Answer to Question #58153 in Cell Biology for zsanae lockett

Question

Most Archaeans lack a peptidoglycan what

Answer 1

Cell walls of Archaea don't contain peptidoglycan called murein, the main structural component of bacterial cell walls (heteropolymeric chains of β-(1,4) linked N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid residues сonnected with short peptide fragments). Instead of murein they have got another component which plays a structural role. It is so called pseudopeptidoglycan (pseudomurein), where N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetyltalosaminuronic acid residues are β-(1,3) linked and peptid fragments are built of other amino acids. Also they often have the S-layer consisting of protein globules.This structural features make Archaea resistant to many antibiotics, in particular, penicillin-resistant.