
of long glycan chains
cross-linked by short
peptide fragments

– The Antibiotic penicillin is

effective because it interferes
with synthesis of peptidoglycan 53
components
 Gram-Positive Cell Wall
– thick peptidoglycan layer

– Includes teichoic acid and

lipoteichoic acid: function in
cell wall maintenance and
enlargement during cell division;
move cations across the cell
envelope; stimulate a specific
immune response

– Some cells have a periplasmic

space, between the cell
membrane and cell wall 54
 Gram-Negative Cell Wall
• Inner and outer membranes and
periplasmic space between
them contains a thin
peptidoglycan layer
• Outer membrane contains
lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
• Lipid portion (endotoxin) may
become toxic when released
during infections
• G- are less susceptible to
penicillin because this outer
membrane prevents against its
entry into the cell
• Contain porin proteins in upper
layer – regulate molecules
entering and leaving cell 55
 Structures of Gram-Positive and
Gram-Negative Bacterial Cell Walls

56
Another view of Gram-Positive and
Gram-Negative Bacterial Cell Walls
Comparison of Gram-Positive
and Gram-Negative Cell Walls

58
What does the cell wall tell us
about bacteria?

• Differential stains (I.e. the Gram Stain or

the acid fast stain) allow us to
differentiate between types of bacteria
based on differences in their structures
The Gram Stain (1)
The Gram Stain (2)
How does the Gram Stain work?

• G+ bacteria have very thick peptidoglycan and they retain

the crystal violet = purple
• G- bacteria have very thin walls of peptidoglycan lose the
crystal violet easily during the decolorization stage and are
counter-stained with safranin = red

• Very good stain…been around for 150 years!

• But some bacteria, gram-variable and acid-fast must be
stained using other methods
 Acid-fast bacteria
• Mycobacteria
– Have a different cell wall composition
• Thick like G+ bacteria
• 60% lipid (mycolic acid) and contains much less peptidoglycan
• These lipids make the bacteria highly impermeable to most stains as
well as protect them from acidic and alkali solutions
– Slow growers because this relatively impermiable membrane also
impedes entry of nutrients into the cell as well
– Acid fast staining uses carbolfuchsin which binds to the cytoplasm
then resists removal upon addition of an acidic solution

– Why is it so important to have a difinitive way to identify these

organisms?
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae are both acid-fast
bacteria that cause serious disease in humans.
Acid Fast Cell Wall
Acid Fast Stain
Wall-Deficient Organisms
• Bacteria that belong to the genus Mycoplasma
have no cell walls

• Protected from osmotic swelling and bursting by

a strengthened cell membrane that contains
sterols

• One example of a sterol is cholesterol. Animal

cells also use this molecule to strengthen their
cell membranes.
 Practice
• Draw the cell membrane and all parts of
the cell wall of the following bacterial
types:
– Gram-positive
– Gram-negative
– Acid-fast
 Selective Toxicity

• Antibiotics can have selective toxicity – meaning

they are harmful to micorbes without causing damage
to the host. Typically this is due to them affecting a
structure that is present in microbes and absent in
the host.
– Penicillin inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis and therefore
prevents dividing bacteria from making a functional cell wall
and they die from osmotic shock.
– Can penicillin be harmful to humans? Do you consider this
drug to have good selective toxicity?
 Prokaryotic Cell Membrane
• Phospholipid bilayer with
embedded proteins
• Represented by the
fluid mosaic model
• Functions in:
– Providing site for
energy reactions,
nutrient processing,
and synthesis
– Passage of nutrients
into the cell and
discharge of wastes
– Cell membrane is
selectively permeable
69
• Phospholipids (keeps Selective
anything besides Permeability
gasses and water from
getting into or out of
the cell)
• Hydrophilic (water-
loving), polar, phosphate
head group
• Hydrophobic (water-
fearing), non-polar fatty
acid chains as tails
• Proteins serve as
gates to allow nutrients
in and wastes out
 Inside a Prokaryotic Cell
• Cytoplasm
• Ribosomes
• Nucleoid
– Chromosome
– Plasmids
• Storage Structures
• Cytoskeleton
• Endospores
 Cytoplasm
• Semi-fluid substance inside the plasma
membrane
• 4/5 water
• 1/5 materials dissolved or suspended
• Enzymes and other proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Inorganic ions
• Site of many chemical reactions
 Bacterial Ribosome
– Site of protein synthesis
– Found in all cells
– Made of 60% ribosomal RNA
and 40% protein
– Consist of two subunits: large
and small
– Prokaryotic ribosomes differ
from eukaryotic ribosomes in
size and number of proteins
• Some antibiotics, streptomycin
and erythromycin, disrupt
bacterial protein synthesis by
binding to the 70S prokaryotic
ribosomes but leaving the 80S
eukaryotic ribosomes unaffected.
 Nucleoid
• Chromosome
– Single, circular, double-
stranded DNA molecule that
contains all the genetic
information required by a cell

