Question

The bacterial cell wall is made up of?
A) Xylan
B) Chitin
C) Cellulose
D) Murein

Answer 1

Hint: Cell wall is the type of layer around the cells of few organisms just outside the cell membrane. It is important for the protection and the structure of the cells.

Complete answer:
The cell wall is generally made up of polysaccharides and different species have different cell wall compositions. The cell walls are present only in cells of certain organisms like bacteria, fungi, and plant cells.

Option A: The cell of the plant is made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and glycoprotein. The Xylan is the main component of hemicellulose. These polysaccharides are important in the backbone of the plant cell wall and they protect the cell from digestive enzymes. Therefore this is an incorrect option.

Option B: Chitin is a fibrous polysaccharide that is found in the exoskeleton of arthropods. It is also an important component in the fungal cell walls. Therefore this is an incorrect option.

Option C: Cellulose is one of the major structural components of the cell walls of the plants and the algal cell wall. Therefore this is an incorrect option.

Option D: The bacterial cell wall is different from the cell walls of the other organisms because of the presence of peptidoglycan. These peptidoglycans are polysaccharides that contain the polymers of modified sugars (N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetyl muramic acid) in equal amounts i.e. the bacterial cell wall is the polymer of muramic acid (murein). Therefore this is the correct option.

Thus, the correct answer is option (D )Murein.


Note: The bacterial cell wall is not only essential to provide the structure to the cell but also important to protect the bacterial cell from the external environment.