MOTHER PATERN COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Morphology and Physiology of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
YEAR III
BIO 310
Microbiology
Snoyonoh T. Barcon, MPH, BSc. Course lecturer
Paul Z. Seamehn, BSc Biology
Biology Department
Objectives
By the end of this lecture, students will be able to know:
• Differentiate Prokarya and Eukarya
• Describes their structures (internal and external)
• How they function as cell
• Compare and contrast Prokarya and Eukarya
• Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Overview of Cell
• Cells are the basic structural
and functional unit of life
• Basically there are types of
cells:
- Prokarya
- Eukarya
Prokaryotic Cell
• Prokaryotic cells are cells
without a nucleus.
• Single cell
• The DNA in prokaryotic cells
are not enclosed
• Bacteria and Archaea are
prokaryotic cells.
• Lack membrane-bound
cellular compartments, such as
nuclei
Cell Membrane or Plasma Membrane: surrounds the
cell's cytoplasm and regulates the flow of substances in
and out of the cell.
• Flagella: are long, whip-like protrusions or
projections that aid in cellular locomotion.
• Cytoplasm: is a gel-like substance composed
mainly of water that also contains enzymes, salts,
cell components, and various organic molecules.
• Ribosomes: are cell structures responsible for
protein production.
• Nucleoid Region: Area of the cytoplasm that
contains the single bacterial DNA molecule.
• The Golgi apparatus, or Golgi complex, functions as a
factory in which proteins received from the ER are
further processed and sorted for transport to their
eventual destinations: lysosomes, the plasma
membrane, or secretion.
• Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell
organelles that generate most of the chemical
energy needed to power the cell's biochemical
reactions
Eukaryotic Cell Structure
Similarities Between Prokarya & Eukarya
• Both possess cell membranes
and ribosomes
• Have cell wall
• Both use deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) as the basis for
their genetic information
• Contain Cytoplasm
• Carry out Cell division
Differences Between Eukarya & Prokarya
Cell size
• Eukaryotic (10 – 100um)
• prokaryotic cells (1 – 10um)
Cell arrangement
• Eukaryotes: multicellular &
Unicellular (Ex: yeast)
• Prokaryotes: unicellular
True membrane-bound nucleus
• Eukaryotes: Yes
• Prokaryotes: No
Differences Between Eukarya & Prokarya
DNA structure
• Eukaryotic DNA is linear and complexed with packaging
proteins called "histones“
• Prokaryotic DNA is circular and is neither associated with
“histones” nor organized into chromosomes
Cytoskeleton
• This is a multicomponent system in eukaryotes:
o Microtubules
o Actin filaments
o Intermediate filaments
Differences Between Eukarya & Prokarya
Reproduction
• Eukaryotes: Both asexual
and sexual
• Prokaryotes: Asexual
Cell division
• This occurs by mitosis for
eukaryotic cells and binary
fission for prokaryotic cells.
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Bacteria Overview
• Bacteria are microbes with
a cell structure simpler than
that of many other
organisms
• Consist of one biological
cell (Prokaryote)
• Bacteria are found
everywhere
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Nucleoid
• Prokaryotes have no true nuclei;
instead they package their DNA
in a structure known as the
nucleoid
• Nucleoid-associated proteins exist
in bacteria and are distinct from
histones in eukaryotic chromatin
• The nucleoid of most bacterial
cells consists of a single
continuous circular molecule
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Cytoplasmic Structures
• Prokaryotic cells lack autonomous
plastids such as mitochondria and
chloroplasts
• The electron transport enzymes are
localized instead in the
cytoplasmic membrane
• The photosynthetic pigments
(carotenoids, bacteriochlorophyll)
of photosynthetic bacteria are
contained in intracytoplasmic
membrane
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
• Bacteria often store reserve materials in the
form of insoluble granules
• These so-called inclusion bodies almost
always function in the storage of energy or as
a reservoir of structural building blocks
• All of the other structures formed within the
Cytoplasm
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Ribosome
• The most numerous
intracellular structure in most
bacteria
• The site of protein synthesis
• All prokaryotes have 70S
ribosomes
• The 70S are completely
ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Cell Envelope
• Prokaryotic cells are
surrounded by complex
envelope layers
• These structures protect the
organisms from hostile
environment: chemicals,
antibiotics
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Plasma Membrane
• Also called the bacterial cytoplasmic
membrane
• It is a typical “unit membrane” composed of
phospholipids and upward of 200 different
proteins
• Lacks sterols but contain hopanoids
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
• Selective permeability and transport of solutes
• Excretion
• Contain enzymes and carrier molecules
• Bear receptors and other proteins of the
chemotactic and other sensory transduction
systems
