IA MODIFIED MASTERING BIOLOGY WITH E TEX
IA MODIFIED MASTERING BIOLOGY WITH E TEX
12th Edition
ISBN: 9780136781752
Author: Urry
Publisher: PEARSON
bartleby

Videos

Textbook Question
Book Icon
Chapter 27, Problem 27.1CR

Describe features of prokaryotes that enable them to thrive in a wide range of different environments.

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark
Summary Introduction

To describe: The features of prokaryotes to enable them to thrive in varied environments.

Introduction: Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that exhibit peculiar features in their structural organization that make them adapt to a varied range of different environments. These features include the presence of peptidoglycans cell wall, flagella, endospore formation, and resistant genes in plasmids.

Explanation of Solution

The cell walls of prokaryotes are peptidoglycan in nature, which protect the cell, maintain its shape, and prevent it from bursting into the hypotonic environment. In many prokaryotes, the cell wall is surrounded by a sticky coat of polysaccharides or protein, which is known as a capsule. The capsule and slime layers protect the organisms against dehydration and attack their host immune system. Certain bacteria exhibit the property of endospore formation, which enables them to cope up with scarcity of water and nutrients. During the endospore formation, the entire water content is removed to halt the metabolism of bacteria, so that they can survive in the extreme environment in a dormant stage and regain viability even after centuries when they resume their metabolism in a favorable environment. The prokaryotes exhibit short generation time with a large population size, which results in the new mutations to increase the genetic diversity to adapt the variations in a local environment, and thus leading to the evolution. Although the bacteria contain a single chromosome, they may also contain plasmids to carry few genes that provide them antibiotic resistance.

Conclusion

There are several features that help the prokaryotes to survive in extreme conditions.

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Students have asked these similar questions
Describe features of prokaryotes that enable them to thrive in a widerange of different environments.
List and briefly define the prokaryotic shapes and spatial arrangements
Describe two adaptations that enable prokaryotes to survive in environments too harsh for other organisms.

Chapter 27 Solutions

IA MODIFIED MASTERING BIOLOGY WITH E TEX

Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Biology
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, biology and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
  • Text book image
    Concepts of Biology
    Biology
    ISBN:9781938168116
    Author:Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise
    Publisher:OpenStax College
Text book image
Concepts of Biology
Biology
ISBN:9781938168116
Author:Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise
Publisher:OpenStax College
Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells (Updated); Author: Amoeba Sisters;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxujitlv8wc;License: Standard youtube license