Molecular Cell Biology (Phar6021)

Dec. 2022
 Discovery of cell and cell theory
Discovery of the cell
• All living things are made of cells.
• Cells are membrane-covered structures that contain all the materials
necessary for life.
• Cells weren’t discovered until the mid-1600’s once the microscope was
invented.
 Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
• Was a merchant that ground up glass to make lenses
• Invented microscope
• Made over 500 in his lifetime
• 1st person to examine bacteria
• He looked at pond scum and
saw small organisms he called
animalcules (we now call them
protists)
• Also looked at animal blood.
• He noticed differences between
frog and human blood cells.
 Discovery …
 Robert Hooke (1635-1702)
• Used Van Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes
• Robert Hooke first described cells while looking at a thin slice of
cork.
• Saw the cork under the microscope as “little boxes”
• He named them cells which means “little rooms” in Latin.
• Named cells after looking at cork
• Hooke looked at many different types of organisms.
• He spent most of his time looking at plants and fungi, because
they have cell walls and are easy to see.
• Because he could not see the outline of animal cells easily, he
thought that animals were not made of cells.
Robert Hooke
 Discovery …
• 1824: Henry Dutrochet, France, proposed that all living things
were composed of cells and discovered that plants grew by
increasing their number of cells.
• 1839, Johannes Purkinje, Czech Republic, used the term
‘protoplasm’ in reference to the jelly-like material with in a
cell.
• 1857: Kolliker, described the mitochondria
• 1869: Miescher isolated DNA for the first time.
• 1879: Flemming described chromosome behaviour during
mitosis.
• 1898: Golgi described the golgi apparatus.
• 1953: Crick, Wilkins and Watson proposed structure of DNA
double-helix.
 Discovery …

 Robert Brown
• 1773-1858
• Discovered the nucleus in plant cells (1833)
 Discovery …

 Matthias Schleiden
• 1804-1881
• Discovered all plants are made up of cells (1838)
 Discovery …

 Theodor Schwann
• 1810-1882
• Discovered that all animals are made up of cells (1839)
 Discovery …

 Rudolph Virchow
• 1821-1902
• Every animal appears as a sum of vital units, each of which bears
in itself the complete characteristics of life
• Proposed that all cells come from pre-existing cells (1855)
 The cell theory
 The cell theory
• Evolved directly from virchow’s statements
• States:
A. All living things are composed of cells
B. Cells are the basic units of structure & function in living things
C. All cells come from preexisting cells
Modern Cell Theory
• Contains 4 statements, in addition to the original Cell Theory:
1. The cell contains hereditary information(DNA) which is passed on
from cell to cell during cell division.
2. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition and
metabolic activities.
3. All basic chemical & physiological functions are carried out
inside the cells.(movement, digestion etc.)
4. Cell activity depends on the activities of sub-cellular structures
within the cell(organelles, nucleus, plasma membrane)
 General structure of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

There are two fundamentally different types of cells:

Prokaryotes
• Includes:
• Bacteria. Archae, cyanobacteria
Eukaryotes
• Includes:
• Protists
• Fungi
• Plants and
• Animals
Prokaryotes…
Prokaryotes…
Prokaryotes…
Prokaryotes…
Prokaryotes…
 Traits of prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Some traits of prokaryotes:
1. They do not have a nucleus, and their genetic material is not
stored in the nucleus.
2. They have some organelles, but not many.
3. They are less complicated than eukaryotes.
4. No membrane bounded structures
5. All bacteria are prokaryotes.
• Some traits of eukaryotes:
1. They all have a nucleus where the genetic material of the cell is
stored.
2. They have many organelles that work together to help the cell
function.
3. Eukaryotic cells are much more complex than prokaryotic cells.
4. They can be just one cell or can make up more complex multi-
cellular organisms.
5. Have membrane bounded organelles
6. All plants, animals, fungi, and protists are eukaryotic cells.
 Differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Organelle/ Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
macroorganelle
1. Nucleus Absent Present
2. Nucleolus Absent Present
3. DNA Circular or linear DNA organized Linear DNA molecules organized
as nucleoid in the chromosome
4. DNA packing Histone absent Histones help to package DNA
into chromosomes
5. Cell wall Never cellulose, several unique Mostly cellulose, hemicellulose,
polymers (murein/techoic acid) pectate (plants)
6. Plasma membrane Phospholipids, and proteins, no Phospholipids, sterols, proteins
sterols
7. Membrane No , but only photosynthetic Many organelles
bounded organelles pigments if present
8. Ribosomes 70S (smaller) 80S (Larger)
9. Internal None Microtubules, microfilaments and
cytoskeleton intermediate filaments
 Differences…
Organelle/ Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
macroorganelle
10. Size Varied typically 0.5 - 10 μm Varied typically 10-100 μm

