THE CELL

Composition, Structure and Function

 Composition
• Chemical substances – simple and complex
– 99% of matter is made up of elements
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
o Smaller quantities of:
- Sodium
- Magnesium
- Phosphorous
- Sulfur
- Chlorine
- Potassium
- Calcium
 Composition
• Contain organic molecules (small and large)
- monosaccharides (simple sugars)
- fatty acids
- nucleotides
- amino acids
 Monomers
- Small molecules used as subunits to synthesize giant molecules or large
polymers (Macromolecules)
Macromolecules
- Lipids
- Polysaccharides
- Proteins
- Nucleic acids
 Composition

 Water
A very important molecule
Half of the weight of the cell and living organisms
Solvent within the cell
Where chemical reactions within the cell occur
(aqueous solution)
Exists in 3 states:
- Liquid
- Solid
- gas
 Water

• An insulator reducing heat flow (ice)

• Prevent elevated body temperature (human
beings)
• Gives a moderating effect on environmental
temperature (water bodies) which allows
biochemical processes
 Composition
 Lipids
Insoluble in water, soluble in organic solvents
(alcohol)
Triglycerides
- 3 molecules of fatty acids and glycerol
- Stored in fat cells or adipose tissue
- Molecule is hydrophobic forming droplets in the
cytoplasm
fats and oils are lipids
 Lipids
Phospholipids
Have 2 ends:
- phosphorous-containing region (polar and hydrophilic)
- Non-polar, hydrophobic region containing 2 fatty acids
Form micelles or lipid bilayer

Steroids
Important components of biological membranes
or function as chemical regulators or hormones
 Composition
 Carbohydrates
Used for fuel and structural materials by the cell
Monosaccharides
- Simple sugars
- Contain 1 sugar unit
- Contain 3-7 carbon atoms
- Glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆ ) the most abundant, used as energy
source during cellular respiration
- Galactose, mannose, fructose, pentose, ribose and
deoxyribose
 Carbohydrates

Disaccharides
- Two sugar units
- 2 monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage
- Sucrose (table sugar) made from glucose and
fructose
- Lactose (milk sugar) made from glucose and
galactose
 Carbohydrates
Polysaccharides
consists of hundreds of monosaccharides
starch
- an important storage compound
 cellulose
- a structural component of plant cell wall
 glycogen
- used by animal to store glucose
- stored in liver and muscles
 Composition

 Proteins
Formed from monomers called amino acids.
Amino acids are linked by a covalent bond called
peptide bond
Also called as polypeptide chains (subunit)
Enzymes
- Special class of proteins that catalyze all biochemical
reactions in the cell
Mediate cell-cell communication and cell adhesion
 Proteins

Form microfilaments and microtubules that

provide an organized cytoskeleton for
maintenance of cell shape and cell movement
Used in defense by the animals against pathogens
and foreign substances (Antibodies and
Immunoglobulins)
Acts as channels or transporters allowing many
molecules to cross the plasma membrane
(transmission of electrical signals along neuron
and absorption after digestion)
 Composition
 Nucleic Acids
Formed from monomers, called nucleotides.
Each nucleotide contains: 5-carbon sugar
(pentose), 1-3 phosphate group, and nitrogen
base
Two kinds of pentose sugars in nucleic acids:
- Ribose
- Deoxyribose
Two classes of nitrogen bases
- Purines (adenine and guanine)
- Pyrimidines (Thymine, uracil, cytosine)
 Nucleic Acids

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

- Used for storage of genetic information in the cell
- Can be determine by the presence if deoxyribose
sugar and thymine
- Composed of polynucleotide strands (purine
always pairs with a pyrimidine: A-T and G-C)
 Nucleic Acids

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

- Formed from 4 nucleotides:
o Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
o Guanosine triphosphate (GTP)
o Cytidine triphosphate (CTP)
o Uridine triphosphate (UTP)
- Uses uracil and ribose sugar
- Formed from DNA template by complementary
base pairing (Uracil-Adenine and Cytosine-Guanine)
- Only one (1) polynucleotide strand is present
 Ribonucleic Acids

– Three kinds of RNA:

