Question

Bacteria are taken into cells by?

Answer 1

Transport into the Cell from the Plasma Membrane: Endocytosis

The routes that lead inward from the cell surface to lysosomes start with the process of endocytosis, by which cells take up macromolecules, particulate substances, and, in specialized cases, even other cells. In this process, the material to be ingested is progressively enclosed by a small portion of the plasma membrane, which first invaginates and then pinches off to form an endocytic vesicle containing the ingested substance or particle. Two main types of endocytosis are distinguished on the basis of the size of the endocytic vesicles formed. One type is called phagocytosis (“cellular eating”), which involves the ingestion of large particles, such as microorganisms or dead cells via large vesicles called phagosomes (generally >250 nm in diameter). The other type is pinocytosis (“cellular drinking”), which involves the ingestion of fluid and solutes via small pinocytic vesicles (about 100 nm in diameter). Most eucaryotic cells are continually ingesting fluid and solutes by pinocytosis; large particles are most efficiently ingested by specialized phagocytic cells.