Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the next few questions.
A hypothetical bacterium swims among human intestinal contents until it finds a suitable location on the intestinal lining. It adheres to the intestinal lining using a feature that also protects it from phagocytes, bacteriophages, and dehydration. Fecal matter from a human in whose intestine this bacterium lives can spread the bacterium, even after being mixed with water and boiled. The bacterium is not susceptible to the penicillin family of antibiotics. It contains no plasmids and relatively little peptidoglycan.
-What should be true of the cell wall of this bacterium?
A) Its innermost layer is composed of a phospholipid bilayer.
B) After it has been subjected to Gram staining, the cell should remain purple.
C) It has an outer membrane of lipopolysaccharide.
D) It is mostly composed of a complex, cross-linked polysaccharide.
E) Two of the responses above are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The paragraph mentions that the bacterium has a feature that protects it from phagocytes, bacteriophages, and dehydration. One common feature that provides protection is the presence of an outer membrane of lipopolysaccharide, which is found in gram-negative bacteria. Additionally, the paragraph notes that the bacterium is not susceptible to the penicillin family of antibiotics, which is commonly effective against gram-positive bacteria that have a thick layer of peptidoglycan in their cell walls. This further supports the idea that the bacterium might be gram-negative and have an outer membrane of lipopolysaccharide.

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