Lecture 5 Flashcards
(33 cards)
Glycocalyx
also known as extracellular polymeric substance or the slime layer.
It is often described as gel-like, viscous, mucilaginous and slimy. Can be up to 10 micrometers in diameter. It is made internally and excreted by the cell.
capsule
Glycocalyx when well organized and firmly attached it is called a capsule
Glycocalyx Possible functions
Protective-against drying; against phagocytosis
May act as a food reservoir
May be a sloppy method of waste disposal
May be a combination of the above
Protective-against drying; against phagocytosis
Phagocytic immune cells such as monocytes and neutrophils cannot engulf a bacterial cell that has become too enlarged due to a capsule layer. Therefore, the capsule can contribute to causing virulence.
Is the capsule essential to life
The capsule is not essential to life. A cell can lose a capsule without an effect on growth or reproduction. However, loss of capsules may cause loss of virulence.
Colonies of capsule positive bacteria
are often mucoid and shiny (smooth)
Capsules are associated with immunologic specificity
This means that specific antibodies can
attach to capsular material. (Capsular material can be antigenic)
The Quellung reaction is utilized to identify one of the bacterial etiologic agents of pneumonia (Streptococcus
pneumoniae). Specific antibodies are used to target this organism’s capsule. This will cause swelling and make these bacteria highly recognizable under the microscope for purposes of
identification
Chemically, most capsules are
polysaccharides
Klebsiella pneumoniae
a Gram negative rod that can cause pneumonia and Bacillus anthracis a Gram positive rod that causes anthrax, are examples of bacteria that produce capsules
Flagella
(singular flagellum)-Whip-like appendages that provide a mechanism for motility. They are thin (below the resolution of the light microscope-approximately 0.02 micrometers
wide)
A mordant
(any additive that intensifies a staining reaction) will precipitate upon the flagella to enlarge this structure. A stain is then used for visualization under the light microscope.
Flagella in prokaryotes
are simple in structure. They are made up of repeating units of a single type of protein. Flagella can be used to help classify bacteria.
Atrichous flagellation
organisms without flagella
Unitrichous flagellation
organisms with one (usually polar) flagellum
Amphitrichous (bipolar) flagellation
organisms with flagella at both ends of the cell
Lophotrichous flagellation
organisms that have tufts (two or more) of flagella
Peritrichous flagellation
organisms that have flagella distributed over the entire cell. Members of the genus Proteus display this. When grown on a plate, they sometimes become “swarmers” where they can spread out across the entire plate.
Axial filaments
structure for motility found in Spirochetes. They are positioned from one pole to the other within the cell. They are flexible and can contract and then spring forward. They are simple in structure like flagella
Fimbriae (singular fimbria), Pili (singular pilus)
- hairlike appendages that are shorter and thinner than flagella. They are used for attachment and transfer of DNA. There can be hundreds on a cell.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae has
has fimbriae (pili) which it uses to attach to the urethral lining and therefore stay anchored during urination.
Pili may cause and may serve as
bacterial cells to stick to each other.
The appearance of membranes (thin films on broth surfaces), pellicles (thick, tough films on broth surfaces) and floc’s (rafts of cells in broth media) can be explained by the presence of pili.
A sex pilus may attach two bacteria together (conjugation) for purposes of conveying genetic (DNA) material. Pili may serve as receptor sites for viruses.
Cell wall-provides bacteria with
shape and protection from lysis during osmotic imbalances
Prokaryotic cell walls are
more complex than the cell walls found in eukaryote cells that have cell walls (plant cell walls for example are made up of cellulose)
Gram positive cell walls
are thicker yet less complex than Gram negative cell walls.