The cytoplasm of bacteria contains high concentrations of enzymes, metabolites, and salts. In addition, the proteins of the cell are made on ribosomes that are scattered throughout the cytoplasm. Bacterial ribosomes are different from ribosomes in eukaryotic cells in that they are smaller, have fewer constituents (consist of three types of ribosomal RNA [rRNA] and 55 proteins, as opposed to four types of rRNA and 78 proteins in eukaryotes), and are inhibited by different antibiotics than those that act on eukaryotic ribosomes.
There are numerous inclusion bodies, or granules, in the bacterial cytoplasm. These bodies are never enclosed by a membrane and serve as storage vessels. Glycogen, which is a polymer of glucose, is stored as a reserve of carbohydrate and energy. Volutin, or metachromatic granules, contains polymerized phosphate and represents a storage form for inorganic phosphate and energy. Many bacteria possess lipid droplets that contain polymeric esters of poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid or related compounds. This is in contrast to eukaryotes, which use lipid droplets to store triglycerides. In bacteria, storage granules are produced under favourable growth conditions and are consumed after the nutrients have been depleted from the medium. Many aquatic bacteria produce gas vacuoles, which are protein-bound structures that contain air and allow the bacteria to adjust their buoyancy. Bacteria can also have internal membranous structures that form as outgrowths of the cytoplasmic membrane.