Plant Cell Organelles and their Physiological Functions

Dr. Birendra Kumar Padhan

Assistant Professor (Plant Physiology)
Cell- cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Cell discovery-Robert Hooke (1665)
Cork cell (thin slice of dead cork)-crude microscope-two lens microscope
Honey-comb like structures-Micrographia
Cellula-latin word-cells
Dead cells-cell walls
 Discovery of microscope

1. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (300 x magnification)

(1648)

2. Robert Hooke
(1665)

3. Ernst Ruska and

Max Knoll
(1931)
Electron microscope

Ernst Ruska Max Knoll

Cell Theory-M. J. Schleiden (Botanist) and T. Schwann (Zoologist)-
1938

Three tenets of cell theory-principles

1. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells
2. Cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life
3. New cells arise from the division of pre-existing cells-Rudolf Virchow

M. J. Schleiden T. Schwann Rudolf Virchow

Levels of organization in plant

Atom

compound or
molecule

Organelle

Cell

Tissue

Organ

organ system

organism
 Plant cell Animal cell
1. cell wall present absent
2. vacuole present absent
3. chloroplast present absent
4. centrosome and present
centrioles absent
 Ultra structure of a plant cell

Ultra structure: the fine structure seen with higher magnification under a high resolution
microscope/ electron microscope
 Eukaryotic plant cell

Protoplasm (Living) Cell wall (non-ling)

Vacuole Nucleus Primary cell Secondary cell Tertiary cell wall

Cytoplasm Middle lamella
(Dictyosme) wall wall (gymnosperms)

Endoplasmic reticulum Ergastic

Cell organelles Cytoskeleton
(Ergastoplasm) substances

Glyoxysome and
Spherosome
Plastid Mitochondria Ribosome Golgi body Lysosome peroxisome
(Oleosme) (Microbodies)

Chloroplast Chromoplast Leucoplast

Cell wall: the rigid protecting structure

• Non-living
• Secreted and maintained by protoplasm
• Synthesis-Golgi body
• Elastic, permeable
1. Middle lamella- made up of pectin (Ca, Mg)
- cementing layer between cells
- hydrophilic in nature
2. Primary cell wall- made up of cellulose, hemi-
cellulose, pectin, lignin
- found in dividing cells
3. Secondary cell wall- made up of cellulose, lignin
- found in dead cells
(tracheids, sclerenchyma)
 Chemical changes and deposition in cell wall

Chemical changes in cell wall Cell wall deposition

• Lignification • Lignin
• Suberization • Suberin
• Cutinization • Cutin
• Mucilagenous changes • Mucilage, waxes
• Mineralization • Nutrients
• Callose
• Proteins
 Functions of cell wall

• Protect the inner content of cell

• Provide definite shape
• Mechanical support
• Maintains turgidity
• Maintains permeability-truely permeable
• Cell to cell connection-middle lamella
• Cell to cell transport of substances
 Cell inclusions: the non-living substances

• Organic-inorganic substances
• Ergastic substances- metabolic by-products
• Help in maintaining cellular structure, defence
• Storage substances
1. Reserve Food materials- carbohydrate: starch
- proteins: aleurone grain, protein bodies
- lipids: fats, oils
2. Secretory products- pigments, enzymes, nectar
3. Excretory products- metabolic by-product
- tannin, gums, resins, essential oils
- mucilage, latex, mineral crystals, alkaloids
 Cell membrane: the selectively permeable structure

• Outermost living boundary of cytoplasm

Made up of 1. proteins: peripheral, integral, trans-membrane
2. lipids: phospholipids
3. polysaccharides: glycoproteins, glycolipids

Functions
• Encloses the inner content
• Provides cell shape
• Selective permeability-small uncharged molecules can freely diffuse through
phospholipid bilayer (easily dissolved within core hydrophobic region)
• Cell membrane potential
 Unit membrane model-Robertson

• Two lipid layers/lipid bilayers

• One protein monolayer on either side of the lipid
• Hydrophilic layer- outside
• Hydrophobic layer- inside
 Fluid mosaic Model-Singer and Nicholson

