Cells—the fundamental unit of life

What is life?
Molecules of life
Cell as fundamental unit
Cell membranes and organelles
Cell metabolism
Cells organized into tissues
Types of tissues
Cells—the fundamental unit of life

What is life?
 Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit
 Cell membranes and organelles
 Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues
 Types of tissues
What is Life?
 Life needs energy
 Life reproduces
 Life grows and
develops
 Life maintains a
stable condition—
homeostasis
 Life responds to
stimulus
 Life is organized
because it has
evolved
Humans Evolve
 Life is organized
hierarchically
 Evolution explains
organization at every
level of hierarchy
 Humans can be
understood at every
level of hierarchy
 Humans have evolved
and are evolving
Cells are fundamental unit of life
 Cells are the basic
and fundamental unit
of life
 The first life was
cellular life
 The Molecules of
Life are what cells
and all their internal
parts are made up of
Cells—the fundamental unit of life

 What is life?

Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit
 Cell membranes and organelles
 Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues
 Types of tissues
The Carbon-chain Molecules of Life

MOLECULE MADE OF FUNCTION

Carbohydrates Simple Sugars Energy

Proteins Amino Acids Catalyze

reactions
Fats Fatty Acids Cell
membranes
DNA/RNA Nucleotides Information
(bases)
 Carbohydrates
 Components are simple
sugars
 Used for energy
storage in complex
form
 Broken down to simple
sugars to fuel cellular
metabolism in
mitochondria
 So, why are simple
sugars bad for us? And
why do we love them
so much?
 Proteins
 Components are amino acids
 Very complicated
 Amino acid chain folds up to
give complex form
 Complex form allows for
catalyzing very specific
chemical reactino
 GenBlue
 Fats/Lipids
• Fundamental to life and
origins—separate cell
interior from
environment as cell
membrane
• Mammals and other
vertebrates—long-term
energy storage
• Role in diet=big
controversy!
DNA/RNA (Nucleic Acids)

 DNA and RNA store and use information

 Components are nucleotides or “bases” (A,C,T/U,G)
 One DNA molecule can be very long and complex—millions of bases long
 DNA duplicates to pass on information
 Transcription to mRNA to be translated into protein’s amino acid chain
 What do proteins do?
Cells—the fundamental unit of life
 What is life?
 Molecules of life

Cell as fundamental unit

 Cell membranes and organelles
 Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues
 Types of tissues
Cells are fundamental unit of life
 Cells are the basic
and fundamental unit
of life
 The first life was
cellular life
 The Molecules of
Life are what cells
and all their internal
parts are made up of
Two types of cells
 Prokaryotic cells
 Relatively Simple
 Relatively Small
 No organelles with Molecules of Life
distributed throughout cytoplasm
 Bacteria are all prokaryotic cells

 Eukaryotic cells
 More complex
 Much bigger (100 x size of prokaryotic cells)
 Internally organized with membrane-bound
organelles
 Multi-cellular organisms, like plants and
animals, are all made up of eukaryotic cells
Eukaryotic cell
Endosymbiotic origin of
mitochondria and chloroplasts

 Eukaryotic cells evolved from fusion or

integration of prokaryotic cells
 Best evidence is in bacterial or
prokaryotic appearance of mitochondria
and chloroplasts
 These organelles are like little bacterial
cells within our cells, now fully
functionally integrated
 They perform fundamental cell functions.
Mitochondria process sugars to produce
energy; chloroplasts make sugars by
photosynthesis
 But they maintain their own DNA and
genetic control
Prokaryotic cells have:

 Cell membrane
 DNA molecule loose in cytoplasm
 Small Ribosomes where proteins are assembled from DNA information
 Microtubule structures like flagella and cilia
 Mitochondria and chloroplasts share most of these features, including their own
independent DNA
Eukaryotic cells (like our human cells) have:

WHAT EUKARYOTIC CELLS HAVE:

• Cell membrane
• Nucleus
• Mitochondria (and sometimes chloroplasts for
photosynthesis)
• Larger ribosomes for protein assembly from DNA
information
• Internal membranes that organize cellular spaces and
distribution of Molecules of Life within cell (“cytoskeleton”)
WHAT CAN EUKARYOTIC CELLS WHAT STRUCTURES ARE
DO? INVOLVED?

