The bacterial cell is surrounded by a cell membrane (also known as a lipid, cytoplasmic or plasma membrane). This membrane encloses the contents of the cell and acts as a barrier to hold nutrients, proteins and other essential components of the cytoplasm within the cell. As they are prokaryotes, bacteria do not usually have membrane-bound organelles in their cytoplasm, and thus contain few large intracellular structures. They lack a true nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts and the other organelles present in eukaryotic cells. Bacteria were once seen as simple bags of cytoplasm, but structures such as the prokaryotic cytoskeleton and the localization of proteins to specific locations within the cytoplasm that give bacteria some complexity have been discovered. These subcellular levels of organization have been called "bacterial hyperstructures".

What is a cell membrane?