Question

The chief component of bacterial cell wall is [MP PMT 1989]
A) Cellulose and chitin
B) Cellulose and pectin
C) Amino acids and polysaccharides
D) Cellulose and carbohydrates

Answer 1

Answer:

The chief component of bacterial cell wall is C) Amino acids and polysaccharides.

Explanation:

The bacterial cell wall is a layer located outside the cell membrane. The peptidoglycan composed of disaccharides and amino acids to give structural support to the bacterial cell. The rigid structure of peptidoglycan is specific to prokaryotes only which gives the shape to the cytoplasmic membrane. Peptidoglycans are huge polymer of diasaccharide cross linked by short chains of identical amino acid monomers. N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) are the main components of peptidoglycan molecules.

Answer 2

The ‘chief component’ of bacterial cell wall is the C) Amino acids and polysaccharides.  

Explanation:

The entire bacterial cell is made up of polysaccharides that provides strength and protection to these organism. Based upon their content of polysaccharide they are divided into ‘gram positive’ and ‘gram negative’.  

The gram negative cells have high polysaccharide content whereas the gram positive cells have a peptidoglycan layer around them. The polysaccharide layer protect these organisms and thus all pathogens are mostly gram negative and are difficult to destroy.