Separate inside of cell from external Cell Membrane

environment and control what substances
pass across membrane
Produce proteins/enzymes that catalyze Nucleus (DNA), Ribosomes on rough
chemical reactions or control movement endoplasmic reticulum
across membrane
Break down sugars to form energy which Mitochondria
is stored in phosphate bonds of ATP

Organize distribution of Molecules of Life Internal membrane system and

(macromolecules) and ions throughout cell “cytoskeleton” (ER, lysosomes, vessicles,
microtubules)
Move Flagella, cilia, pseudopods
Cells—the fundamental unit of life
 What is life?
 Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit

Cell membranes and

organelles
 Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues
 Types of tissues
A cell membrane or plasma membrane separates cell from
outside world—creates ability to regulate internal environment
(homeostasis)
 What are some characteristics of the
plasma membrane?
• It is a phospholipid bilayer
• It is embedded with proteins
that move in space
• It contains cholesterol for
support
• It contains carbohydrates on
proteins and lipids
• Selectively permeable
 What does selectively permeable
mean?
• The membrane allows
some things in while
keeping other
substances out
How do things move across the plasma
membrane?
1. Diffusion
2. Osmosis
3. Facilitated transport
4. Active transport
5. Endocytosis and exocytosis
 What are diffusion and osmosis?
• 1. Diffusion is the
random movement of
molecules from a higher
concentration to a lower
concentration

• 2. Osmosis is the
diffusion of water
molecules
 How does tonicity change a cell?
• Hypertonic solutions have more
solute than the inside
of the cell and lead to lysis
(bursting)

• Hypotonic solutions have less

solute than the inside of the cell
and lead to crenation (shriveling)

• Isotonic solutions have equal

amounts of solute inside and
outside the cell and thus does not
affect the cell
 What are facilitated diffusion and
active transport?
• 3. Facilitated transport is the
transport of molecules
across the plasma
membrane from higher
concentration to lower
concentration via a protein
carrier

• 4. Active transport is the

movement of molecules
from a lower to higher
concentration using ATP as
energy; requires a protein
carrier
 What are endocytosis and
exocytosis?
• 5. Endocytosis transports
molecules or cells into the
cell via invagination of the
plasma membrane to
form a vesicle

• 6. Exocytosis transports
molecules outside the cell
via fusion of a vesicle
with the plasma
membrane
Protein synthesis
 Remember that proteins control cell metabolism—how and where are they
made, or synthesized in the cell?
What structures are involved in protein
synthesis?
• Nucleus
• Ribosomes
• Endomembrane system
 What is the structure and function of
the nucleus?
 Bound by a porous
nuclear envelope
 Houses DNA and
associated proteins
called chromatin
 Contains nucleoplasm
 Nucleolus region(s) that
contain ribosomal RNA
(rRNA)
 What is the structure and function of
ribosomes?
• Organelles made of
RNA and protein
• Found bound to the
endoplasmic reticulum
and free floating in the
cell
• Site of protein synthesis
 What is the endomembrane system?
• A series of membranes in which molecules are
transported in the cell

• It consists of the nuclear envelope,

endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus,
lysosomes and vesicles
How does the endomembrane system
function and appear?
 Summary of the parts of the endomembrane
system?
• Rough endoplasmic reticulum – studded with ribosomes used
to make proteins

• Smooth endoplasmic reticulum – lacks ribosomes but aids in

making carbohydrates and lipids

• Golgi apparatus – flattened stacks that process, package and

deliver proteins and lipids from the ER

• Lysosomes – membranous vesicles made by the Golgi that

contain digestive enzymes

• Vesicles – small membranous sacs used for transport

What are cilia and flagella?
 Both are made of
microtubules

 Bothare used in
movement

 Ciliaare about 20x

shorter than flagella
What do mitochondria do and what
do they look like?
 A highly folded
organelle in eukaryotic
cells
 Produces energy in the
form of ATP
 They are thought to be
derived from an
engulfed prokaryotic
cell
Cells—the fundamental unit of life
 What is life?
 Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit
 Cell membranes and organelles

Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues
 Types of tissues
 What is cellular respiration?
 Occurs in the
mitochondria
 Production of ATP
in a cell
 Usually glucose is
main “energy”
molecule enters
cellular respiration
 Includes:
 Glycolysis
 Citric acid cycle
 3. Electron transport
chain
 What other molecules besides glucose
can be used in cellular respiration?
• Other carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Lipids
How can a cell make ATP without oxygen?

