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Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea
Structure of Prokaryotes
Biology Textbooks Boundless Biology Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea Structure of Prokaryotes
Biology Textbooks Boundless Biology Prokaryotes: Bacteria and Archaea
Biology Textbooks Boundless Biology
Biology Textbooks
Biology
Concept Version 6
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Basic Structures of Prokaryotic Cells

Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

Bacteria are divided into two major groups: gram-positive and gram-negative. Both groups have a cell wall composed of peptidoglycan: in gram-positive bacteria, the wall is thick, whereas in gram-negative bacteria, the wall is thin. In gram-negative bacteria, the cell wall is surrounded by an outer membrane that contains lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins. Porins, proteins in this cell membrane, allow substances to pass through the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. In gram-positive bacteria, lipoteichoic acid anchors the cell wall to the cell membrane.

Source

    Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:

    "OpenStax College, Structure of Prokaryotes. October 16, 2013."
    http://cnx.org/content/m44605/latest/Figure_22_02_08f.png OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.

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