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The chemical structure of the outer membrane's lipopolysaccharide is often unique to specific bacterial sub-species and is responsible for many of the antigenic properties of these strains. In addition to the peptidoglycan layer the Gram-negative cell wall also contains an additional outer membrane composed of phospholipids and ...
The outer membranes of a bacterium can contain a huge number of proteins. In E. Coli for example there are around 500,000 in the membrane. [5] Bacterial outer membrane proteins typically have a unique beta barrel structure that spans the membrane. The beta barrels fold to expose a hydrophobic surface before their insertion into the outer membrane.
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 ...
LPS is the most abundant antigen on the cell surface of most gram-negative bacteria, contributing up to 80% of the outer membrane of E. coli and Salmonella. [2] LPS increases the negative charge of the cell membrane and helps stabilize the overall membrane structure. It is of crucial importance to many gram-negative bacteria, which die if the ...
As shown in the figure to the right, the periplasmic space in gram-negative or diderm bacteria is located between the inner and outer membrane of the cell. The periplasm contains peptidoglycan and the membranes that enclose the periplasmic space contain many integral membrane proteins, which can participate in cell signaling.
There are two basic types of transmembrane proteins: [4] alpha-helical and beta barrels. Alpha-helical proteins are present in the inner membranes of bacterial cells or the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells, and sometimes in the bacterial outer membrane. [5] This is the major category of transmembrane proteins.
The outer red layer in this diagram is the capsule, which is distinct from the cell envelope. This bacterium is gram-positive, as its cell envelope comprises a single cell membrane (orange) and a thick peptidoglycan-containing cell wall (purple). The bacterial capsule is a large structure common to many bacteria. [1]
Sixteen- or eighteen-stranded up-and-down beta barrel structures occur in porins, which function as transporters for ions and small molecules that cannot diffuse across a cellular membrane. Such structures appear in the outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria, chloroplasts, and mitochondria.