Chapt

er-TheFundament
alUni
tofLi
fe-
Cel
l
NOTES
CELL-
Iti
sthest
ruct
ural
andf
unct
ional
uni
tofl
i
fe.
 Cel
list
ermedast
hest
ruct
uraluni
tofl
if
easi
tpr
ovi
desst
ruct
uret
othebodyof
l
i
vingor
gani
sms.
 Cel
lisconsi
der
edast
hef
unct
ionaluni
tofl
i
feasal
lthef
unct
ionsoft
hebody
t
akepl
aceatcel
ll
evel
.
 Cont
ri
but
ionsofsci
ent
ist
sint
hisf
iel
d-
 Cel
lwasdi
scov
eredbyRober
tHookei
n1665whenheobser
vedat
hinsl
i
ceof
cor
kunderhi
scr
udemi
croscope.
 Rober
tBr
owni
n1831di
scov
eredt
henucl
eusi
nthecel
l
.
 Leeuwenhoekdi
scov
eredf
reel
i
vingcel
l
sinpondwat
erf
ort
hef
ir
stt
ime.
 Pur
kinj
ecoi
nedt
het
erm Pr
otopl
asm.
 Cel
ltheor
ywaspr
oposedbySchl
eidenandSchwannandwasf
urt
herexpanded
byVi
rchow.
Cel
lTheor
y:
Cel
ltheor
yst
atest
hat
:
 Al
ll
iv
ingor
gani
smsar
ecomposedofcel
l
s.
 Cel
li
sthef
undament
aluni
tofl
i
fe.
 Al
lnewcel
l
scomef
rom pr
e-exi
sti
ngcel
l
s.
TypesofOr gani
smsont heBasisofNumberofCell
s-
Therearetwokindsoforgani
smsont hebasi
sofcell
s:
(i
)Unicel
lul
arOrgani
sms:Theor gani
smsthatar
emadeupofsi ngl
ecel
landmay
consti
tut
eawhol eorgani
sm,arenamedasunicel
lul
arorgani
sms.
Forexampl
e:Amoeba,
Par
ameci
um,
bact
eri
a,et
c.
(i
i)Multi
cel
lularOrganisms:Theorgani
smswhicharecomposedofacollect
ionofcel
l
s
thatassumef uncti
oni nacoor
dinat
edmanner,wi
thdif
fer
entcel
lsspeci
ali
zedto
perfor
m par
ticulartasksint
hebody,arenamedasmulti
cel
lul
arorgani
sms.
Forexampl
e:Pl
ant
s,humanbei
ngs,
ani
mal
s,et
c.
ShapeandSi
zeofCel
ls
 Cel
lsv
aryi
nshapeandsi
ze.Theymaybeov
al,
spher
ical
,rect
angul
ar,
spi
ndl
e
shaped,
ort
otal
l
yir
regul
arl
i
ket
hener
vecel
l
.
  Thesi
zeofcel
lal
sov
ari
esi
ndi
ff
erentor
gani
sms.Mostoft
hecel
l
sar
e
microscopi
cinsi
zel
i
ker
edbl
oodcel
l
s(RBC)whi
l
esomecel
l
sar
efai
rl
ylar
gel
i
ke
nerv
ecel l
s.
TypesofCells
Thecellscanbecategor
izedintwot
ypes:
1.Prokary
oti
cCell2.Eukaryot
icCel
l
1.Prokaryoti
ccell
Prokary
oticcell
sarecellsinwhichtruenucleusi
sabsent.Theyarepr
imiti
veand
i
ncompl etecell
s.Thereisasinglechromosomet hatsi
mplyli
esincontactwit
hthe
cytopl
asm.Pr okary
otesarealway sunicel
l
ularor
ganisms.Forexampl
ebact er
ia,
blue
greenalgaeareallprokary
otes.

2.Eukaryoti
cCell
Eukary
oticcell
sarethecell
sinwhichtruenucl
eusispresent.Theyareadvancedand
completecell
s.Eukary
otesincl
udealll
i
v i
ngorgani
sms( bothunicel
l
ularand
multi
cell
ularor
ganisms)exceptbact
eri
aandbl uegreenalgae.
Di
ff
erencebet
weenPr
okar
yot
icandEukar
yot
icCel
ls:

S.No. Pr
okar
yot
iccel
l Eukar
yot
iccel
l

Sizeofcel
lisgener
all
ysmal
l Si
zeofcel
li
sgener
all
ylar
ge(
5-
1.
(1-10µm). 100µm).

