Slime layer

A slime layer in bacteria is an easily removable (e.g. by centrifugation), unorganized layer of extracellular material that surrounds bacteria cells. Specifically, this consists mostly of exopolysaccharides, glycoproteins, and glycolipids. Therefore, the slime layer is considered as a subset of glycocalyx.

While slime layers and capsules are found most commonly in bacteria, while rare, these structures do exist in archaea as well. This information about structure and function is also transferable to these microorganisms too.