11. Organization Cells or short chains of similar Cell mostly components of organs
cells and tissues in a complex
multicellular organism

12. Form Mainly unicellular Mainly multicellular except

proctista
13. Evolutionary 3.5 thousand MYA 1.2 thousand MYA, evolved from
origin prokaryotes
14. Cell division Mostly binary fission, no spindle Mitosis, meiosis or both, spindle
formed
15. Genetic DNA lies circular and is free in the DNA is linear and contained in a
material cytoplasm nucleus
16. Flagella Simple Complex
17. Respiration Mesosomes in bacteria Mitochndria for aerobic respiration
Cytoplasmic membrane in BGA
 Differences…
Organelle Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
/macroorganelle
18. Photosynthesis No chloroplasts, takes place on Chloroplasts containing
membranes which show no stacking membranes which are usually
stacked into lamellae or grana
19. N. fixation Some have the ability None have the ability
20. Cytoplasm Yes Yes
21. Cell membrane Yes Yes
22. Organelle Few or more More
23. Cell Unicellular Multicellular
organization
24. Metabolism Anaerobic or aerobic Aerobic
25. Nuclear No Yes
membrane
26. Example Bacteria Protist, fungi, animals, plants
 Structure and function of animal and plant cell organelles
 Parts of the cell
• Each living cell carries out the tasks of taking food, transforming
food into energy, getting rid of wastes, and reproducing.
• Most eukaryotic cells have three main components:
– Cell Membrane
– Cytoskeleton
– Nucleus
 Cell structure and function
• Organelles -
• The Structure and Function of the following organelles will be
discussed:
– Cell Membrane – Mitochondria
– Nucleus – Lysosomes
– Cell Wall – Peroxisomes
– Cytoplasm – Cilia and Flagella
– Cytoskeleton – Basal Bodies
– Ribosomes – Centrioles
– Endoplasmic Reticulum – Vacuoles
– Golgi Apparatus – Plastids
 Cell structure and function
 Cell wall
• Provides strength and support to a cell membrane.
• Outermost structure of a cell.
• Some eukaryotes have cell walls.
• Plants and algae have cell walls made of cellulose.
• Allows it to stand upright and in some plants need to have water
to inflate the cell wall.
• Fungi (yeasts and mushrooms) have cell walls made of chitin.
• Structure: rigid wall made up of cellulose, proteins, and
carbohydrates
• Function: boundary around the plant cell outside of the cell
membrane that provides structure and support
 Cell structure…
Cell wall consists of:
1. Primary cell wall
 Relatively thin and flexible wall secreted by young plant
2. Middle lamella
 A thin layer rich in sticky polysaccharide called pectin
 Between primary walls of adjacent cells
 Glues the cells together
 When the cells mature and stop growing, it strengthens its cell wall
by producing hardening substances
3. Secondary cell wall
 Between the plasma membrane and the primary cell wall
 Has a strong and durable matrix that affords protection and
support to the cell
 Make up the wood
 Besides cellulose, contains lignin that make them stiffer
 Cell structure…
• Once deposition of secondary cell wall is completed, many cells
die, leaving the hard tube formed by their walls as a mechanical
support and internal transport system for the plant
• Plant cell walls
 Don’t form completely uninterrupted boundaries between the cells
 Are often tiny holes in the walls through which delicate
connection between the internal media of the adjacent cell may
run
 These connections are known as plasmodesmata
 The connections of cells interconnected by plasmodesmata
constitutes a continuous system called the symplast
 Most of the intercellular exchange of materials such as sugars,
amino acids takes place through plasmodesmata of symplast
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…

