CELL STRUCTURES AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Cell wall

Cell membrane

protoplasm - the living contents within the cell: nucleus and cytoplasm

Cell membrane

Chemical components: consists of protein and lipid

Structure: Two layers of lipid sandwiched between two protein layers

Function:

Nucleus

 contains chromatin which is involved in nuclear division

 Contains a nucleolus
 Enclosed by and envelope of two membranes that is perforated by nuclear pores

Ribosomes

 Protein Factories
 are complexes made of ribosomal RNA and protein, are the cellular components that carry out protein synthesis
 Cells that have high rates of protein synthesis have particularly large numbers of ribosomes.
 proteins made on free ribosomes function within the cytosol; examples are enzymes that catalyze the first steps of
sugar breakdown.
 Bound ribosomes generally make proteins that are destined for insertion into membranes, for packaging within certain
organelles such as lysosomes or for export from the cell (secretion).

Peroxisome

 is a specialized metabolic compartment bounded by a single membrane.

 Contain enzymes that remove hydrogen atoms from various substrates and transfer them to oxygen (O2), producing
hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
 Some peroxisomes use oxygen to break fatty acids down into smaller molecules that are transported to mitochondria
and used as fuel for cellular respiration.
 Peroxisomes in the liver detoxify alcohol and other harmful compounds by transferring hydrogen from the poisons to
oxygen. The H2O2 formed by peroxisomes is itself toxic, but the organelle also contains an enzyme that converts H2O2
to water.
 Specialized peroxisomes called glyoxysomes are found in the fat-storing tissues of plant seeds. These organelles contain
enzymes that initiate the conversion of fatty acids to sugar,which the emerging seedling uses as a source of energy and
carbon until it can produce its own sugar by photosynthesis.

Nuclear membrane/Nuclear envelope

 Doubled layer
 Similar structure as cell membrane
 Continuous with E.R.
  With microscopic pores called pore complex for exchange of materials between nucleus and cytoplasm (proteins &
RNAs,macromolecules)
 encloses the nucleus separating its contents from the cytoplasm.

Nucleus

 Enclosed by and envelope of two membranes that is perforated by nuclear pores

 Necessary for survival of a cell for it controls all the activities of the cell, cellular function, cell division and heredity
 contains most of the genes in the eukaryotic cell.
 Where the DNA is organized into discrete units called chromosomes, structures that carry the genetic information.
 Each chromosome contains one long DNA molecule associated with many proteins.
 The complex of DNA and proteins making up chromosomes is called chromatin.

Nucleolus

 Composed of DNA mainly

 Act as the manufacturing site of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and ribosomes
 Here, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is synthesized from instructions in the DNA and proteins that are imported from the
cytoplasm are assembled with rRNA into large and small subunits of ribosomes.

Nucleoplasm

 Nuclear sap
 Gel-like
 Denser than cytoplasm
 Contains proteins, nucleotides and ions

Chromatin

 Consists of DNA and protein ( histone )

 Condense to rod-shape chromosome just prior to nuclear division
 Carry genetic materials which determine organisms’ characteristics and transmit these characteristics to next
generations

Mitochondria

 mitochondria and chloroplasts are the organelles that convert energy to forms that cells can use for work.
 Mitochondria are the sites of cellular respiration, the metabolic process that uses oxygen to drive the generation of ATP
by extracting energy from sugars, fats, and other fuels.
 Chloroplasts - found in plants and algae, are the sites of photosynthesis ( Process that converts solar energy to chemical
energy by absorbing sunlight and using it to drive the synthesis of organic compounds such as sugars from carbon
dioxide and water.
 endosymbiont theory - states that an early ancestor of eukaryotic cells engulfed an oxygen-using nonphotosynthetic
prokaryotic cell. Eventually, the engulfed cell formed a relationship with the host cell in which it was enclosed,
becoming an endosymbiont (a cell living within another cell). Indeed, over the course of evolution, the host cell and its
endosymbiont merged into a single organism, a eukaryotic cell with a mitochondrion. At least one of these cells may
have then taken up a photosynthetic prokaryote, becoming the ancestor of eukaryotic cells that contain chloroplasts.
 Surrounded by an envelope of two membranes, the inner being folded to form cristae
 Contains a matrix with respiratory enzymes for the Kreb’s cycle
 Rich in cell which require large amont of energy such as sperm tail, muscle cell

Mitochondrion
  The cristae increase the surface area of inner mitochondrial membrane for attachment of respiratory enzymes for the
electron transfer reactions; thus enhancing the productivity of cellular respiration.
 In aerobic respiration, cristae are the sites of oxidative phosporylation and electron transport
 Act as power house of a cell
 The energy releasing reactions of respiration occur in matrix and on the cristae

Chloroplast: Capture of Light Energy

 Contains the green pigment chlorophyll that function in the photosynthetic production of sugar; found in leaves and
other green organs of plants and in algae.
 Contains thylakoids (system of flattened and interconnected membranous sacs); stacked like poker chips; each stack is
called a granum (plural, grana).
 The fluid outside the thylakoids is the stroma, which contains the chloroplast DNA and ribosomes as well as many
enzymes.

