Nicole R.
asked 02/21/21General Biology
You receive a bacteria culture from a hospital and are asked to figure out which bacteria are present in the culture. You find that there is peptidoglycan in the culture and lipopolysaccharides. What type of bacteria is most likely present in the culture?
1 Expert Answer
Brynn T. answered 02/21/21
Dedicated and Knowledgeable Science and Math Tutor
Hello!
There are two classifications of bacteria as far as their membranes and cell wall.
Gram positive bacteria have a thick layer of peptidoglycan and no outer lipid membrane.
Gram negative bacteria have a thinner layer of peptidoglycan and an outer lipid membrane composed of lipopolysaccharides.
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Maria M.
Good evening, great question. There is most certainly more than one type of bacteria present in this culture. A thick or thin layer of peptidoglycan in the bacteria's cell wall is known to be a gram-negative bacteria. This type of bacteria is mostly found in areas that are predominately wet in nature since the function of peptidoglycan is to protect the bacteria from drowning. Secondly, gram-positive bacteria are known to have lipopolysaccharides which assist in protection from chemical attacks. Therefore, based on the information provided we can infer that the bacteria found in the culture could be some type of ruminal bacteria. I hope this information helps, feel free to message me for further support.02/25/21