CHAPTER- FUNDAMENTAL UNIT OF LIFE CELL

 Cell were first discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665.

 He was able to observe cells in a cork slice through primitive microscope.
 Leeuwenhoek discovered living cells which he found in pond water in 1674.
 He was able to check living cell through his improved microscope.
 Robert Brown discovered nucleus in the cell in 1831
 Purkinje in 1839 coined protoplasm for the fluid substance of the cell
 Robert Hooke wrote a book ‘Micrographia’ in 1665, to spread his work on cells

 Cell theory was composed by Schleiden and Schwann in 1838- 1839

1. All plants and animals are composed of cell
2. Cell is the basic unit of life
 Cell theory was further expanded by Virchow in 1855
1. All cells arise from pre-existing cells.
 Finally, in 1940 electron microscope was invented to observe.

 Organisms are of 2 types on the basis of cell-

1. Unicellular (means have only one cell)
E.g.- Chlamydomonas, Paramecium, Bacteria, Amoeba
2. Multicellular (means have more than one cell)
E.g.- Fungi, Plants, Animals

 The shape and size of cells are related to the specific function they perform
E.g.- Nerve cell is long so that they can send signals very fast, without any delay

 Each and every cell are composed of:

1. Plasma Membrane
2. Nucleus
3. Cytoplasm

 Plasma Membrane
 Outermost covering of the cell
 Allows the entry and exit of selective materials in and out the cell
 Prevent movement of some other materials
 Plasma membrane is flexible
 It is made up of organic molecules called lipids and proteins
 Therefore, it is also called selectively Permeable Membrane
 Some substances like CO2 can move across the cell by the process diffusion
 Diffusion is the spontaneous movement of a substance from a region of high concentration
to a region of lower concentration.
 Q- Explain Diffusion of CO2
 CO2 is a cellular waste and requires to be removed from the cell.
 In the external environment, co2 concentration is low as compared to that inside the cell
 As there is a difference of concentration of co2 inside and outside the cell, so co2 moves out
of the cell, from a region of high concentration, to a region of lower concentration outside
the cell by the process of Diffusion

 The movement of water from a region of high concentration to region of lower

concentration through a selectively permeable membrane until equilibrium is reached is
called osmosis

 There are 3 types of solution-

1. Hypotonic Solution- If the medium surrounding the cell has high concentration of
water than the cell, which also means the outside solution is very dilute, the cell will
gain water by osmosis.
2. Isotonic- If the medium has exactly the same water concentration as the cell, there
will be no net movement of water across the cell membrane.
3. Hypertonic Solution- If the medium has a lower concentration of water than the cell,
which also means that it is very concentrated solution, the cell will lose water by
osmosis.

 Cell wall
 In addition to the plasma membrane, plant cells have another rigid outer covering called cell
wall
 Cell wall is composed of cellulose.
 Cellulose is a complex substance and provides structural strength to plants
 Cell walls permit to withstand very dilute (hypotonic) external media without bursting
 In such media the cells tend to take up water by osmosis. The cell swells, building up
pressure against the cell wall. The wall exerts an equal pressure against the swollen cell.
 When a living plant cell loses water through osmosis, there is a shrinkage of the contents of
the cell away from the cell wall. This phenomenon is called as Plasmolysis.

 Nucleus
 Nucleus has a doubled layer covering called nuclear membrane.
 Nuclear membrane has pores which allow the transfer of material from inside the nucleus to
its outside which is cytoplasm.
 Nucleus contains chromosomes
 Chromosome is a rod-shaped structure only when the cell is about to divide.
 It contains information for inheritance of characters from parents to next generation in the
form of DNA (Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid) molecules
 Chromosomes are composed of DNA and proteins
 DNA molecules contain the information necessary for constructing cells
 Functional segments of DNA are called Genes.
 DNA is a part of chromatin materials
 Chromatin material is visible as entangled mass of thread like structures.
 Nucleus plays a central role in cellular reproduction
 It also plays a crucial part in determining the way the cell will develop and what form it will
exhibit at maturity, by directing the chemical activities of the cell.
 Undefined nuclear region containing only nucleic acid is called nucleoid
 Cells who lacks a nuclear membrane and are called prokaryotes
 Cells having nuclear membrane are called eukaryotes.
 Nucleus >> Nucleoplasm >> Chromosomes/Chromatin >> DNA and Proteins >> Genes