2. Nucl
eusi
sabsent
. Nucl
eusi
spr
esent
.

Itcont
ainssi
ngl
e Itcont
ainsmor
ethanone
3.
chromosome. chromosome.

4. Nucl
eol
usi
sabsent
. Nucl
eol
usi
spr
esent
.

Membraneboundcel
l Membr aneboundcel lorganel
les
or
ganel
lesar
eabsent
. suchasmi tochondr
ia,plasti
ds,
5. endoplasmicreti
cul
um, gol
gi
apparatus,
lysosomes, etc.
,ar
e
present.

Celldi
vi
siontakesplaceby Cel
ldi
vi
siont
akesplacebymi
tot
ic
6.
fi
ssionorbudding. ormei
oti
ccel
ldiv
isi
on.

Str
uctur
eofCell-
Cel
lisgener
all
ycomposedoft
hreebasi
ccomponent
s:
(
i)Cel
lwal
landcel
lmembr
ane
(
ii
)Nucl
eus
(
ii
i)Cy
topl
asm
(
i)Cel
lmembr
aneorPl
asmamembr
ane:

Plasmamembr anei
st hecov
eri
ngoft
hecel
lthatsepar
atest
hecont
ent
soft
hecel
l
fr
om it
sext
ernalenv
ironment.

I
tisali
vingpar
toft
hecel
landi
spr
esenti
ncel
l
sofpl
ant
s,ani
mal
sand
micr
oorgani
sms.

I
tisv
eryt
hin,
del
i
cat
e,el
ast
icandsel
ect
ivel
yper
meabl
emembr
ane.

I
tiscomposedofl
i
pidsandpr
otei
ns.

Funct
ion:
Asiti
sselect
ivel
yper
meabl
emembr
ane,
ital
l
owst
hef
lowofsel
ect
edsubst
ancesi
n
andoutofthecell
.
 Dif
fusi
on-spont
aneousmovementofasubstancefr
om aregi
onofhi
gh
concent
rat
iontoaregi
onwherei
tsconcent
rati
onislow.
Itt
akespl
acei
nsol
i
ds,
l
iqui
dsandgases.
 Osmosi
s-MovementofWat
ermol
ecul
esf
rom asel
ect
ivel
yper
meabl
e
membranei
scall
edOsmosi
s.
 I
fweputanani
mal
cel
l
/pl
antcel
li
nthef
oll
owi
ngsol
uti
onst
hen-
a.Hypot
onicsol
uti
on(Highwat
erconc.Out
sidet
hecel
lthani
nsi
det
hecel
l
)-
cel
lwi
llgai
nwaterandwil
lswel
lup.
b.Isot
oni
csolut
ion-(
Sameconc.Ofwat
eri
nsi
deaswel
lasout
sidet
hecel
l
)-
cell
wil
lst
aythesamesize.
c.Hyper
toni
csol
uti
on-(Lowwaterconc.out
sidet
hecel
lthani
nsi
det
hecel
l
)-
cel
lwil
ll
oosewaterandwi
ll
shrinkinsi
ze.
(
ii
)Cel
lwal
l:

Cel
lwal
li
snon-
li
vi
ng,
thi
ckandf
reel
yper
meabl
ecov
eri
ngmadeupofcel
l
ulose.

I
tispr
esenti
neukar
yot
icpl
antcel
l
sandi
npr
okar
yot
iccel
l
s.

Funct
ions:
 I
tdet
ermi
nest
heshapeandr
igi
dit
ytot
hepl
antcel
l
.
  I
tpr
otect
sthepl
asmamembr
aneandot
herpar
tsoft
hecel
lpr
esenti
nsi
det
he
cel
l
.
 I
tpr
event
sdr
ynessi
ncel
l
.
(
ii
i)Nucl
eus:

-
Nucl
eusi
sdenseandspher
ical
componentoft
hecel
l
.

-Nucl
eusi
sboundedbytwomembranes,
bothformingnucl
earenv
elope.Nucl
ear
envel
opecont
ainsmanypor
esknownasnuclearpores.

-
Thef
lui
dwhi
chi
spr
esenti
nsi
det
henucl
eusi
scal
l
ednucl
eopl
asm.

-Nucl
euscontai
nschromosomesandchr
omosomescont
aingeneswhi
char
ethe
centr
esofgeneti
cinf
ormati
on.

