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Cells
After atoms and molecules, the next higher level of complexity in living organisms
includes cells and their components. All living things are made up of cells. Some cell
components occur in all living cells, while others occur only in the cells of leaves, roots,
or other parts of plants. Depending on their components, cells can divide, grow, transport
substance, secrete substances, or harvest energy from organic molecules. Most types of
cells also contain genetic material that controls the activities of the cell. This genetic
material is inherited by new cells after cell division.
The Cell Theory
The modern version states that:
- Cells are the morphological and physiological units of all living things.
- The properties of a given organism depend on those of its individual cells.
- Cells originate only from other cells, and continuity is maintained through the
genetic material.
Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
All living species are composed of eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells. The differences
between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are:
Prokaryotic Cell Eukaryotic Cell
nuclear membrane absent present
chromosomes usually singular, ring-shaped, multiple, not ring-shaped,
consisting only of DNA, without consisting of DNA together with
associated proteins, and lack attached proteins and have
centromeres centromeres
organelles membrane-bound organelles are membrane-bound organelles are
absent present in the cytoplasm
size diameter seldom exceeds 2 μm diameter typically 20 μm or more
capacity to lacks the capacity to differentiate great capacity to differentiate in
differentiate into specialized tissues in multi- structure w/in multi-cellular
cellular organisms bodies
organisms occurs only as bacteria and makes up bodies of protists, fungi,
cyanophytes (blue-green algae) plants, and animals
Fig. 3.1. Differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Structures Found in the Cell
Looking through a light microscope, the only animal cell structures that can be seen
are the nucleus, the cytoplasm, and the cell membrane. In plants cells, these structures
can also be seen in addition to the cell wall. Other organelles can only be seen through an
electron microscope. Organelles are usually membrane-bound structures inside the
cytoplasm that have specific metabolic functions. These organelles float in the
hyaloplasm. The hyaloplasm, or cytosol, is the clear, aqueous medium that bathes all
cytoplasmic bodies and serves as a reservoir of solutes and water.
Organelles that are common in plants and animals include the cell membrane, the
nucleus, nucleoli, endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and
microbodies. Organelles that can only be seen in plants include the cell wall, central
vacuole, and plastids.
Substances inside the cytoplasm that do not have metabolic roles are called inclusion
bodies. Inclusion bodies are passive, often very temporary materials such as pigments,
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secretory granules, and aggregates of stored proteins, lipids, or carbohydrates, which can
be utilized by the cell in its life processes.
Cell Membrane. The cell membrane may also be called the plasma membrane,
plasmalemma, or cytolemma. It is selectively permeable, depending on the lipid content
of the membrane, allowing entry of certain molecules into the cytoplasm while
disallowing others. The cell membrane also contains pumps which regulate the ion
concentrations within the cell and its immediate vicinity. It contains a variety of enzymes
and has specific receptor sites which mediate important cell functions such as
endocytosis, phagocytosis, antigen recognition, and antibody production. Hormone-
triggered cellular events also depend on specific surface receptors.
The cell membrane is composed of phospholipids and proteins. Phospholipids form
the basic structure of the membrane referred to as bi-layer, two parallel layers with their
hydrophilic heads facing the aquaeous medium on the membrane surface and their
hydrophobic tails facing the interior of the membrane. Proteins partially or completely
penetrate the phospholipids bi-layer and are responsible for functional properties of the
membrane.
You may also find other structures on or near the cellular surface. Microvilli are
finger-like projections of the plasma membrane that increase the surface area for
absorption. Desmosomes are oval disks with anchoring fibrils that lie just within the
plasma membranes of epithelial cells subject to being stretched. Gap junctions are hollow
“pipes” formed by a ring of six dumbbell-shaped protein subunits that penetrate the
plasma membrane of certain tissues and allow free flow of materials from cell to cell.
Cilia and flagella are motile fibrils that protrude from the surface of certain types of cells,
being covered by an extension off the plasma membrane.
The
Fig. 3.1. The phospholipid bi-layer that makes up the cell membrane.
Nucleus. The nucleus is usually the most conspicuous organelle in a cell. It contains most
of a cell’s DNA, which occurs with proteins in thread-like chromosomes. The nucleus is
surrounded by two membranes, together called the nuclear envelope. The outer
membrane is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum. The inner and outer nuclear
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membranes are separated by a space of 20-40 nm, except where they fuse to form pores
in the envelope. These nuclear pores are small circular openings, 30-100 nm in diameter,
bordered by proteins that probably influence the passage of molecules between the
nucleus and the rest of the cell. Inside the nucleus is a smaller structure, the nucleolus,
which serves as the site for the synthesis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA).
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stages of cell development. They are especially abundant in dividing cells because these
cells make large amounts of protein.
Endoplasmic Reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum is a network of channels or
tubules which constitutes the bulk of the endo-membrane system. It is continuous with
the nuclear membrane. Two regions of ER can be distinguished in electron micrographs.
One region is called the rough ER because the many ribosomes attached to it give it a
rough appearance.
In contrast, the other region is called the smooth ER because it has no ribosomes
attached to it. The smooth ER, in most cells, makes up the terminal portions of rough ER.
It gives rise to transfer vesicles that carry substances synthesized within the rough ER to
other location, especially the golgi complex. Functions of the smooth ER include:
- Steroid hormone synthesis in the testicular interstitial cells, cells of the corpus
luteum, and cells of the adrenal cortex
- Synthesis of complex lipids and drug detoxification in hepatocytes
- Lipid resynthesis in the intestinal absorptive cells
- Release and capture of Ca++ ions in striated muscle cells
- Concentration of Cl- ions in gastric parietal cells
Golgi Complex. A Golgi complex (Golgi apparatus) is usually two-sided, with one
side facing the smooth ER and one side facing the plasma membrane. They receive
material from the smooth ER, either through direct connections or in vesicles released by
the ER. These vesicles contain proteins, lipids, and other substances, which are often
chemically modified in the golgi bodies and then sorted into separate packets. These
packets eventually move to the edge of the golgi bodies near the outer face, where the
golgi body membrane is pinched off into another vesicle. This vesicle moves to the
plasma membrane or to other sites in the cell.
Vesicles that move to the plasma membrane are secretory vesicles, because they fuse
with plasma membrane and secrete their contents to the exterior of the cell. This type of
secretion is called exocytosis. Endocytosis, the reverse process, involves taking
substances into the cell. Pinocytosis is a type of endocytosis that involves taking up of
liquids and diluted substances. Phagocytosis, another type of endocytosis, involves taking
in of larger substances even bacteria.
Fig. 3.3. The process of exocytosis.
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Lysosomes are involved in the
hydrolysis of foreign (hetero-
phagosomes) or intracellular sub-stances
(autophagosomes) using hydrolytic
enzymes. These enzymes
also serve to digest aging organelles or
sometimes liberate their enzymes en
masse, causing “cell suicide”
(autodigestion). They are not present in
plants.
Peroxisomes are the major sites of
oxygen utilization within the cell and are
particularly rich in catalase which
converts toxic hydrogen peroxide
(H2O2), formed during certain metabolic
processes, into harmless water and Fig. 3.4. Vesicles forming from the Golgi complex.
oxygen.
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