Monday, November 16, 2009

Why is the surface of bacteria negatively charged????

is it something related to the cell wall components?

Why is the surface of bacteria negatively charged????
You hit it on the nose. The cell walls of bacteria are made up of sugars which are heavy in oxygens. They have an overall negative charge; therefore, the bacteria have an overall negative charge.
Reply:Yes, it is related to the cell wall. The cell wall contains a complex polysaccharide structure. The center segment, called the core polysaccharide, contains sugars which are highly phosphorylated; it's these phosphate groups which contribute the negative charge.

lady slipper

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