Chapter 4

4
Archaeal
Cell Structure
1
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, LLC. Permission required for reproduction or display.
4.1 A typical archaeal cell
1. Describe a typical archaeal cell.
2
Archaea
• Many features in common with Eukarya
– genes encoding protein: replication,
transcription, translation
• Features in common with Bacteria
– genes for metabolism
• Other elements are unique to Archaea
– unique rRNA gene structure
– capable of methanogenesis
3
Archaea
• Highly diverse with respect to morphology,
physiology, reproduction, and ecology
• Best known for growth in anaerobic,
hypersaline, pH extremes, and high-
temperature habitats
• Also found in marine arctic temperature and
tropical waters
4
Archaeal size, shape,
arrangement
• Much like bacteria, cocci and rods are common
shapes
• Other shapes can also exist
– no spirochetes or mycelial forms yet
– branched/flat shapes
• Sizes vary (typically 1-2 x 1-5 μm for rods, 1-5 μm
in diameter for cocci)
• Smallest observed is 0.2 μm in diameter
• Largest is a multicellular form that can reach 30
mm in length! 5
6
7
4.2 Archaeal cell envelopes
1. Draw an archaeal cell envelope and identify the

component layers.
2. Compare and contrast archaeal and bacterial cell
envelopes in terms of their structures, molecular
makeup, and functions.
3. Compare and contrast nutrient uptake mechanisms
observed in bacteria and archaea.
8
Archaeal Cell Envelopes
• Differ from bacterial envelopes in the
molecular makeup and organization
– S layer may be only component outside
plasma membrane
– some lack cell wall
– capsules and slime layers are rare
9
Archaeal Membranes
• Composed of unique
lipids
– isoprene units (five
carbon, branched)
– ether linkages rather
than ester linkages to
glycerol
• Some have a monolayer
structure instead of a
bilayer structure
10
Archaeal Membrane Lipids
• Differ from Bacteria and Eukarya in having

branched chain hydrocarbons attached to
glycerol by ether linkages
• Polar phospholipids, sulfolipids, glycolipids,
and unique lipids are also found in archaeal
membranes
11
Archaeal Lipids and Membranes
Bacteria/Eukaryotes Archaea
• Fatty acids attached to • branched chain
glycerol by ester linkages hydrocarbons attached
to glycerol by ether
linkages
• some have diglycerol
tetraethers
12
13
Archaeal Cell Surfaces
• Cell envelopes
– varied S layers attached to plasma membrane
– pseudomurein (peptidoglycan-like polymer)
– complex polysaccharides, proteins, or
glycoproteins found in some other species
– only Ignicoccus has outer membrane
14
Archaeal Cell Walls Differ from
Bacterial Cell Walls
• Lack peptidoglycan
• Most common cell wall is S layer
• May have protein sheath external to
S layer
• S layer may be outside membrane and
separated by pseudomurein
• Pseudomurein may be outermost layer –
similar to Gram-positive microorganisms
15
16
17
Archaeal cells and nutrient
uptake
• Archaeal cells use many of the same
mechanisms for nutrient uptake exhibited in
bacteria
– facilitated diffusion
– active transport (primary and secondary)
• No group translocation mechanisms have yet
been discovered in archaea, however…
18
4.3 Archaeal cytoplasm
1. Compare and contrast the cytoplasm of bacterial and

archaeal cells.
19
Archaeal vs. bacterial cytoplasm
• Very similar – lack of membrane-enclosed
organelles
• May contain inclusion bodies (e.g. gas
vesicles for buoyancy control)
• All the usual components
– ribosomes
– nucleoid region
– inclusion bodies
• Some structures may be different,
however…
20
Ribosomes
• Complex structures, sites of protein synthesis
– consisting of protein/RNA
• Entire ribosome
– bacterial/archaeal ribosome = 70S
– eukaryotic (80S) S = Svedburg unit
• Bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA
– 16S small subunit
– 23S and 5S in large subunit
– archaea have additional 5.8S (also seen in
eukaryotic large subunit)
• Proteins vary
– archaea more similar to eukarya than to bacteria 21
The Nucleoid
• Irregularly shaped region in bacteria and
archaea
• Usually not membrane bound (few
exceptions)
• Location of chromosome and associated
proteins
• Usually 1 (some evidence for polyploidy in
some archaeons)
• Supercoiling and nucleoid proteins
(histones, Alba, condensins) aid in folding
22
4.4 External structures
1. Describe cannulae and hami.

2. Compare and contrast bacterial and archaeal pili.
3. Compare and contrast bacterial and archaeal flagella
in terms of their structure and function.
23
Archaeal external structures:
• Pili
– not well understood as of yet
– some composed of pilin protein and
homologous to bacterial type IV pili proteins
– pili formed have a central lumen similar to
bacterial flagella, but not bacterial pili
– may be involved in archaeal adhesion
mechanisms
24
• Cannulae
– hollow, tubelike structures on the surface of
thermophilic archae in the genus Pyrodictium
– function is unknown
– may be involved in formation of networks of multiple
daughter cells
25
• Hami
– not well understood
– ‘grappling hook’ appearance
– involvement in cell adhesion mechanisms?
26
Differences of Archaeal Flagella
• Flagella thinner
• More than one type
of flagellin protein
• Flagellum are not
hollow
• Hook and basal body
difficult to distinguish
• More related to Type
IV secretions
systems
• Growth occurs at the
base, not the end
27
4.5 Comparison of Bacteria and Archaea
1. Compare and contrast bacterial and archaeal cells in

terms of the structures observed and their chemical
makeup.
28
29

Chapter 4

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 4

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 4

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

4

1. Describe a typical archaeal cell.

1. Draw an archaeal cell envelope and identify the

• Differ from Bacteria and Eukarya in having

1. Compare and contrast the cytoplasm of bacterial and

1. Describe cannulae and hami.

1. Compare and contrast bacterial and archaeal cells in

You might also like