Cell: The Unit of Life

DESIGNED

By

Edustudy point
Cell: It is the fundamental structural and functional unit of all living organisms.

• Antony Von Leeuwenhoek first saw and described a live cell.

• All organisms are composed of cells.

• Some organisms are composed of a single cell and are called unicellular
organisms, while others composed of many cells are called multicellular
organism. Fig. A Cell

Cell theory: All living organisms are composed of cells and products of cells.

• Schleiden and Schwann together formulated the cell theory.

• Rudolf Virchow (1855) first explained that cells divided and new cells are formed from pre-existing
cells.

• All cells arise from pre-existing cells.

An overview of cell:
• Cells are surrounded by a cell membrane and in plants cell membrane is surrounded by a cell wall.

• Inside each cell is a dense membrane bound structure called nucleus, which contains the
chromosome and in turn DNA.

• Cells that have membrane bound nuclei are called eukaryotic whereas cells that lack a membrane
bound nucleus are prokaryotic.

• In both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, a semi-fluid matrix called cytoplasm occupies the volume
of the cell.

• Besides the nucleus, the eukaryotic cells have other membrane bound distinct structures called
organelles like

i. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

ii. Golgi complex
iii. Lysosomes
iv. Mitochondria
v. Microbodies
vi. Vacuoles
 • Mycoplasmas, the smallest cells, are only 0.3 μm in length while bacteria could be 3 to 5 μm.

• The largest isolated single cell is the egg of an ostrich.

• Human red blood cells are about 7.0 μm in diameter.

• Nerve cells are some of the longest cells.

Prokaryotic cells: The prokaryotic cells are represented by bacteria, blue-green algae, mycoplasma
and PPLO (Pleuro Pneumonia Like Organisms).

• The four basic shapes of bacteria are bacillus (rod like), coccus (spherical), vibrio (comma shaped)
and spirillum (spiral).

Fig. Various forms of cells

• The fluid matrix filling the cell is the cytoplasm.

• The genetic material is basically naked, not enveloped by a nuclear membrane.

• In addition to the genomic DNA, many bacteria have small circular DNA outside the genomic DNA
called plasmids.

• Prokaryotes have something unique in the form of inclusions.

• A special membranous structure is

the mesosome which is formed by the extensions
of plasma membrane into the cell form of vesicles,
tubules and lamellae.

• Bacteria have a chemically complex cell envelope

consists of a tightly bound three layered structure

i. the outermost glycocalyx

ii. cell wall
iii. plasma membrane Fig. Prokaryotic cell

• Bacteria can be classified into two groups on the basis of the differences in the cell envelopes and
the manner in which they respond to the staining procedure developed by Gram

a) The bacteria that take up the gram stain are Gram positive.

b) The bacteria that do not take up the Gram stain are Gram negative.

• Glycocalyx differs in composition and thickness among different bacteria, which could be a loose
sheath called the slime layer in some, while in others it may be thick and tough, called the Capsule.
 • In some prokaryotes like cyanobacteria, there are other membranous extensions into the cytoplasm
called chromatophores which contain pigments.

• Bacterial cells may be motile or non-motile, if motile they have flagella.

• Bacterial flagellum is composed of three parts – filament, hook and basal body.

• Besides flagella, pili and fimbriae are also surface structures of the bacteria.

• The pili are elongated tubular structures made of a special protein.

• The fimbriae are small bristle like fibres sprouting out of the cell.

• In prokaryotes ribosomes are about 15 nm by 20 nm in size and are made of two subunits - 50S and
30S units which when present together form 70S prokaryotic ribosomes.

• Several ribosomes may attach to a single mRNA and form a chain called polyribosomes or polysome.

• Reserve material in prokaryotic cells are stored in the cytoplasm in the form of inclusion bodies,
which lie free in the cytoplasm. Example- phosphate granules, cyanophycean granules.

• Gas vacuoles are found in blue green and purple and green photosynthetic bacteria.

Eukaryotic cells: The Eukaryotic cells possess an organised nucleus with a nuclear envelope and
genetic material is organised into chromosomes.

• Plant and animal cells are different as the former possess cell walls, plastids and a large central
vacuole which are absent in animal cells, whereas animal cells possess centrioles.

• Eukaryotic cells have a variety of complex locomotory and cytoskeletal structures.

• All cell organelles of eukaryotes are distinct

from each other but these are considered
together as an endomembrane system because
their functions are coordinated.

• The endomembrane system includes

endoplasmic reticulum (ER), golgi complex,
lysosomes and vacuoles.

• Since the functions of the mitochondria,

chloroplast and peroxisomes are not coordinated with Fig. Eukaryotic cell
the above components, these are not considered as part D
of the endomembrane system.

