Prokaryotic Cell Structure: The Cell Wall and Peptidoglycan

Learning Objectives for "Prokaryotic Cell Structure: The Peptidoglycan Cell Wall"

After completing this section you should be able to perform the following objectives.

1. State the 3 parts of a peptidoglycan monomer and state the function of peptidoglycan in bacteria.

2.* Briefly describe how bacteria synthesize peptidoglycan, indicating the roles of autolysins, bactoprenols, transglycosylases, and transpeptidases.

3. State what makes peptidoglycan so strong.

4. Briefly describe how antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins, and vancomycin affect bacteria and relate this to their cell wall synthesis.

5. State what color gram-positive bacteria stain after gram staining.

6. State what color gram-negative bacteria stain after gram staining.

7. State what color acid-fast bacteria stain after adid-fast staining.

Think-Pair-Share Questions

1. As we will see in Unit 2, the antibiotic bacitracin binds to bactoprenol after it inserts a peptidoglycan monomer into the growing bacterial cell wall.

Explain how this can lead to the death of that bacterium.

2. As we will see in Unit 2, the penicillin antibiotics binds to the bacterial enzyme transpeptidase.

a. Explain how this can lead to the death of that bacterium.

b. Could this antibiotic be used to treat protozoan infections such as giardiasis and toxoplasmosis?

(*) or (**) = possible discussion question

RETURN TO "PROKARYOTIC CELL STRUCTURE: THE CELL WALL"