The cell envelope comprises a biological cell's surrounding boundary layers, including its cell membrane and a cell wall or additional outer structures when present. The term is especially useful when discussing bacteria, where the layers must be distinguished.
A bacterial outer membrane is an additional membrane outside the peptidoglycan in typical Gram-negative bacteria. It adds a barrier while the inner cell membrane remains the boundary of the cytoplasm.
The periplasm is the compartment between the cytoplasmic and outer membranes in a typical Gram-negative bacterial envelope. Its components and the outer membrane can gate access of external electron acceptors.
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.