Question

Does a bacterial cell have a cell membrane?

Answer 1

Bacteria is a unicellular organism that comes under the category of prokaryotes. These bacteria have outer covering that is permeable to many substances.

Complete answer-
Bacteria are single celled microbes. They are for life on the earth. They are notorious and play a major role in diseases caused in humans like black plague, tooth decay etc. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first scientist to study bacteria under a microscope in the late 1600s.
They are essential for good health. One of the species lives in symbiotic relation in the large intestine to manufacture vitamin K that is essential for blood clotting factor. There are other species that are needed and beneficial indirectly like for making yogurt, to digest cellulose in animals and to convert nitrogen to organic form in plants.
The cell's structure is simpler than that of other organisms as there is no nucleus or membrane bound organelles and a chromosome composed of a single closed DNA circle. Bacteria have a protective and rigid cell wall as well as cell or plasma membrane. The plasma membrane is composed of phospholipid bilayer and has general functions of a cell membrane like a permeability barrier for substances or molecules and serves as a location for transportation of molecules in the cell. This membrane also functions in energy conservation because it is the location where proton motive force is generated.
Plasma membrane is highly organized and asymmetrical having two sides each side with different surface and function. This membrane is usually dynamic in nature and it constantly adapts to different conditions.

Note:
There is evidence that shows that bacteria came into existence as long as 3.5 billion years ago, making them one of the oldest living organisms on the Earth. Older than the bacteria are Archean, tiny prokaryotic organisms that live in extreme environments like boiling water, acidic water or deep in the Antarctic ice.