Ask Question
28 October, 16:01

Which polysaccharide has the main function of being a structural component of bacterial cell walls?

+1
Answers (1)
  1. 28 October, 18:59
    0
    The correct answer is peptidoglycan

    Explanation:

    Peptidoglycan is the polysaccharide that has the main function in making the structural component of the bacterial cell wall. Gram-positive bacteria have a cell wall made up of purely peptidoglycan layer but in gram-negative bacteria, a thick outer covering of lipopolysaccharide is also present.

    Peptidoglycan is made up of NAG (N-acetyl glucosamine) and NAM (N-acetyl muramic acid) unit which are joined by β 1-4 glycosidic linkage. Lysozyme is the enzyme which breaks this linkage and destroys the bacterial cell wall.

    Due to outer thick peptidoglycan layer, gram-positive bacteria retain crystal violet stain and appear blue in color after gram's staining while gram-negative bacteria do not have outer thick peptidoglycan layer, therefore, it gets destain and get counterstain by safranin and appears pink.
Know the Answer?
Not Sure About the Answer?
Get an answer to your question ✅ “Which polysaccharide has the main function of being a structural component of bacterial cell walls? ...” in 📙 Biology if there is no answer or all answers are wrong, use a search bar and try to find the answer among similar questions.
Search for Other Answers