The shape-maintaining component of halobacterium salinarium: a cell surface glycoprotein.
Halobacterium salinarium lacks the rigid peptidogylcan layer necessary for shape-maintenance in most bacteria. Instead, the major cell surface component is a high-molecular-weight glycoprotein resembling those found on the surface of eukaryotic cells. The glycoprotein is extremely acidic and has carbohydrate units attached via both N- and O-glycosidis linkages. Evidence has been obtained that demonstrates that the glycoprotein forms a rigid structural matrix at the cell surface and is responsible for maintenance of the characteristic rod-shaped morphology of these organisms.