Editing Glycocalyx (section)

==In bacteria and nature==
[[File:Glycocalyx in bacteria.svg|thumb|The glycocalyx exists in bacteria as either a capsule or a slime layer. Item 6 points at the glycocalyx. The difference between a capsule and a slime layer is that in a capsule polysaccharides are firmly attached to the cell wall, while in a slime layer, the glycoproteins are loosely attached to the cell wall.|201x201px]]
A glycocalyx, literally meaning "sugar coat" (''glykys'' = sweet, ''kalyx'' = husk), is a network of [[polysaccharide]]s that project from cellular surfaces of [[bacterium|bacteria]], which classifies it as a universal surface component of a bacterial cell, found just outside the bacterial cell wall.  A distinct, gelatinous glycocalyx is called a [[bacterial capsule|capsule]], whereas an irregular, diffuse layer is called a [[slime layer]].  This coat is extremely hydrated and stains with [[ruthenium red]].

Bacteria growing in natural ecosystems, such as in soil, bovine intestines, or the human urinary tract, are surrounded by some sort of glycocalyx-enclosed [[microcolony]].<ref>Costerton & Irvin.  Bacterial Glycocalyx in Nature and Disease.  Annual Reviews Microbiology, 1981.  Vol. 35: p. 299-324</ref>  It serves to protect the bacterium from harmful [[phagocyte]]s by creating capsules or allowing the bacterium to attach itself to inert surfaces, such as teeth or rocks, via [[biofilm]]s (e.g. ''[[Streptococcus pneumoniae]]'' attaches itself to either lung cells, [[prokaryotes]], or other bacteria which can fuse their glycocalices to envelop the colony).