 Cell membrane
• All cells have a cell membrane.
• Is a barrier between the contents of the cell and the outside
environment.
• Controls what moves into and out of the cell.
• Has two layers made of lipids, a kind of fat.
• The boundary of the cell.
• Composed of three distinct layers.
 Two layers of fat and one layer of protein.
• Structure: phospholipid bilayer with proteins that function as
channels, markers, and receptors
-also contains cholesterol which provides rigidity
• Function: selectively permeable boundary between the cell and
the external environment
 Cell structure…
• Chemical composition of the membrane
• Lipid protein assemblies held together by covalent bonds
• Also contain carbohydrates
1. Membrane lipids
• Mostly are phospholipids and amphipathic in nature
• Contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic region
• Include:
 Phospholipids
 Sphingolipids
 Cholesterol
2. Membrane carbohydrates
• Linked to both the protein and lipid component
 Cell structure…
3. Membrane proteins
• Consists of three classes:
I. Integral proteins
• Penetrate into the lipid bilayer
II. Peripheral proteins
• Localized entirely outside the lipid bilayer:
 On the cytoplasmic and
 The extracellular surfaces of the plasma membrane
III. Lipid anchored proteins
• Located outside lipid bilayer either on the extra cellular or
cytoplasmic surfaces
 Cell structure…
Roles of cell membranes
• Four main distinct functions:
1. Form the boundaries of the cell and separate its compartments
that serve as loci of specific functions
2. They regulate movement of substances into and out of the cell
and its compartment
3. They contain receptors for the detection of signals
4. They provide mechanisms for cell-to-cell communication
Cell structure…
Cell structure…
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Cytoskeleton – the cell’s scaffold
 Is a network of protein fibres cricrossed in the cytoplasm that
support the shape of the cell and anchors organelles such as the
nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes etc. to fixed locations
• Is a web of proteins located in the cytoplasm which helps the cell
keep its shape and well as help it move.
• Made of many proteins.
Structure
• A network of thin, fibrous elements made up of:
 Actin filaments/microfilaments
 Microtubules (hollow tubes) and
 Intermediate filaments (threads made out of actin)
Function
 Acts as a support system for organelles
 Maintains cell shape
 For the structure and movement of cilia and flagella
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Nucleus – the cell’s library
 Present in all eukaryotic cells except mature RBCs and seive tubes
in phloems
 Large organelle covered by two membranes
 Often has a dark spot in the nucleus called the nucleolus which
contains materials that will be used to make ribosomes.
 Contains the genetic material called DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid.
 Contains the information on how to make the cell’s proteins,
which in turn control the chemical reactions in a cell and provide
structural support for cells and tissues.
Chemical composition
• Is made up of:
 DNA, RNA
 Proteins such as histones
 Complex acidic or neutral proteins including enzymes such as
polymerases for RNA and DNA synthesis
 Inorganic salts such as Mg2+ and Fe2+
 Cell structure…
Structure
• The nucleus is a sphere that contains another sphere called a
nucleolus
• Consists of:
Nuclear membrane
• The nuclear envelop again consists of :
Nuclear Lamina- provide structural support to the nucleus
The nuclear pore- channel for the passage of polar molecules, ions
and macromolecules between the nucleus and the cytoplasm
Nucleolus
• Most prominent structure
• Act as site at which the rRNA genes are transcribed and ribosomal
subunits are assembled
• Have nucleoli- protein synthesis
 Cell structure…
• Function
• Acts as a control centre of the cell
• Serves the following functions:
 Maintains the cell by directing the synthesis of structural proteins
 Regulates the cell metabolism by directing the synthesis of
enzymatic proteins
 Guides cell differentiation
 Brings about cell replication when needed
 Contains hereditary factors
 Develops genetic variations that result in evolution
 Manages cell functions
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Ribosomes –protein factories
 site of protein synthesis
 Join amino acids together which are the building blocks of proteins.
 All cells have ribosomes because all cells need proteins to live.
