Composition and structure of prokaryotic cells
Like all organisms, microorganisms grow, metabolize and replicate utilizing materials available from the environment. Such materials include those chemical elements required for structural aspects of cellular composition and metabolic activities such as enzyme regu- lafion and redox processes. To understand bacterial metabolism, it is therefore helpful to know the chemical composition of the cell and component structures. This chapter describes the elemental compo- sition and structure of prokaryotic cells, and the kinds of nutrients needed for biosynthesis and energy—yielding metabolism.