1. messenger RNA (mRNA)
2. transfer RNA (tRNA)
3. ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
- Only the mRNA carries nucleotide sequence
information needed to synthesize protein
- The genetic code is arranged in groups of three
nucleotides (triplet code or codon)
- tRNA is an adaptor molecule, carry amino acid
and read codon in the mRNA
 Ribonucleic Acids
– tRNA have a sequence of 3 bases called
anticodons (UAA, UAG, UGA)
– There are 20 different types of tRNA capable of
carrying a specific amino acid
– rRNA associate with mRNA to form functional
ribosome
– Ribosomes direct the tRNA, carrying a specific
amino acid to base pair with its complementary
codon in the mRNA (this allows tRNA to read the
codon in the mRNA)
Organization of the Cell
 Organization of the Cell

 Prokaryotes
– The kingdom Monera (bacteria)
– Single-celled, lack nuclear compartments and
membrane-bound internal compartments

 Eukaryotes
– Cells that contain true membrane-bound nuclei
– Have internal compartments (like nucleus)
 Organization of the Cell

 Membranes
Plasma membrane, one that surrounds the cell
Control the movement of materials in or out of
the cells
Recognize specific molecules and other cells
Bind groups of molecules and other cells
Immobilize molecules
Participate in cell to cell communication
Composed of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates
 Membranes

Composed of lipid bilayer (phospholipids and

water) that allows movement of materials
within the membranes
Contains cholesterol (a steroid)
The protein components of membranes:
- Integral proteins – are those that are inserted in
the lipid bilayer (as transmembrane proteins)
- Extrinsic proteins – found on the surface of the
lipid bilayer
 Prokaryotic Cells
 Prokaryotic Cells
have 3 structures:
1. Plasma membrane
2. Nucleoid (contains the DNA)
3. Ribosome (contains the rRNA and 50 proteins)
Have cell wall outside the plasma membrane that
provides support and determines the shape,
which is also consists mostly of peptidoglycan
(polymer of amino sugars)
Have cytoplasm, a complex solution containing
many kinds of enzymes and other chemical
components
 Prokaryotic Cells

Composed of capsule, a layer of slime

consisting primarily of polysaccharide
- Protect the bacterium against attack by white
blood cells
- In animals, they infect or provide protection
against drying
- In photosynthetic bacteria, the cyanobacteria, the
plasma membrane contains chlorophyll
May have flagella, threadlike structures (pili)
which help bacteria stick together during
mating or adhere to the surface of animals
 Eukaryotic Cells

Includes plants, animals, fungi, protists

Have complicated internal membranous
structures that control their function and
regulating what gets in or out of the
compartment
Composed of organelles
 Information-Processing Organelles
Nucleus
• The largest organelles (5 µm)
• Surrounded by the nuclear envelope supported by
nuclear lamina (cytoskeletal elements)
• Contains the nucleoplasm, a suspension of
particles, fibers, proteins, and other compounds in
the nucleus
Chromatin
• A threadlike complex
• Which forms the chromosomes (when cell divides)
 Information-Processing Organelles

Nucleolus
• A dense, spherical body
• Where proteins and rRNA are assembled into
ribosomal subunits
Ribosomes
• Where proteins can be synthesized
• Found in 3 places:
- Free in the cytoplasm
- Bound to the surface of the endoplasmic
reticulum
- In the mitochondrion
Information-Processing Organelles

Mitochondrion
• Produce most of the energy within the
eukaryotic cell
• Contains the ATP
• Composed of cristae (inner membrane), and
matrix (the fluid compartment)
 The Endomembrane System
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
• A network of tubules
Rough ER – have ribosomes attached to their outer
surface that synthesize proteins to be exported out of
the cell
Smooth ER – lack ribosomes, which functions to modify
proteins in the rough ER
- In liver it is important in detoxification of drugs an
involve in lipid synthesis
 The Endomembrane System

Golgi apparatus
• Consists of stacks of flattened sacs
• Serves as the final destination for some of the
proteins synthesized in the ER
Lysosome
• Found in animal cells, many protists, fungi, and
few plants
• Contain different digestive enzyme
 Other Organelles

Microbodies (peroxisomes)
• Contain oxidative enzymes which are involved in
reactions that produce toxic peroxides
Vacuoles
• Present in the cytoplasm
• Enclosed by a single membrane and contain an
aqueous solution (in plants, used as storage of
waste or chemicals that are toxic or distasteful)
 Other Organelles
Cytoskeleton
• A set of fibers, responsible for cell shape and
physical texture
Cilia or Flagella
• Whiplike appendages that push or pull the cell
through the aqueous environment or promote
movement of fluid over the cell surface
Centrioles (except in flowering plants, pines,
and some protists)
• They help organize the microtubules into spindle
fibers in cells undergoing division
 Other Organelles

