spheroplast
Sign in to savethumb|upright|right|Gram-negative bacteria attempting to grow and divide in the presence of peptidoglycan synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics (e.g. penicillin) fail to do so, and instead end up forming spheroplasts. A spheroplast (or sphaeroplast in British usage) is a microbial cell from which the cell wall has been almost completely removed, as by the action of penicillin or lysozyme. According to some definitions, the term is used to describe Gram-negative bacteria. According to other definitions, the term also encompasses yeasts. The name spheroplast stems from the fact that after the microbe
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Spheroplast formation
- Antibiotic-induced spheroplasts
- Enzyme-induced spheroplasts
- Uses and applications
- Antibiotic discovery
- Patch clamping
- Cell lysis
- Transfection
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|upright|right|Gram-negative bacteria attempting to grow and divide in the presence of peptidoglycan synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics (e.g. penicillin) fail to do so, and instead end up forming spheroplasts. A spheroplast (or sphaeroplast in British usage) is a microbial cell from which the cell wall has been almost completely removed, as by the action of penicillin or lysozyme. According to some definitions, the term is used to describe Gram-negative bacteria. According to other definitions, the term also encompasses yeasts. The name spheroplast stems from the fact that after the microbe's cell wall is digested, membrane tension causes the cell to acquire a characteristic spherical shape. Spheroplasts are osmotically fragile, and will lyse if transferred to a hypotonic solution.
When used to describe Gram-negative bacteria, the term spheroplast refers to cells from which the peptidoglycan component but not the outer membrane component of the cell wall has been removed.