Cell membrane: The cell membrane is composed of lipids that are arranged in a bilayer.

• The lipids are arranged within the membrane with the polar head towards the outer sides and the
hydrophobic tails towards the inner part, which ensures that the nonpolar tail of saturated
hydrocarbons is protected from the aqueous environment.
 • The lipid component of the membrane mainly consists of phosphoglycerides.

• Cell membranes also possess protein and carbohydrate.

• Membrane proteins can be classified as integral and Peripheral.

• Peripheral proteins lie on the surface of membrane while the integral proteins are partially or
totally buried in the membrane.

• Fluid mosaic model of cell membrane was proposed by Singer and Nicolson.

• According to Fluid mosaic model, the quasi-fluid nature of lipid enables lateral movement of
proteins within the overall bilayer, and the ability to move within the membrane is measured as
its fluidity.

• The membrane is selectively

permeable and the most important functions
of the plasma membrane is the transport of
the molecules across it.

• Movement of water by diffusion from

higher to lower concentration is called
Osmosis.

Fig. Fluid mosaic model • The energy dependent process, in which ATP is utilised and a few
D ions or molecules are transported across the membrane against their
concentration gradient is called active transport. Example- Na+/K+ Pump.

Cell wall: Cell wall is the non-living rigid outer covering for the plasma membrane.

• Cell wall gives shape to the cell, protects the cell from mechanical damage and infection, helps in
cell-to-cell interaction and provides barrier to undesirable
macromolecules.

• Algae have cell wall, made of cellulose, galactans, mannans

and minerals like calcium carbonate, while in other plants it
consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins and proteins.

• Primary wall is the cell wall of a young plant cell, which is

capable of growth and gradually diminishes as the cell
matures and the secondary wall is formed on the inner side
of the cell.

• The middle lamella is a layer mainly of calcium pectate which holds Fig. Cell wall
or glues the different neighbouring cells together. D
• The cell wall and middle lamellae may be traversed by plasmodesmata which connect the cytoplasm
of neighbouring cells.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER): ER is a network or reticulum of tiny tubular structures scattered
in the cytoplasm.

• ER divides the intracellular space into two distinct

compartments, i.e., luminal (inside ER) and extra luminal
(cytoplasm) compartments.

• The endoplasmic reticulum bearing ribosomes on their

surface is called rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER),
whereas in the absence of ribosomes they appear smooth
and are called smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER).

• RER is involved in protein synthesis and secretion,

whereas SER is the major site for synthesis of lipid.

Fig. Endoplasmic reticulum

Golgi apparatus D

• Structures consist of many flat, disc-shaped sacs or cisternae of 0.5μm to 1.0μm diameter, which
are stacked parallel to each other are called Golgi apparatus.

• Camillo Golgi (1898) first observed Golgi apparatus.

• The Golgi cisternae are concentrically arranged near the nucleus

with distinct convex cis or the forming face and concave trans or
the maturing face.

• Materials to be packaged in the form of vesicles from the ER fuse

with the cis face of the Golgi apparatus and move towards the
maturing face, where packaging of materials take place.

• Glycoproteins and glycolipids are synthesized in Golgi apparatus. Fig. Golgi apparatus

Vacuoles: The vacuole is the membrane-bound space containing

water, sap, excretory product, etc.

• The vacuole is bound by a single membrane called Tonoplast.

• In Amoeba, the contractile vacuole is important for excretion.

In many cells, as in protists, food vacuoles are formed by engulfing the

food particles

Fig. Vacuole

Mitochondria: Mitochondrion is a double membrane-bound structure with the

D outer membrane and
the inner membrane dividing its lumen distinctly into the outer compartment and the inner compartment.

• The inner compartment is called the Matrix.

 • The outer membrane forms the continuous limiting boundary of the organelle and the inner
membrane forms a number of infoldings called the cristae towards the matrix.

• Mitochondria are the sites of aerobic respiration and

produce cellular energy in the form of ATP, hence they
are called ‘power houses’ of the cell.

• The matrix also possesses single circular DNA

molecule, a few RNA molecules, ribosomes, and a few
components of protein synthesis.

Fig. Mitochondria

Plastids: D
Plastids are the organelle present in the plant cells which bear some specific pigments, thus
imparting specific colours to the plants.

• Based on the type of pigments plastids can be classified into chloroplasts, chromoplasts and
leucoplasts.

o The chloroplasts contain chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments which are responsible for trapping
light energy essential for photosynthesis.

o In the chromoplasts, fat soluble carotenoid pigments like carotene, xanthophylls and others are
present.

o The leucoplasts are the colourless plastids of varied shapes and sizes with stored nutrients like
amyloplasts which store carbohydrates, elaioplasts store oils and fats, whereas the aleuroplasts
store proteins.