 Smallest organelles and the most abundant organelles in the cell.
 Some free floating and others are attached to organelles.
 Ribosomes are not covered by a membrane.
Two types
 70S ribosomes
• S-svedberg unit used to measure particle size based on the speed
the particles sediment
• Found in prokaryotes, mitochondria and chloroplasts
• Synthesized in the cytoplasm
• Their 23S, 16S and 5S rRNAs are transcribed by the specific
regions of nucleoid
 Cell structure…
 80S ribosomes
• Found in eukaryotes
• Synthesized in the nucleus
Ribosomes
• Receive instructions from DNA in the nucleus
• Made up of two units: larger and smaller
Structure
• Consist of two subunits made of protein and RNA
Function
• Location of protein synthesis
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)- the cell’s delivery system
 Many chemical reactions occur on or in the ER
 Makes lipid and other materials.
 Breaks down chemicals that damage the cell.
 Folded membrane that contains tubes and passageways.
 Is the internal delivery system in which substances can move
through to different places within the cell.
 Can be found into two forms in the cytoplasm:
1. Granular /rough
 Covered with ribosomes
 The cells engaged in protein synthesis such as pancreas and other
endocrine glands are found to contain highly developed granular
ER
 Is rough due to the attached ribosomes for protein synthesis
 Abundantly found in pancreatic cells, plasma cells, goblet cells,
endocrine cells and liver cells
 Cell structure…
2. Agranular/ smooth
 Are smooth because not covered with ribosomes
 Cells aren’t active in protein synthesis but active for lipid synthesis
 Abundantly found in adipose tissues, adrenocortical cells,
spermatocytes and leucocytes
 Is specifically organised in muscle cells and is called sarcoplasmic
reticulum
 Is specialized for storage and rapid release of Ca++
 The release of Ca++ triggers many cellular events including muscle
contraction
 Liver cells have both types
 RBC’s, egg’s and embryonic cells don’t have ER
 Cell structure…
Structure
The ER has the following structures:
1. Cisternae
 Long, sack like, flattened unbranched tubules
2. Vesicles
 Oval membrane bounded structures
3. Tubules
 Branched structures that form the reticular system with the above
two
 Cell structure…
Functions of ER
• Protein synthesis-chief function
• Glycogenolysis
• Detoxification
• SER also plays an important role in the following processes
 Lipid and cholesterol metabolism
 Synthesis and secretion of steroid hormones
 Synthesis of visual pigments from vitamin A
 Secretion of chloride ions in HCl acid secreting cells of stomach
lining
 Laying the cellulose walls in plant cells
 Cell structure…
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER): prominent in cells that
make large amounts of proteins to be exported from the cell or
inserted into the cell membrane
– Covered with ribosomes
 Cell structure…
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (sER): involved in the synthesis
of lipids and breakdown of toxic substances
– Not covered with ribosomes
 Cell structure…
Mitochondria –the cell’s power plants
 Very conspicuous in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells
 Powerhouses of a cells, as they are the seats of energy production
 They are filamentaous organelles of aerobic cells bounded by
lipoprotein layers
 Contain many enzymes and coenzymes for energy metabolism
 “burn” food molecules to release energy, called ATP.
 Uses this energy to do work
 Most energy is produced in the inner membrane of
mitochondria.
 Most eukaryotic cells have mitochondria.
 Are the size of some bacteria and divide within the cell
 Like bacteria, mitochondria have their own DNA
 Covered by two membranes
 Cell structure…
Structure
• The basic structure remains the same in the cells of protozoa to
mammals
• There occurs structural variability based on number,size shape and
arrangement of cristae
• folded membrane within an outer membrane
• The folds of the inner membrane are called cristae
• Mitochondria contains:
 Proteins
 Lipids
 RNA and DNA
Function
• Converts energy stored in food into usable energy for work
– cellular respiration
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Plastids
 Are cytoplasmic organelles found in plant cells and certain protists
 Are of two types: leucoplasts and chromoplasts
– Chromoplasts: synthesize and store pigments
– Leucoplasts: store food such as starches, proteins, and lipids

