Prescott's Microbiology 8th Edition by Joanne Willey, Linda Sherwood, Christopher J. Woolverton, Lansing Prescott, John Harley, Donald Klein

Exercise 3

List the most common kinds of inclusions. How are they similar to eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria and chloroplasts? How do they differ?

Step 1 of 3

Inclusions are aggregates of organic or inorganic compounds. Common inclusions include the storage inclusions and the micro compartments. Examples of storage inclusions include glycogen inclusions, polyhydroxyalkonate (PHA) granules, sulfur globules, polyphosphate granules and cyanophycin granules.

Glycogen inclusions and PHA granules are types of carbon storage. Polyphosphate granules are store phosphate, which is an important component of nucleic acids which serve as an energy source. Sulfur globules are used for storing sulfur to be used as the final electron donor in the electron transport chain. Cyanobacteria have cyanophycin granules that contain polypeptides composed of arginine and aspartic acid. These polypeptides are used to store nitrogen.