• Chloroplasts of the green plants are found in the mesophyll cells of the leaves.

• The chloroplasts are double membrane bound.

• The space limited by the inner membrane of

the chloroplast is called the stroma.

• A number of organised flattened membranous

sacs called the thylakoids.

• Thylakoids are arranged in stacks like the piles

of coins called grana.

• There are flat membranous tubules called the stroma Fig. Chloroplast
lamellae connecting the thylakoids of the different grana.
D
• The membrane of the thylakoids enclose a space called a lumen.

• The stroma contains enzymes, double stranded DNA molecules, ribosomes.

Ribosomes: Ribosomes are the granular structures composed of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins.

• The eukaryotic ribosomes are 80S, while the

prokaryotic ribosomes are 70S, made up of two
subunits.

• ‘S’ stands for the sedimentation coefficient, which is

indirectly is a measure of density and size.
Fig. Ribosomes
Cytoskeleton: An elaborate network of filamentous proteinaceous
D
structures present in the cytoplasm is collectively referred to as the
cytoskeleton.

• Cytoskeleton provides mechanical support, motility, and maintains the

shape of the cell.

Fig. Cell containing cytoskeleton

D
Cilia and flagella
• Cilia and flagella are hair-like outgrowths of the cell membrane.

• Cilia and flagella help in cell movement.

• Core of cilia and flagella is called the axoneme, possesses a number of microtubules running parallel
to the long axis.

• The axoneme usually has nine pairs of doublets of

radially arranged peripheral microtubules, and a
pair of centrally located microtubules. Such an
arrangement of axonemal microtubules is referred
to as the 9+2 array.
Fig. Cilia and flagellum
• The central tubules are connected by bridges and is also
D
enclosed by a central sheath, which is connected to one of the tubules of each peripheral doublets
by a radial spoke and hence there are nine radial spokes.

• The peripheral doublets are also interconnected by linkers.

• Both the cilium and flagellum emerge from centriole-like structure called the basal bodies.

Centrosome and centrioles: Centrosome is an organelle usually

containing two cylindrical structures called centrioles.

• Both the centrioles in a centrosome lie perpendicular to each other.

• Each centriole is made up of nine evenly spaced peripheral fibrils

of tubulin.

Fig. Centrosome and centriole

D
 • The central part of the centriole is also proteinaceous and called the hub, which is connected with
tubules of the peripheral triplets by radial spokes made of protein.

• The centrioles form the basal body of cilia or flagella, and spindle fibres that give rise to spindle
apparatus during cell division in animal cells.

Nucleus: Nucleus as a cell organelle was first described by Robert Brown.

• Nucleus was named chromatin by Flemming.

• The interphase nucleus has highly extended and elaborate nucleoprotein fibres
called chromatin, nuclear matrix and one or more spherical bodies called nucleoli.

• The nuclear envelope consists of two parallel membranes with a space between them called
the perinuclear space.

• At a number of places, the nuclear envelope is interrupted by minute pores, which are formed by
the fusion of its two membranes.

• The nuclear matrix or the nucleoplasm contains nucleolus and chromatin.

• The nucleoli are spherical structures present in the

nucleoplasm.

• Nucleolus is the site of active ribosomal RNA synthesis.

• A loose and indistinct network of nucleoprotein fibres is

called chromatin.

• During different stages of cell division, cells show

structured chromosomes in place of the nucleus.

• Chromatin contains DNA and some basic proteins

called histones, some non-histone proteins and also RNA.

• Every chromosome essentially has a primary constriction or the Fig. Nucleus

centromere on the sides of which disc shaped structures
called kinetochore are present.
D

Chromosomes: Based on the position of the centromere, the chromosomes can be classified into four
types

1) Metacentric: The metacentric chromosome has middle centromere forming two equal arms of the
chromosome.

2) Submetacentric: The sub-metacentric chromosome has centromere nearer to one end of the
chromosome resulting into one shorter arm and one longer arm.

3) Acrocentric: In case of acrocentric chromosome, the centromere is situated close to its end
forming one extremely short and one very long arm, whereas the telocentric chromosome has a
terminal centromere.
 4) Telocentric: Sometimes a few chromosomes have non-staining secondary constrictions, which gives
the appearance of a small fragment called the satellite.

Fig. Different types of chromosome

Microbodies:
D
Many membrane bound minute vesicles are called microbodies.

• Microbodies contain various enzymes, are present in both plant and

animal cells.

Fig. Microbodies

KHATAM