Topic
Cell Structure and Function
Framing Question
How do unique bacterial cell structures make them targets for antibiotics, immunity, and phage infection?
Learning Objectives
- List two structures that both Gram-negative and Gram-positive cells have in common, and provide the function of each.
- List two structures that are unique to Gram-negative and to Gram-positive cells, and provide the function of each.
- Distinguish between cell envelope structures (e.g., membranes and cell wall, etc.) in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
- Predict whether a given antibiotic would affect Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative cells based in their mechanism of action.
- Design a target for a new drug based on the structure of bacterial cells.
- Describe how bacterial structures (e.g., peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharides, flagella, etc.) stimulate a non-specific immune response.
- Explain how antigenic shift can result in resistance to antibiotics, viral infection, and evasion of the immune response.
