Question

What is peptidoglycan made of?

Answer 1

Peptidoglycan:

1. It is a rigid envelope surrounding the cytoplasmic membrane of most bacterial species.
2. It serves a structural role and provides structural strength and protection to the bacterial cell.
3. It is also known as murein or mucopeptide.
4. Bacteria's cellular content area is surrounded by the outer peptidoglycan cell wall and inner plasma membrane.
5. Gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer whereas Gram-negative bacteria have a thin-peptidoglycan layer.

Composition of peptidoglycan:

1. The basic structure of peptidoglycan contains a carbohydrate backbone having alternating units of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid.
2. N-acetylmuramic acid cross-linked with peptides.