A hypertonic medium is an external environment where the concentration of solutes outside a cell is higher than inside the cell. This causes water to flow out of the cell, leading to cell shrinkage.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
In a hypertonic medium, prokaryotic cells lose water through osmosis.
The loss of water can cause plasmolysis in bacterial cells, where the plasma membrane pulls away from the cell wall.
Hypertonic environments are used in food preservation because they inhibit bacterial growth by dehydrating cells.
Prokaryotic cells may produce osmoprotectants to mitigate the stress caused by hypertonic conditions.
The effects of a hypertonic medium are crucial for understanding microbial ecology and industrial microbiology.
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Related terms
Isotonic Medium: An environment where solute concentrations inside and outside the cell are equal.
Hypotonic Medium: An environment where the concentration of solutes outside the cell is lower than inside, causing water to flow into the cell.