One of the more fascinating sides about single celled organisms is that they can do all the processes they need to do to survive in such a small space. That is no easy feat since there is so much a living organism needs to do in order to maintain its homeostasis, that is the art of regulating its internal environment. It does this by specializing different parts of the cell so that it can better function. However, since prokaryotic cells do not have membrane bound organelles they need to become creative, and they do this in a very unique way.
Starting from the outside of the cell, one of first characteristics of Salmonella is the flagella. This is a long tail-like structure, seen in Figure 12, that enables the cell to move about in its environment. Flagella are made up of a substance called flagellin. They do this by rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise, which produce runs and tumbles, that can propel the toward stimuli. This can be used to either get the cell away from chemicals or toward them depending on the cell's need.
The next part of the cell is the cell wall that protects Salmonella. The gram-negative cell wall plays a crucial role in not only identification, but also is the cell's pathogenic nature. The cell wall protects the cell from osmotic pressures that can be felt in an environment, and is composed of peptidoglycan, phospholipids, cytoplasmic membrane, and lipopolysaccharide.3 The lipopolysaccharide is what makes the gram-negative cell wall so special. When the cell dies it releases that substance and can cause fever and septic shock, this causes a few problems for doctors. If the Salmonella isn't taken care of fast enough it can cause extensive damage to the body, however, treating an invasion too quickly can also lead to fatal consequences.