• Fermentation
– Occurs in the cytoplasm
– Does not require oxygen
– Involves glycolysis
– Makes 2 ATP and lactate in human cells
– Is important in humans for a burst of energy for a
short time
All of cell metabolism
 Cell metabolism is much more than simply making
ATP, or cellular respiration, which is just how the cell
has an energy supply.
 What does the cell do with that energy?
 Get ready for what you are about to see…
 The cell runs all the reactions that make it alive—see
the first part of this presentation: grow, reproduce,
develop, move, maintain internal homeostasis, respond
to stimuli.
 This involves a LOT of chemical reactions.
 Here it is: most of the reactions involved in keeping the
simplest of cells—an E. coli bacteria—alive!
Ecocyc—database of complete E. coli metabolism
 What’s it all mean?
 Every little box represents a stage in a particular chemical
reaction. The sum of those reactions is the total cell
metabolism—what makes the cell alive!
 You’ll actually visit the ecocyc database under the web
links for this section as the last thing you do
 Remember three things:
1. every one of these reactions is catalyzed by a protein
2. The amino acid sequence for those proteins are coded for in the DNA
3. The world’s biggest super-computers are trying to figure out how, based
on their unique amino acid sequence, all the different cellular proteins take
on the particular shape they have, and control the particular reaction they
catalyze. (You’ll also visit the Blue Gene IBM super-computer website in
the web links for this section.)
Cells—the fundamental unit of life
 What is life?
 Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit
 Cell membranes and organelles
 Cell metabolism

Cells organized into tissues

 Types of tissues
 What is a tissue?
• Multi-cellular organisms are composed of millions
and millions of cells whose metabolism is organized
to work together.
• A tissue is a collection of cells of the same type that
perform a common function
• There are 4 major tissue types in the body:
1. Connective
2. Muscular
3. Nervous
4. Epithelial
How many cell types?
How many cells?
 Each class of tissue might include a number of different cell types. In total, our
bodies have a few hundred different types of cells
 How many total cells are in our body?
 How many cells are in an adult human? Lots. More than anyone could count,
and the bigger you are the more cells there would be. Growth is a process of cellular
reproduction, so as you grow bigger you are made up of more cells. Following a
similar logic, a larger person is larger because they have more cells, not because their
cells are larger. In fact, cell types have a fairly uniform size across the entire human
species.
The largest and smallest cells in the human body are the gametes, or the sex
cells. The female sex cell, the oocyte, is about 35 microns in diameter, which puts it
just on the edge of being visible if you have real good eyes. The male sex cell,
spermatozoan, cell is only about 3 microns in diameter, and therefore is the smallest
cell of the human body. Various other cell types have various other sizes within this
range.
Although no exact number can be given, the order of magnitude of the number
of cells in a human body can be approximated to 10 14 or one hundred trillion cells.

Source: MadSci Network

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar98/889221957.An.r.html
Cells—the fundamental unit of life
 What is life?
 Molecules of life
 Cell as fundamental unit
 Cell membranes and organelles
 Cell metabolism
 Cells organized into tissues

Types of tissues
 1. Epithelial tissue
• A groups of cells that form a tight, continuous
network
• Lines body cavities, covers body surfaces and
found in glands
• Cells are anchored by a basement membrane
on one side and free on the other side
• Different types of epithelial cells are named after
the appearance of cell layers and the shape of the
cells
• There is transitional epithelium that changes in
appearance in response to tension
What does epithelial tissue look like?
 2. Connective tissue
• Binds and supports parts of the body
• All have specialized cells, ground substance and
protein fibers
• Ground substance is noncellular and ranges from
solid to fluid
• The ground substance and proteins fibers
together make up the matrix of the tissue
• There are three main types of connective tissue:
A. fibrous , B. supportive and C. fluid
 Connective tissue holds things together

 Tendon, fascia
 Bone
 Cartilage
 Throughout body
supporting blood vessels,
nerves, cell populations
(like in bone marrow,
blood)
 3. Muscle tissue
• Allows for movement in the body

• Made of muscle fibers/cells and

protein fibers called actin and
myosin

• There are 3 types of muscle tissue

in humans:
A. Skeletal
B. Smooth
C. Cardiac
 4. Nervous tissue
• Allows for communication
between cells through sensory
input, integration of data and
motor output

• Made of 2 major cell types:

A. Neurons—carry messages
B. Neuroglia—support neurons