Funct
ions:
 Nucl
euscont
rol
sal
lthebi
ochemi
cal
act
ivi
ti
esoft
hecel
l
.Nucl
eusi
sthe
stor
ehouseofgenes.Iti
sconcernedwi
tht
hetransmi
ssi
onofher
edi
tar
ytr
ait
s
fr
om thepar
enttooffspri
ngthr
oughcel
ldi
visi
on.
(
iv)Cy
topl
asm:

I
tisaj
ell
y-
li
ke,
v i
scous,
color
lesssemi-
fl
uidsubst
ancet
hatoccur
sbet
weent
he
pl
asmamembr aneandthenuclearmembrane.

Cel
lor
ganel
les:
Insi
dethecel
lther
earedif
fer
entpar
tsper
for
mi ngdiff
erentact
ivi
ti
estokeepthecel
l
ali
veandfunct
ional
.Thesepar
tarecal
l
edCellorganel
les.Theyareexpl
ainedbel
ow:
1.Gol
giAppar
atus:

Gol
giapparat
usconsist
sofasetofmembr
anebound,
flui
dfi
l
ledv
esi
cles,
vacuol
es
andfl
att
enedcist
ernae(cl
osedsacks)
.
Ci
ster
naear
eusual
l
yar
rangedpar
all
elt
oeachot
her
.

Funct
ions:
 I
tsmai
nfunct
ioni
stost
ore,
modi
fy,
packageanddi
spat
cht
hesubst
ances.
 I
tisal
soi
nvol
vedi
nthesy
nthesi
sofl
ysosomes.
 I
nsomecasescompl
exsugar
sar
emadef
rom si
mpl
esugar
sinGol
giappar
atus.
2.Endopl
asmi
cRet
icul
um:

I
tisamembranousnet
wor
koftubel
i
kest
ruct
uresext
endi
ngf
rom nucl
ear
membranet
oplasmamembrane.

Ther
earet wotypesofendopl asmicreti
culum:
(i
)RoughEndoplasmicReticulum (RER):Herer
ibosomesarepresentont
hesurf
ace
ofERforthesynthesi
sofpr oteins.
(i
i
)Smoot hEndoplasmicRet i
culum (SER):
Hereribosomesar
eabsentanditi
s
meantforsecr
etingli
pids.

Funct
ions:
 I
tgi
vesi
nter
nal
suppor
ttocel
l
.
 I
thel
psi
ntr
anspor
tofv
ari
oussubst
ancesf
rom nucl
earmembr
anet
opl
asma
membr
aneorv
icev
ersa.
 RERhel
psi
nsy
nthesi
sandt
ranspor
tat
ionofpr
otei
ns.
 SERhel
psi
nsy
nthesi
sandt
ranspor
tat
ionofl
i
pids.
3.Ri
bosomes:

Theseareextr
emelysmal
l,
denseandspher
ical
bodieswhi
choccurf
reel
yint
he
cyt
oplasm orremai
natt
achedtot
heendopl
asmi cr
eti
cul
um.

Thesear
emadeupofr
ibonucl
eicaci
d(RNA)andpr
otei
ns.

Funct
ion:
Theypl
ayamaj
orr
olei
nthesy
nthesi
sofpr
otei
ns.
4.Mi
tochondr
ia:
Theyar
esmal
lrod-
shapedor
ganel
l
es.

I
tisadoublemembranestr
uctur
ewithout
ermembranebei
ngsmoot
handpor ous
wher
easinnermembranebeingt
hrownint
oanumberoffol
dscal
l
edcri
stae.

Theycont
aint
hei
rownDNAandr
ibosomes.

Funct
ions:
 Theyar
ethesi
tesofcel
l
ularr
espi
rat
ion,
hencepr
ovi
deener
gyf
ort
hev
ital
act
ivi
ti
esofl
i
vingcel
l
s.
 Theyst
oreener
gyr
eleasesdur
ingr
eact
ions,
int
hef
orm ofATP(
Ener
gycur
rency
oft
hecel
l
).Ther
efor
e,t
heyar
eal
socal
l
ed‘
powerhouse’
oft
hecel
l
.
5.Cent
rosomeandCent
ri
oles:

Cent
rosomeisfoundonl
yineukar
y ot
icani
mal
cel
l
s.I
tisnotboundedbyany
membranebutconsi
stsofcent
ri
oles.

Cent
ri
olesar
ehollowcyl
indr
ical
str
uct
uresar
rangedatr
ightangl
etoeachot
herand
madeupofmi cr
otubul
es.

Funct
ion:
Centr
iol
eshel
pincel
ldi
vi
sionandal
sohel
pint
hef
ormat
ionofci
l
iaandf
lagel
l
a.
6.Pl
ast
ids:
Pl
ast
idsar
epr
esenti
nmostoft
hepl
antcel
l
sandabsenti
nani
mal
cel
l
s.