 Prokaryotic cells also lack most of the other cytoplasmic organelles present in eukaryotic
cells

 Cytoplasm
 Cell organelles which are present between cell membrane and the nucleus, the fluid area is
called cytoplasm

 Cell Organelles
1. Endoplasmic Reticulum
2. Golgi apparatus
3. Lysosomes
4. Mitochondria
5. Plastids

 Endoplasmic Reticulum-
 It is a large network of membrane bound tubes and sheets.
 2 types of ER-
1. Rough ER
2. Smooth ER
 RER looks rough under microscope because it has particles called ribosomes attached to its
surface
 Where ever ribosomes are present, then that is the site for protein manufacture
 SER helps in manufacture of fat molecules, or lipids, important for cell functioning.
 These lipids and proteins manufactured in ER are also used to help in building the cell
membrane. This process is called membrane biogenesis
 ER also serve as a transport channels for the transport of materials
 SER plays a crucial role in detoxifying many poisons and drugs
 Golgi Apparatus-

 It was first described by Camillo Golgi,

 consists of membrane bound vesicles arranged approx. parallel to each other in stacks called
cisterns.
 Transports material synthesized near the ER to various part of cell
 It also helps in:
1. Modification
2. Storage
3. Packing
 It can also change complex substance into simpler substance
 Golgi apparatus is also involved in formation of lysosomes
 (if 20 % necessary things are done then the biography of Camillo Golgi)

 Lysosomes
 Single membrane bound organelles
 Their sacs are filled with powerful digestive enzymes. (These enzymes are made by RER)
 These organelles help to keep the cell clean by digesting any foreign material or some worn
out cell organelles
 When the cell gets damaged, lysosomes may burst and the enzymes digest their own cell
 Therefore, lysosomes are also known as the suicidal bags of the cell

 Mitochondria
 Powerhouse of the cell
 Double membrane bound organelle
 Outer membrane is porous, inner membrane is deeply folded
 ATP molecules (Adenosine Triphosphate) is released by mitochondria which is used by the
cell to perform various chemical reactions.
 ATP is known as the energy currency for the cell.
 Therefore, inner membrane is folded so that more area is covered for production of ATP
 Mitochondria have their own DNA and ribosomes, so they are able to make some of their
proteins own their own.

 Plastids
 Present only in plant cells
 2 types- Chromoplast and leucoplast
 Chromoplasts containing chlorophyll are called Chloroplast
 Chloroplast are important for photosynthesis.
 Chloroplast contains various other pigments like yellow and orange pigment in addition to
chlorophyll.
 Leucoplast is used to store materials such as starch, oils and protein granules
 Chloroplast consists of numerous membrane layers embedded in a material called Stroma
 Plastids also have their own DNA and ribosomes

 Vacuoles
 Storage sacs for solid or liquid
 Small size of vacuoles is present in animal cell
 Large vacuoles are present in plant cell
 In plant cells, vacuoles are full of cell sap and provide turgidity and rigidity to the cell.
 Vacuoles also stores substance which are important like: amino acids, sugars, various organic
acid and some proteins.
 In unicellular organism, food vacuole contains the food items
 In some organism vacuoles also play an important role in expelling excess water and some
wastes from the cell.
 Therefore, we can say that vacuoles play roles in cell like:
1. Storage of various substances like amino acid, sugar and also preserves food for the
cell
2. Expel excess amount of water and waste from the cell

 Cell Division
 Cell division is a process by which new cells are made
 New cells are important to form in organism in order to grow, replace the old, dead and
injured cells and to form gametes required for reproduction
 2 types of cell division- Mitosis and Meiosis
 The process of cell division by which the cells divide for growth is called mitosis.
 In this process, each cell called mother cell divides to form 2 identical daughter cells
 The daughter cells have the same number of chromosomes as mother cell.
 It helps in growth and repair of tissues in organism
 When specific cells of reproductive organs or tissues of any organism divide to form
gametes, which after fertilization give rise to offspring, the process is called meiosis
 When a cell divides by meiosis it produces 4 new cells
 All the new cells only have half the number of chromosomes than that of the mother cells.