A microbiologist suspended cells of the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae (which naturally lack a cell wall) and Bacillus subtilis (which possess a peptidoglycan cell wall) in separate test tubes of pure water.
State the direction of net water movement for both types of bacterial cells and name the passive transport process responsible.
Explain, in terms of cell structures, why the Mycoplasma cells swell and burst (lyse), whereas the Bacillus cells do not burst.