• Plasmids
– Free small circular, double-
stranded DNA
– Not essential to bacterial
growth and metabolism
– Used in genetic engineering -
readily manipulated and
transferred from cell to cell
 Bacterial Internal Storage (1)
• Inclusions and granules
– Intracellular storage bodies
– Vary in size, number, and content
– Bacterial cell can use them when environmental
sources are depleted

75
Bacterial Internal Storage (2)
– 1. Granules
• Not membrane-bound
• Materials so densely compacted that they do not easily
dissolve in cytoplasm
• I.e. glycogen, phosphate
– 2. Inclusions
• Specialized membrane enclosed structures
• I.e. gas vacuole used by aquatic organisms to regulate
depth at which they float and therefore intensity of light
that reaches them
• I.e. containing the lipid p-B-hydroxygutyrate which is
used as an energy store
• I.e. containing iron (magnetosomes) enable the bacteria
to respond to the earth’s magnetic fields
Spores -Sporulation cycle

77
 Endospores (1)
• Dehydrated, metabolically inactive
• Spore-formation is induced following nutrient
depletion
– Can also be found to occur in normal conditions and may
be a way that the bacteria hold troops in reserve so as
not to be wiped out by sudden onset of poor conditions
• Resistant to ordinary cleaning methods and boiling
– Pressurized steam at 120oC for 20-30 minutes will
destroy
• Some common spore forming bacteria are Bacillus
species and Clostridium species
• Are you familiar with Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium tetani,
Clostridium botulinum, and Clostridium difficile?
• How does the ability to form spores make these organisms more 78
dangerous to humans?
 Endospores (2)
• NOTE: bacterial endospores are not the
same as fungal spores which are means of
reproduction, endospores are a means of
survival
 Activity:
Can you name each structure? Can you briefly
describe its function? You may want to organize the
information in a table for study purposes.
 How are prokaryotes and eukaryotes related?

• The first prokaryote appeared approximately 3.5 billion years ago

• The first eukaryote appeared approximately 1.7-2.2 billion years ago

• What led to this increase in cellular complexity???

– Evidence suggests that large prokaryotes engulfed smaller

prokaryotes, lived together with them in symbiosis creating
a larger, more complex eukaryotic cell.

– This is called the Endosymbiotic Theory and was proposed

by Lynn Margulis in the 1960s. (Read 5.1 Making
Connections in your textbook on page 124) 81
 The Endosymbiotic Theory
• The term "endosymbiosis" means "to cooperate inside".
– Advantage to the smaller cell is…protection. No other cells will engulf (and digest!) them.
– Advantage to the larger cells is…the smaller cells produce energy which can be used by the larger cells.
• The smaller cells were likely what we know of as mitochondria and chloroplasts today.
– Both of these organelles have their own DNA and their own ribosomes. The DNA is in a single circular
chromosome and the ribosomes are 70S. (Remind you of prokaryotic DNA and ribosomes?)
– In fact, the DNA in the chloroplast is very similar to photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria. The DNA in
the mitochondria is most like that of the bacteria that causes typhus.
– Both of these organelles divide inside the eukaryotic cell independently of the cell cycle in a process that looks
very similar to binary fission. (Remind you of prokaryotic cell division?)
• When the larger cell that had engulfed the smaller cells went to divide, copies of the smaller
prokaryotes inside were made and passed down to the daughter cells. Eventually, the smaller
prokaryotes that had been engulfed adapted and evolved into some of the organelles we know of
today in eukaryotic cells like the mitochondria and chloroplasts.
• Other organelles eventually arose from these first organelles, including the nucleus where the DNA in
a eukaryote is housed, the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi Apparatus. In the modern eukaryotic
cell, these parts are known as membrane bound organelles. They still do not appear in prokaryotic
cells like bacteria and archaea, but are present in all organisms classified under the Eukarya domain.
 What do you think?

• Is the
endosymbiotic
theory a
plausible
explanation for
the appearance
of eukaryotic
cells on earth?