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Cell Wall
• Provides osmotic protection
• The bacterial cell wall owes its strength to a
layer composed of a substance variously
referred to as:
murein
mucopeptide
peptidoglycan
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Peptidoglycan Layer
• Peptidoglycan is a complex polymer with backbone
of: N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic
acid
• β1→4 linkages
• Diaminopimelic acid is also in cell wall
• Bacteria owe their shapes, which are characteristic
of particular species, to their cell wall structure
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Gram-Positive Cell Walls
• Also called “Thick Layer”
• Most Gram-positive cell walls contain
considerable amounts of teichoic and
teichuronic acids
• Some Gram-positive walls may contain
polysaccharide molecules
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Gram-Negative Cell Walls
• Also called “Thin Layer”
• Gram-negative cell walls contain three components that
lie outside of the peptidoglycan layer: outer membrane,
lipopolysaccharide, and lipoprotein
The outer membrane
• The outer membrane is chemically distinct from all other
biological membranes
• It is a bilayer structure; its inner leaflet resembles in
composition that of the cell membrane
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
• Outer leaflet contains a distinctive component,
a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
• The outer membrane is hydrophilic
• Contains porins
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)
• The LPS of Gram-negative cell walls consists of a
complex glycolipid, called lipid A
• The lipid A component is embedded in the outer leaflet
• LPS, which is extremely toxic to animals, has been
called the endotoxin
• Gram-negative bacteria because it is firmly bound to the
cell surface and is released only when the cells lysis
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Lipoprotein
• Molecules of a lipoprotein cross-link the outer membrane
and peptidoglycan layers
• The lipoprotein contains 57 amino acids
• Representing repeats of a 15-amino-acid sequence
• Lipoprotein is numerically the most abundant protein of
Gram-negative cells
• Its function is to stabilize the outer membrane and anchor it
to the peptidoglycan layer.
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Crystalline Surface Layers
• Is in many bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-
negative bacteria
• It is a subunit-type layer lattice of protein or
glycoprotein molecules as the outermost
component of the cell envelope
• S-layer proteins are resistant to proteolytic
enzymes and protein-denaturing agents
• The function of the S-layer is uncertain but is
probably protective
• It also plays a role in the maintenance of cell shape
in some species
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
The Mycoplasmas
• Are cells wall-lacking
bacteria containing no
peptidoglycan
Ex: Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Capsule and Glycocalyx
• The terms capsule and slime layer are frequently used to describe
polysaccharide layers
• Glycocalyx is defined as the polysaccharide containing material
lying outside the cell
• A condensed (capsule)
• Those loosely associated with the cell (slime layer)
• The glycocalyx plays a role in the adherence
• Form biofilms
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Flagella
• Bacterial flagella are thread-like appendages composed entirely of
protein
• They are the organs of locomotion for the forms that possess them
• Four types of arrangement are known:
1. monotrichous (single polar flagellum)
2. lophotrichous (multiple polar flagella)
3. amphitrichous (single flagellum found at each of two opposite
poles)
4. peritrichous (multiple flagella distributed over the entire cell)
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Pili (Fimbriae)
• Many Gram-negative bacteria possess surface appendages
called pili (L “hairs”) or fimbriae (L “fringes”)
• They are shorter and thinner than flagella
• Are composed of structural protein subunits termed pilins
• Minor proteins termed adhesins are located at the tips of pili
and are responsible for the attachment properties
• Ordinary pili and Sex pili are the two types
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Cell Division
• Most bacteria divide by binary fission into two equal
progeny cells
• Cells elongate and then form a partition that eventually
separates the cell into two daughter cells
• The partition is referred to as a septum
• Although bacteria lack a mitotic spindle, the septum is
formed in such a way as to separate the two sister
chromosomes formed by chromosomal replication
Bacterial Anatomy: Structure and Functions
Cell Groupings
• If the cells remain temporarily attached after division,
certain characteristic groupings result
• Depending on the plane of division and the number of
divisions through which the cells remain attached:
• the following may occur in the coccal forms chains
(streptococci), pairs (diplococci), cubical bundles
(sarcinae), grape-like clusters (staphylococci), or flat
plates
• Rods may form pairs or chains
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