Chromoplasts Leucoplasts

Red Pepper

Flower
 Cell structure…

Chromoplasts
• Are coloured and present in cells exposed to sunlight
• Have green pigments called the chloroplasts
Chloroplasts
• Is a vesicle bounded by an envelop of two unit membranes
and filled with a fluid matrix
Membranes
• Two membranes
• Separated by intermembrane space
• Outer membrane permeable
• Inner membrane is highly selective
• The infoldings of inner membrane give rise to lamellae in the
matrix
 Cell structure…

Lamellae
• Made up of thylakoids
Thylakoids
• Contain piles of structure called grana
• Site of light dependent reaction
Stroma
• Site of light independent reaction
Matrix
• Contain stroma
• Contains proteins, lipids, ribosomes and DNA
 Cell structure…

1. Chloroplasts – food factories

 Make food for cells
 Plants and algae have chloroplasts
 Surrounded by two membranes and have their own DNA
 Green because they contain chlorophyll, a green pigment.
 Chlorophyll:
 traps energy of sunlight and
 uses this energy to make sugar, which stores chemical
energy in a process called photosynthesis.
• Structure: stacked sacs (thylakoids) that contain chlorophyll
surrounded by a double membrane
 Cell structure…

Functions of chloroplasts
1. Photosynthesis
2. Oxygen supply
• For all aerobic animals, oxygen is supplied by photosynthesis
3. Starch storage
• Stores starch at day time and at night
• Gives stored starch to the regions of growth and storage
4. Protein synthesis
• The chloroplast DNA codes for chloroplast rRNA, tRNA and
ribosomal proteins
 Cell structure…

2. Leucoplasts
• Colourless and are of three types
I. Amyloplasts
• Synthesize and store starch
• Occur in potato tubers
• Are particularly common in seeds such as rice and corn and in
storage roots and stems, such as carrots and potatoes
II. Aleuronoplasts
• Store proteins and found in maize grains
• Contain a few thylakoids
III. Elaioplasts
• Store lipids and are found in the endosperm of caster seeds
 Cell structure…

