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The cell wall is important for cell division, which, in most bacteria, occurs by binary fission. This process usually requires a cell wall and components of the bacterial cytoskeleton such as FtsZ. The ability of L-form bacteria and mycoplasmas to grow and divide in the absence of both of these structures is highly unusual, and may represent a ...
The secondary cell wall, a thick layer formed inside the primary cell wall after the cell is fully grown. It is not found in all cell types. It is not found in all cell types. Some cells, such as the conducting cells in xylem , possess a secondary wall containing lignin , which strengthens and waterproofs the wall.
According to some definitions, the term is used to describe Gram-negative bacteria. [3] [4] According to other definitions, the term also encompasses yeasts. [5] [6] The name spheroplast stems from the fact that after the microbe's cell wall is digested, membrane tension causes the cell to acquire a characteristic spherical shape. [4]
The cell envelope is composed of the cell membrane and the cell wall. As in other organisms, the bacterial cell wall provides structural integrity to the cell. In prokaryotes , the primary function of the cell wall is to protect the cell from internal turgor pressure caused by the much higher concentrations of proteins and other molecules ...
The bacterial cell wall differs from that of all other organisms by the presence of peptidoglycan (poly-N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid), which is located immediately outside of the cytoplasmic membrane. Peptidoglycan is responsible for the rigidity of the bacterial cell wall and for the determination of cell shape. It is ...
Sarcina cells, for example, are arranged in cubical pockets because cell division alternates regularly among the three perpendicular planes. Streptococcus spp. resemble a string of beads because division always occurs in the same plane. Some of these strings, for example, S. pneumoniae, are only two cells long.
Protoplast (from Ancient Greek πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos) 'first-formed'), is a biological term coined by Hanstein in 1880 to refer to the entire cell, excluding the cell wall. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Protoplasts can be generated by stripping the cell wall from plant , [ 3 ] bacterial , [ 4 ] [ 5 ] or fungal cells [ 5 ] [ 6 ] by mechanical ...
Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.