Theyareusual
l
yspher
ical
ordi
scoi
dinshapeanddoubl
emembr
anebound
organel
l
es.

Theyal
sohav
ethei
rownDNAandr
ibosomes.

Pl
ast
idsar
eoft
hreet
ypes:
(a)Chlor
oplast
s:Thesearethegr eencol our
edplasti
dscontaini
ngchlorophy
ll
.
Chloropl
ast
saidi nthemanufacturefoodbyt heprocessofphotosynthesi
s.
(b)Chromoplasts:Thesear
et hecolourfulpl
asti
ds(exceptgreencolour).
(c)Leucopl
asts:Thesearethecolourlessplast
ids.

Funct
ion:
 Chl
oropl
ast
str
apsol
areber
gyandut
il
isei
ttomanuf
act
uref
oodf
ort
hepl
ant
.
 Chr
omopl
ast
simpar
tvar
iouscol
our
stof
lower
stoat
tracti
nsect
sforpol
l
inat
ion.
 Lecuopl
ast
shel
pint
hest
orageoff
oodi
nthef
orm ofst
arch,
prot
einsandf
ats.
7.Ly
sosomes:

Lysosomesar
esmall
,spher
ical,sacl
i
kest
ruct
ureswhi
chcont
ainsev
eral
digest
ive
enzymesencl
osedi
namembr ane.

Theyar
efoundi
neukar
yot
iccel
l
smost
lyi
nani
mal
s.

Funct
ions:
 Lysosomeshel
pindi
gest
ionoff
orei
gnsubst
ancesandwor
n-outcel
lor
ganel
l
es.
 Theypr
ovi
depr
otect
ionagai
nstbact
eri
aandv
irus.
  Theyhel
ptokeept
hecel
lcl
ean.
 Dur
ingt
hedi
stur
bancei
ncel
l
ularmet
abol
i
sm,
forexampl
ewhent
hecel
lget
s
damaged,
lysosomesmayburstandtheenzy
mesdigestt
hei
rowncel
l
.Ther
efor
e,
l
ysosomesarealsoknownassuici
debagsofacel
l
8.Vacuol
es:

Vacuol
esar
eli
qui
d/sol
i
dfi
l
ledandmembr
aneboundor
ganel
l
es.

I
npl
antcel
l
s,vacuol
esar
elar
geandper
manent
.Inani
mal
cel
l
s,v
acuol
esar
esmal
l
I
nsi
zeandtemporar
y.

I
nmat
urepl
antcel
l
,Itoccupi
es90%spaceofcel
lvol
ume.

Duet
oit
ssi
ze,
otheror
ganel
l
es,
incl
udi
ngnucl
eusshi
ftt
owar
dspl
asmamembr
ane.

Funct
ion:
 Theyhel
ptomai
ntai
ntheosmot
icpr
essur
einacel
l
.
 Theypr
ovi
det
urgi
dit
yandr
igi
dit
ytot
hepl
antcel
l
.

Di
ff
erencebet
weenAni
malCel
landPl
antCel
l:

S.
Ani
malcel
l Pl
antcel
l
No.

Ani
mal cel
l
sar
egener
all
ysmal
l Plantcel
l
sar
elar
gert
hanani
mal
1.
i
nsize. cell
s.

Cel
lwal
li
sabsent
. Plasmamembr aneofplantcel
li
s
2. surroundedbyari
gidcel
lwallof
cell
ulose.

Plast
idsar
eabsentexcepti
n Pl
ast
idsar
epr
esent
.
3
caseofprot
ozoanEuglena.

Herevacuol
esar
emany
,smal
l Theyhaveaper
manentandl
arge
4.
andtemporar
y. cent
ralsapv
acuol
e.

Theyhavecent
rosomeand Theyl
ackcent
rosomeandcent
ri
oles.
5.
cent
ri
oles.
St
ruct
ureofPl
antcel
landAni
malcel
l:

MI
TOSI
SANDMEI
OSI
S

Mit
osi
sisanucl
eardi
vi
siongi
vingri
set
ogeneti
call
yident
ical
cel
lsi
nwhicht
he
chr
omosomenumberismaint
ainedbyt
heexactdupli
cati
onofchr
omosome.
Mei
osi
sisareduct
iondi
vi
sioni
nwhi
cht
hechr
omosomenumberi
shal
vedf
rom di
ploi
d
t
ohapl
oid.