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Archaea and bacteria have generally similar cell structure, but cell composition and organization set the archaea apart. Like bacteria, archaea lack interior membranes and organelles. [68] Like bacteria, the cell membranes of archaea are usually bounded by a cell wall and they swim using one or more flagella. [119]
While bacterial cells often have many flagellar filaments, each of which rotates independently, the archaeal flagellum is composed of a bundle of many filaments that rotates as a single assembly. Bacterial flagella grow by the addition of flagellin subunits at the tip; archaeal flagella grow by the addition of subunits to the base.
The archaellum (pl.: archaella; formerly archaeal flagellum) is a unique structure on the cell surface of many archaea that allows for swimming motility. The archaellum consists of a rigid helical filament that is attached to the cell membrane by a molecular motor. This molecular motor – composed of cytosolic, membrane, and pseudo-periplasmic ...
The bacterial cell wall differs from that of all other organisms by the presence of peptidoglycan which is located immediately outside of the cell membrane. Peptidoglycan is made up of a polysaccharide backbone consisting of alternating N-Acetylmuramic acid (NAM) and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) residues in equal amounts.
Many bacteria, such as Vibrio, are monoflagellated and have a single flagellum at one pole of the cell. Their method of chemotaxis is different. Others possess a single flagellum that is kept inside the cell wall. These bacteria move by spinning the whole cell, which is shaped like a corkscrew. [96]
Bacterial flagella are helical filaments, each with a rotary motor at its base which can turn clockwise or counterclockwise. [117] [118] [119] They provide two of several kinds of bacterial motility. [120] [121] Archaeal flagella are called archaella, and function in much the same way as bacterial
The recently elucidated archaeal flagellum, or archaellum, is analogous—but not homologous—to the bacterial one. In addition to no sequence similarity being detected between the genes of the two systems, the archaeal flagellum appears to grow at the base rather than the tip, and is about 15 nanometers (nm) in diameter rather than 20.
Spiral bacteria are another major bacterial cell morphology. [2] [30] [31] [32] Spiral bacteria can be sub-classified as spirilla, spirochetes, or vibrios based on the number of twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility. [33] Bacteria are known to evolve specific traits to survive in their ideal environment. [34]