Cell Wall
• A semirigid structure outside the plasma
membrane that is made primarily of
polysaccharides
• Provides support to the cell, limit cell volume
and restricts the flow of water in or out of the
cell
 Basic Processes in the Cell
Obtain materials from the environment and
be selective on what it allows to enter or leave
Must have energy to fuel biochemical
processes
Must be able to use and interpret the
information in the DNA
Must be able to produce copies of its genetic
information and pass them on its daughter
cells
 Basic Processes in the Cell

• Transport across the membrane

o Diffusion (movement from greater concentration
to lesser concentration)
- Speed depends on:
1. Size of the molecules
2. Temperatures
3. Charge
4. Concentration gradient (the difference in
concentration with distance in a given
direction)
 Transport Across The Membrane
o Osmosis (water movement)
- Diffusion of a solvent (water) through a
membrane that is more permeable to the solvent
than it is the solute (dissolved substances)
- A cell will take up water from a solution that is
hypotonic (more dilute) to the cell’s membrane
causing the cell to swell and burst
- A cell will shrink when water moves out of the
cytoplasm to a solution that is hypertonic (more
concentrated) to the cell’s contents
- Cell wall limit the volume of the cell and prevent
them from bursting
 Transport Across The Membrane
Membrane transport proteins
- Help larger molecules and ions to cross
biological membranes that cannot cross the
lipid bilayer
1. Channels proteins
- Form pores through which ions, can go
through the lipid bilayer
2. Carrier proteins
- combine with molecules to be
transported and transfer solutes to the other
side of the membrane
 Transport Across The Membrane
Facilitated diffusion
- Carrier proteins enable the solute to pass in both
directions (from greater to lesser)
Active transport
- Molecules are transported against concentration
gradient (using the ATP)
 Transport Across The Membrane
 Exocytosis
- when macromolecules are
packaged into transport
vesicles that moves towards
the cell surface and fuse
with the plasma
membrane, the lipid bilayer
of the two membranes
merge and create an
opening that allows the
release of the contents of
the vesicle
 Transport Across The Membrane

Endocytosis
- The molecules or
particles are
brought into the
cells where cell
surface folds
that encloses
the material,
forming a
vesicle,
endocytic
vesicle
 Pathways for ATP Production
 Cellular Respiration
Glycolysis , which
occurs in the
cytoplasm, where the
6-carbon glucose is
metabolized to
generate 2 molecules
of 3-carbon pyruvic
acid (pyruvate),
accompanied by the
reduction of an
electron carrier NAD
to NADH+H and ATP’s
 Cellular Respiration
 Anaerobic
Respiration
(fermentation)
- 2 NADH + 2H
produced during
glycolysis are oxidize
by pyruvic acid
which accepts the 2
H atoms, that
produces lactic acid
(produced in
skeletal muscles
during rapid
contraction)
 Cellular Respiration

Citric acid (Krebs Cycle)

- Carbon atoms are release from pyruvate to
form CO₂ & high energy electrons which are
passed on to electron carriers NAD and FAD
(flavin adenine dinucleotide) reducing them
to NADH + H and FADH producing 2 ATP’s
 Cellular Respiration
Respiratory chain (electron transport chain)
- Release the energy from the reduced NADH + H
and FADH₂ to use them to form ATP
Use of Genetic Information in the DNA

DNA Replication
– Copying genetic information in the DNA
Used for RNA production (protein)
• Transcription
- Separation of DNA strands (coding strand)
which is used as template to make RNA
- The coding strand is copied by complementary
base pairing, RNA polymerase using ribonucleic
triphosphate (ATP, UTP, GTP, CTP)
Use of Genetic Information in the DNA

• Translation
– The mRNA is interpreted to form a polypeptide
chain
– Each specific amino acid is attached to its
corresponding tRNA
Use of Genetic Information in the DNA
• Initiation
– Step in translation of mRNA begins with the
assembly of the small subunit of the ribosome and
a charged tRNA at the first codon on the mRNA
– Methionine initiator tRNA (AUG)
• Elongation
– The repetition of the translation process
– Process terminates when the termination codon
(stop codon) is encountered at the A-site of the
ribosome
• Newly synthesized protein is released from
the tRNA and separates from the ribosome