3. Chromoplasts
• Contain brown pigment fucoxanthine in brown algae, diatoms and
dinanoflagellates
4. Rhodoplasts
• Contain red pigment phycoerythrin
• Found in red algae
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
Golgi complex
 Contain golgi body or dictyosome
 The cell’s packaging center
 Ships proteins out of a eukaryotic cell
 Lipids and proteins from the ER are delivered to the Golgi
complex where they are modified for different functions.
 The modified products are pinched off in a small bubble made of
the golgi complex’s membrane which transports the contents to
other parts of the cell or outside of the cell
Structurally
• Are flattened sacs containing:
 Cisternae -sack filled with fluid matrix
 Tubules-
 Vesicles-smooth and coated vesicles
 Cell structure…
Functions of GC
• The main functions include:
1. Processing of secretory proteins
• Modify proteins received from ER by the additions of terminal
sugars like fucose, glucose
• Sulphonation of proteins also occur
2. Lysosome formation
3. Formation of plasma membrane
4. Receives proteins from the rER and distributes them to other
organelles or out of the cell
(receiving, processing, packaging, and shipping)
Cell structure…
 Cell structure…
 Vesicles – cell compartments
- membrane-covered compartment which forms from part of the
membrane of the ER or golgi complex that pinches off or when part
of the cell membrane surrounds an object outside the cell.
 Cell structure…
Lysosomes (lyso-digestive, soma-body)
• Found in the cytoplasm of animal cells
• Are small spherical vesicles bounded by a single membrane
vesicles in the cytoplasm containing destructive enzymes called
hydrolases
• Hydrolases- break down a variety of materials
• Except many plant cells and mammalian RBCs, animal cells
have lysosomes
• Other enzymes found in lysosomes are:
 Nucleases
 Phosphatases
 Lipases
 Proteases
 Sulphatases
 ᵝ-galactosidases
 Cell structure…
Lysosome- package of destruction
 Vesicles that contain enzymes which destroy worn-out or
damaged organelles as well as get rid of waste materials and
protect the cell from foreign invaders.
 Found in animal and fungal cells.
• Structure: spherical organelles that contain hydrolytic enzymes
within single membranes
• Function: breaks down food particles, invading objects, or worn
out cell parts
 Cell structure…
Functions of lysosomes
1. Digestion of large intracellular particles
• Phagocytosis
2. Intracellular digestion
• Digestion of stored food contents during starvation
3. Role in metamorphosis
• During the process of metamorphosis of amphibians and
tunicates, many embryonic tissues e.g. gills, fins, tail etc. are
digested by lysosomes and products are utilised by the other cells
for their growth and differentiation
4. Extracellular digestion
• Sperm-digest ovum membrane
• Chondroblast and osteoplasts-digest cartilage and bone
 Cell structure…
Vacuoles
• Vacoules are bubble like sacs bounded by a single unit membrane
called tonoplast
• Are filled with a fluid called cell sap
• Small in animals
• Large in plants and fungi
• Protozoan- contractile vacules
• Help in:
 Maintaining the turgidity of the plant cells
 Playing a role in growth and provide an aqueous environment for
the accumulation of water soluble compounds
 Have osmo-regulatory functions
 Cell structure…
 Vacuoles- water storage and hydraulic support
– Large vesicles found in plant cells which store water and other
liquids.
– Vacuoles full of water help support the cell
• Structure: a sac of fluid surrounded by a membrane
– Very large in plants
• Function: used for temporary storage of wastes, nutrients, and
water
 Cell structure…
 Cytoplasm
• Structure
• Gelatin-like fluid that lies inside the cell membrane
Function
• Contains salts, minerals and organic molecules
• Surrounds the organelles
 Cell structure…

Microbodies
• Are small membrane bounded spherical vesicles found in protozoa,
fungi, plants, liver and kidneys of vertebrates
• Occur into forms:
 Peroxisomes
 Glyoxysomes
Peroxisomes
• In many animals and in a wide variety of plants
Glyoxysomes
• Are peroxisomes of plant leaves
• Contain catalase and enzymes of glycosylate pathways such as
glycosylate oxidase, glutamat glycosylate, hydroxy pyruvate
reductase and malic dehydrogenase
 Cell structure…

Functions
• Peroxisomes protect cellular organelles from toxic effects of H2O2
• In plant cells, they help in the synthesis of glycine and serine
 Cell structure…

 Peroxisomes
• Structure: spherical organelles that contain enzymes within single
membranes
• Function: Degrade hydrogen peroxide, a toxic compound that
can be produced during metabolism.
 Cell structure…

 Cilia and Flagella

• Structure
 Hair-like organelles that extend from the surface of cells
 When they are present in large numbers on a cell they are called
cilia
 When they are less numerous and longer they are called flagella
 Both organelles are composed of nine pairs of microtubules
arranged around a central pair.
• Function: cell motility
 Cell structure…

Cillia and Flagella

 Cell structure…
 Basal bodies
• The microtubule assembly of a cilium or flagellum is anchored in
the cell by a basal body.
• Structurally identical to a centrioles
Centioles
• Are cytoplasmic organelles that play a key role during cell
division
• Two functions:
1. Help organise spindle fibres and astral rays during cell division
2. Provide basal bodies which give rise to cilia and flagella
 Cell structure…

 Centrioles
• Structure: composed of nine sets of triplet microtubules arranged
in a ring
– Exist in pairs
• Function: centrioles play a major role in cell division (mitosis)
Secretary pathway
Cell structure…
The secretory pathway
 Plant Cells VS. Animal Cells
• Animal cells are very similar to plant cells except for the following
major differences:
– Animal cells do not contain chloroplasts
– Animal cells are not surrounded by cell walls
– The vacuoles in plants are much larger than those of animals
Animal cell
Plant cell