Cell structure

Cell membrane
• All cells are surrounded by a cell surface membrane which controls
the exchange of materials between the internal cell environment and
the external environment
• The membrane is described as being ‘partially permeable’
• The cell membrane is formed from a phospholipid bilayer of
phospholipids spanning a diameter of around 10 nm
Cell wall
• Cell walls are formed outside of the cell membrane and offer
structural support to cell
• Structural support is provided by the polysaccharide cellulose in
plants, and peptidoglycan in most bacterial cells
• Narrow threads of cytoplasm (surrounded by a cell membrane) called
plasmodesmata connect the cytoplasm of neighbouring plant cells
nucleus
• Present in all eukaryotic cells, the nucleus is relatively large and
separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane (the nuclear
envelope) which has many pores
• Nuclear pores are important channels for allowing mRNA and
ribosomes to travel out of the nucleus, as well as allowing enzymes
(eg. DNA polymerases) and signalling molecules to travel in
• The nucleus contains chromatin (the material from which
chromosomes are made)
• Usually, at least one or more darkly stained regions can be observed –
these regions are individually termed ‘nucleolus’ and are the sites of
ribosome production
nucleus
• The site of aerobic respiration within eukaryotic cells, mitochondria
are just visible with a light microscope
• Surrounded by double-membrane with the inner membrane folded to
form cristae
• The matrix formed by the cristae contains enzymes needed for
aerobic respiration, producing ATP
• Small circular pieces of DNA (mitochondrial DNA) and ribosomes are
also found in the matrix (needed for replication)
Chloroplast
• Larger than mitochondria, also surrounded by a double-membrane
• Membrane-bound compartments called thylakoids containing chlorophyll
stack to form structures called grana
• Grana are joined together by lamellae (thin and flat thylakoid membranes)
• Chloroplasts are the site of photosynthesis:
• The light-dependent stage takes place in the thylakoids
• The light-independent stage (Calvin Cycle) takes place in the stroma
• Also contain small circular pieces of DNA and ribosomes used to synthesise
proteins needed in chloroplast replication and photosynthesis
Ribosome
• Found freely in the cytoplasm of all cells or as part of the rough
endoplasmic reticulum in eukaryotic cells
• Each ribosome is a complex of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and proteins
• 80S ribosomes (composed of 60S and 40S subunits) are found in
eukaryotic cells
• 70S (composed of 50S and 30S subunits)
• 70S Ribosomes
• 70S Ribosomes are composed of a small 30S subunit and large 50S subunit.
The 'S' stands for svedbergs, a unit used to measure how fast molecules
move in a centrifuge.
• ribosomes in prokaryotes, mitochondria and chloroplasts
• Site of translation (protein synthesis)
ER
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER)
• Surface covered in ribosomes
• Formed from continuous folds of membrane continuous with
the nuclear envelope
• Processes proteins made by the ribosomes
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
• Does not have ribosomes on the surface, its function is distinct to the
RER
• Involved in the production, processing and storage of lipids,
carbohydrates and steroids
Golgi
• Flattened sacs of membrane similar to the smooth endoplasmic
reticulum
• Modifies proteins and packages them into vesicles or lysosomes
vacoule
• Sac in plant cells surrounded by the tonoplast, selectively permeable
membrane
• Vacuoles in animal cells are not permanent and small
vesicle
• Membrane-bound sac for transport and storage
lysosome
• Specialist forms of vesicles which contain hydrolytic enzymes
(enzymes that break biological molecules down)
• Break down waste materials such as worn-out organelles, used
extensively by cells of the immune system and in apoptosis
(programmed cell death)
Centrioles
• Hollow fibres made of microtubules, two centrioles at right angles to
each other form a centrosome, which organises the spindle fibres
during cell division
• Not found in flowering plants and fungi
Microtubles
Microvilli
• Cell membrane projections that increase the surface area for
absorption
Cilia
• Hair-like projections made from microtubules
• Allows the movement of substances over the cell surface
Flagella
• Similar in structure to cilia, made of longer microtubules
• Contract to provide cell movement for example in sperm cells
Electron micrograph animal
Plant
• Structure of Animal & Plant Cells
• The only structures found in animal cells but not plant cells are the
centrioles and microvilli
• Plant cells also have additional structures: the cellulose cell wall, large
permanent vacuoles and chloroplasts
• The Vital Role of ATP
• All organisms require a constant supply of energy to maintain their cells and stay alive
• This energy is required:
• In anabolic reactions – building larger molecules from smaller molecules
• To move substances across the cell membrane (active transport) or to move substances within the cell
• In animals, energy is required:
• For muscle contraction – to coordinate movement at the whole-organism level
• In the conduction of nerve impulses, as well as many other cellular processes
• In all known forms of life, ATP from respiration is used to transfer energy in all energy-requiring processes in
cells
• This is why ATP is known as the universal energy currency
• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is a nucleotide
• The monomers of DNA and RNA are also nucleotide
• Structural Features of Typical Prokaryotic Cells
• Animal and plant cells are types of eukaryotic cells, whereas bacteria are a
type of prokaryote
• Prokaryotes have a cellular structure distinct from eukaryotes:
• Their genetic material is not packaged within a membrane-bound nucleus
and is usually circular (eukaryotic genetic material is packaged as linear
chromosomes)
• Prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles
• They are many (100s/1000s) of times smaller than eukaryotic cells
• Their ribosomes are structurally smaller (70 S) in comparison to those
found in eukaryotic cells (80 S)
• Key Features of Viruses
• Viruses are non-cellular infectious particles that straddle the boundary between ‘living’
and ‘non-living’
• They are relatively simple in structure; much smaller than prokaryotic cells (with
diameters between 20 and 300 nm)
• Structurally they have:
• A nucleic acid core (their genomes are either DNA or RNA, and can be single or double-
stranded)
• A protein coat called a ‘capsid’
• Some viruses have an outer layer called an envelope formed usually from the
membrane-phospholipids of a cell they were made in
• All viruses are parasitic in that they can only reproduce by infecting living cells and using
their protein-building machinery (ribosomes) to produce new viral particles