BIO153H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 27: Anabaena, Euryarchaeota, Agrobacterium Tumefaciens
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Concept 27. 1: structural and functional adaptations contribute to prokaryotic success. Prokaryotes have a variety of distinctive shapes and are unicellular, though the cells of some species remain attached to each other after cell division are well orga(cid:374)ized, a(cid:272)hie(cid:448)i(cid:374)g all of a(cid:374) orga(cid:374)is(cid:373)"s life fu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374)s (cid:449)ithi(cid:374) a si(cid:374)gle (cid:272)ell. In a hypertonic environment (the cell has more water than the environment), most prokaryotes lose water and shrink away from their wall (plasmolyze) Water losses can inhibit cell reproduction, so salt can be used to preserve food because it causes prokaryotes to lose water, preventing them from rapidly multiplying. Most bacterial cells walls contain peptidoglycan, a polymer composed of modified sugars cross-linked by short polypeptides. It encloses the entire bacterium and anchors other molecules that extend from its surface. Archaeal cell walls contain a variety of polysaccharides and proteins but lack peptidoglycan. Gram staining can help scientists classify many bacterial species into two groups based on cell wall composition.
