BIOL 226 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Genetic Recombination, Sulfolobus, Nucleoid
2 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
Structural and functional adaptations contribute to prokaryotic success. Rapid reproduction, mutation, and genetic recombination promote genetic diversity in prokaryotes. Diverse nutritional and metabolic adaptations have evolved in prokaryotes. Prokaryotes have both beneficial and harmful impacts on humans. Cell wall: maintains cell shape, protects the cell, prevents cell from bursting in hypotonic environment. In hypertonic environment cells most prokaryotic cells lose water and shrink away from their cell wall (plasmolyze), like other walled cells. Thus, salt can be used to preserve foods because it causes prokaryotes to lose water, preventing them from rapidly multiplying. The cell walls of prokaryotes differ in structure from those in eukaryotes. In eukaryotes that have cell walls (i. e. plants and fungi), walls are usually made of cellulose and chitin: bacterial cell walls contain peptidoglycan, archaeal cell walls contain a variety of polysaccharides and proteins but lack peptidoglycan. A polymer composed of modified sugars cross-linked by short polypeptides.