• Lipid bilayers
• Peripheral, integral, trans-membrane (tunnel) proteins
• Mosaic arrangement of proteins over lipid bilayer
• More flexibility to transport of various molecules across the membrane
• Widely accepted model
Protoplasm: the physical basis of life-Thomas Huxley

• Protoplasm or living matter is a polyphasic

crystallo-colloidal complex that possesses
all the properties of life and is found inside
living cells (cell membrane is not a part of
the protoplasm)
• Medium for various biochemical activities
• All the properties of life reside in the
protoplasm
• Cell without cell wall-protoplast
• Protoplasm = cytoplasm + nucleus
• Cytoplasm – fluid or matrix inside along
with cell organelles and cell inclusions
Chloroplast: the photosynthesizing structure

• Photosynthetic conversion of to CO2

carbohydrates
• Synthesis of fatty acids, lipids, and proteins
• Involve in photorespiration, lipid metabolism
• Reduction of nitrite to ammonium
• Site of production of assimilatory power
(NADPH)
• Photophosphorylation (cyclic, non-cyclic)
• Oxygen evolution (photolysis of water )
Double membrane structure • Cytoplasmic male sterility
Mitochondria: the power house of the cell

• Oxidation of carbohydrates, proteins,

lipids
• Oxidative photophosphorylation
(respiration)-ATP generation
• Photorespiration-generation of
ammonium (NH3)
• Glyoxylate cycle- gluconeogenesis
(generation of glucose from non-
carbohydrate source; lipids, proteins)
• Protein synthesis
• Nucleic acid metabolism
Double membrane structure
• Cytoplasmic male sterility
Endoplasmic reticulum: the skeletal network

• Internal framework
• Intra-cellular transport
• Protein (RER) and lipid synthesis (SER)
• Synthesis of Gibberellic acid (GA)

• SER-smooth endoplasmic reticulum

• RER-rough endoplasmic reticulum

Single membrane structure

Golgi body (Dictyosome): the secretory vesicles

• Packaging of proteins and export

• Cell wall formation (cell plate)
• Modification of proteins
• Processing and secretory functions

Single membrane structure

 Ribosome: the protein synthesizing machinery

• Protein synthesis during translation

40S : 18S
• The mRNA is synthesized in the
nucleus and is transported to the
cytoplasm for further process of
protein synthesis.
• In the cytoplasm, the two subunits
of ribosomes are bound around the
polymers of mRNA; proteins are
then synthesized with the help of
transfer RNA.
• The proteins that are synthesized
60S: 5S, 5.8S. 28S by the ribosomes present in the
cytoplasm are used in the
Not membrane bound and float freely in the cytoplasm cytoplasm itself. The proteins
produced by the bound ribosomes
are transported outside the cell.
 Lysosome: the hydrolytic body

• Although rare, also found in plant cells

• In plants lysosomes are known as small
vacuoles
• Carry out intra-cellular digestion

Single membrane structure

Microbodies: Glyoxysome and Peroxysome

Single membrane structure

• Glyoxysome- gluconeogenesis (glyoxylate cycle)-
special type of peroxisomes present in plants and
filamentous fungi
• Peroxisome-photorespiration
- jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis
Spherosome: the oil storing body

• Half unit membrane (oleosin protein)

• Also known as oleosome
• Storage of oil (triacyl glycerol-TAG)
• Synthesized from Endoplasmic reticulum (SER)
Vacuole: the storage and digestive body

• Storage of waste products, metabolites,

and inorganic substances (nitrate)
• Maintains turgidity
• Cellular homeostasis-salt balance
• Intracellular digestion through autophagy
(contains cellulase, proteinases, lipases)
• Osmotic adjustment (OA)-desiccation
tolerant mechanism

Single membrane structure-tonoplast

 Nucleus: the coordinating body

• Growth and reproduction

• DNA replication, transcription
• Co-ordination of cellular
activities

Double membrane structure

 Plasmodesmata: the connecting structure

• Transport between cells

• Cell to cell communication
Cytoskeleton: microfilaments, microtubules, intermediate
filaments

• Network of interlinking protein filaments

present in the cytoplasm of all cells

• Mechanical support

• Anchor cell organelles

• Intracellular movement

• Pollen tube growth

Thank you