Microvilli

 cells may have many long, thin projections from their

 surface called microvilli, which increase surface area without
an appreciable increase in volume.

Lysosomes

 From ER and modified in G.A

 A spherical sac bounded by a single membrane
 Works best in acidic environment
 Contain digestive (hydrolytic) enzymes
 Intracellular digestion of food materials eg. Amoeba by phagocytosis (engulfing)
 Destroy the worn-out organelles inside cell
 Digestion products, including simple sugars, amino acids, and other monomers, pass into the cytosol and become
nutrients for the cell.
 Performs autophagy - use their hydrolytic enzymes to recyclethe cell’s own organic material

How are the proteins of the inner surface of the

lysosomal membrane and the digestive enzymes themselves
spared from destruction?

Answer: , the three-dimensional shapes of these proteins protect vulnerable bonds from enzymatic attack.

Vacuole

 Derived from E.R & G.A

 Function as food vacuole, contractile vacuole, and central vacuole.

Vacuole

 Contractile vacuole - pump excess water out of the cell, thereby maintaining a suitable concentration of ions and
molecules inside the cell.
 For plant protection (contains poisonous and unpalatable compounds) and for pigmentation of petal (red and blue).
 The solution inside the central vacuole (cell sap) is the plant cell’s main repository of inorganic ions, including KCl
 plays a major role in the growth of plant cells, which enlarge as the vacuole absorbs water, enabling the cell to become
larger with a minimal investment in new cytoplasm.

Golgi Apparatus
  consists of stacks of flattened membrane bounded sacs called cisternae and many vesicle
 At one end of the stacks new cisternae are constantly formed by fusion of vesicles pinched from smooth ER (cis face );
at the other end, small Golgi vesicles are pinched off constantly and travel to other sites (trans face)
 Transport in vesicles of many cell materials, such as enzymes from ER
 Involved in secretion and lysosome formation

 Warehouse for receiving, sorting, shipping, and even some manufacturing (some macromolecules i.e., pectin). Here,
products of the ER, such as proteins, are modified and stored and then sent to other destinations.
 Modified, refined, altered, targets to other destination, molecular identification (labelling tags ), zip codes for mailing,
docking sites of other cell structures.

Plasma Membrane

 Act as a partially permeable barrier controlling the movement of substances between the cell and the surrounding
 Function as a selective barrier that allows passage of enough oxygen, nutrients, and wastes to service the entire cell
 Act as support
 Act as enzyme which catalyzes the chemical reaction within the cell membrane
 Act as carriers in transporting substance across the membrane
 Act as recognition center

Endoplasm Reticulum ( E.R.)

 consists of a network of membranous tubules and sacs called cisternae (from the Latin cisterna, a reservoir for a liquid).
 Continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope
 Act as an intracellular transport system
 There are two types of E.R - Rough ER and smooth ER

Rough E.R.

 Ribosomes are attached to its surface

 Transports proteins made by the ribosomes through the cisternae to smooth ER and then to Golgi appartus for futher
modification
 Protein synthesis (hormones and secretory proteins)
 Membrane factory
 Smooth E.R.
Without ribosomes attached to its surface
Transport lipids
Synthesis of lipids and steroid (testes & ovaries)
metabolism of carbohydrates
detoxification of drugs and poisons (liver cells)
and storage of calcium ions(muscle cells).
cytoskeleton

is a network of fibers that organizes structures and activities in the cell

(Support and Motility)

mechanical support to the cell and maintain its shape.

provides anchorage for many organelles and even cytosolic enzyme molecules

is composed of three types of molecular structures: microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments.
microtubules

hollow rods constructed from a globular protein called tubulin.

Microtubules shape and support the cell and also serve as tracks along which organelles equipped with motor proteins can
move

guide vesicles from the ER to the Golgi apparatus and from the Golgi to the plasma membrane.

Function as compression-resisting girders of the cytoskeleton.

are also involved in the separation of chromosomes during cell division

grow out from a centrosome, a region that is often located near the nucleus.

Within the centrosome is a pair of centrioles, each composed of nine sets of triplet microtubules arranged in a ring

a specialized arrangement of microtubules is responsible for the beating of flagella and cilia (locomotor appendages).

Microfilaments (Actin Filaments)

are thin solid rods, a.k.a actin filaments because they are built from molecules of actin, a globular protein.

A microfilament is a twisted double chain of actin subunits

the structural role of microfilaments in the cytoskeleton is to bear tension (pulling forces).

well known for their role in cell motility. Thousands of actin filaments and thicker filaments made of a protein called myosin
interact to cause contraction of muscle cells

Intermediate Filaments

are named for their diameter, which is larger than the diameter of microfilaments but smaller than that of microtubules

are a diverse class of cytoskeletal elements

Intermediate filaments are more permanent fixtures of cells than are microfilaments and microtubules, which are often
disassembled and reassembled in various parts of a cell.