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Chapter 6: The Cell

The Cell
o All organism are made of cells
o Life emerges at the level of the cell
The fundamental unit of life
o Similarities amongst all cells show the unity of life
Their differences can show us its diversity
History of Microscopy
o Robert Hooke (1665):
Cell walls resembles the monastery walls
The light microscope
Visible light is passed through a specimen and then through glass
lenses
Lenses refract (bend) the light, so that the image is magnified
o Objective lenses
o Ocular lenses
Important parameters
Magnification: ratio of an objects image size to its real size
o 1000x is upper limit
Resolution: the clarity of the image
o minimum distance of two distinguishable points
o .2 micrometer is the lower limit
Contrast: the differences in brightness between parts of the
sample
o Can be enhanced with staining

o Antony Van Leeuwenhoek (1674):

o Transmission electron microscopy
Useful for looking at internal structure
Focuses a beam o electrons through a specimen
Resolution is around 2 nm
Inversely proportional to the beams wavelength
Extremely thin tissue is stained with heavy metals
o Scanning EM
Useful for looking at surface structure
Focuses a beam of electrons onto a specimen
Providing images that look 3D
Gold-covered speciments are scanned with an electron beam
The pattern of excited electronsare then read by a digital detector
o Cell fractionation

Takes cells apart and separates the major organelles from one another
Homogenization
Differential centrifugation (time and speed)
Each supernatant giving you smaller and smaller components of
the cell
Allows for the study of the function (not just the structure)

The cell
o Two types:
Prokaryotic or eukaryotic
o Prokaryotic
Organisms of the bacteria and archaea domains
Lack membrane-bound organelles
o Eukaryotic
Organisms of the Eukarya domain (protists, fungi, animals, and plants)
Have membrane-bound organelles (internal membranes that
compartmentalize their function)
o Basic features of all cells
Plasma membrane
Semifluid substance called cytosol
Chromosomes (to carry genes)
Ribosomes (to make proteins)
o Prokaryotic cells
No nucleus
DNA in a unbound region called the nucleoid
No membrane-bound organelles
Cytoplasm bound by the plasma membrane
o Eukaryotic cells
Has a nucleus
DNA is bound by a membranous nuclear envelope
Has membrane-bound organelles
Cytoplasm in the region between the plasma membrane and nucleus
Eukaryotic cells are generally much larger than prokaryotic cells
o Cell size
Metabolic requirements set upper limits on the size of cells
A cell needs sufficient surface area to accommodate its volume
Plasma membrane is critical for the exchange of oxygen,
nutrients and waste
As a cell increases in size, its volume grows proportionally more than its
surface area
total surface area=sum of the surface areas (hxw) of all box sx#of boxes
total volume (h x w x l)
surface to volume (surface area divided by volume)
o Organelles

In eukaryotic cells only

Internal membranes partition the cell
Allows for discrete environments for different functions
Biological membranes are a double layer of phospholipids and other lipids
Several embedded proteins for various functions
Plant and animal cells have most of the same organelles

The nucleus
o Contains most of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell
Mitochondria and chloroplasts have their own DNA
5 microns in diameter
o Easily identifiable
o Nuclear envelope
Encloses the nucleus, separating if rom the cytoplasm
Double layered
Each membrane consists of a lipid bilayer
20-40 nanometers space between
Punctuated by pore complexes
100nm in diameter
Inner and outer membranes fuse at lip
Proteins that regulate movement in and out of the nucleus
o Inside the nucleus
Nuclear lamina: protein filament lining of the inner membrane of the
nuclear envelope
Network of protein filaments that maintains the shape of the
nucleus
Nuclear matrix
Framework of fibers extending into the nucleus interior
Nucleolus: site of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis
rRNA and proteins are assembled here into small and large
ribosomal subunits
Chromatin: proteins and DNA
Organized into discreet chromosomes when dividing
Ribosomes
o Carry out protein synthesis
Composed of rRNA and protein
o NOT organelles
Not membrane-bound
Present in prokaryotes
o FREE ribosomes
In the cytosol
Cytosolic proteins
o BOUND ribosomes

Attached to the outside of the ER or the nuclear envelope

Membrane-bound or secretory proteins
Endomembrane System (ER, golgi, lysosome)
o Phospholipid bilayer
o Regulates protein traffic and performs metabolic functions in the cell
o Consists of:
Nuclear envelope
Endoplasmic reticulum
Golgi apparatus
Lysosomes
Vacuoles
Plasma membrane
o These components are either continuous or connected via transfer by vesicles
o Endoplasmic reticulum
Can account for more than half of the total membrane
Continuous with the nuclear envelope
Consists of cisternae
Membranous tubules and sacs
ER lumen
Internal compartment
Smooth ER
Lacking ribosomes
Rich in enzymes
Plays a role in numerous metabolic processes
o Synthesizes lipids (steroids, phospholipids)
o Metabolizes carbohydrates
o Detoxifies drugs and poisons (adding OH)
o Calcium reservoir (muscle)
Rough ER
Studded with ribosomes (cytoplasmic surface)
Production of secretory proteins
o Bound ribosomes form polypeptide chains
o These are fed into the ER lumen and secreted in transport
vesicles
o Typically as glycoproteins (proteins covalently bonded to
carbohydrates)
Production of membranes
o Can synthesize phospholipids and membrane bound
proteins
o These can break off and join other Endomembrane system
parts
Golgi apparatus
o Modifies products of the ER

Glycoproteins
o Manufactures certain macromolecules
Pectin
o Sorts and packages materials into transport vesicles
Each cisternae contains a unique and distinct set of enzymes
Golgi modification is dynamic
o Cisternal Maturation Model
Consists of cisternae
Flattened membranous sacs
Cis face
Located near the ER
Receiving end
Vesicles from the rough ER fuse here
Trans face
Located away from the ER
Shipping end
Products can tagged
Vesicles can pinch off for transport
o Rough er fuses to cis phase of golgi, transports after being pinched, the
plasma membrane
Lysosomes
o Membranous sac of hydrolytic enzymes that can digest macromolecules in animal
cells
o Lysosomal enzymes work best in the acidic environment inside the lysosome
o Hydrolytic enzyme and lysosomal membranes are made by rough ER then
transferred to golgi apparatus
o Intracellular digestion
Phagocytosis: engulfing smaller matter into a food vacuole
Food vacuole then fuses with the lysosome
E.g. unicellular organisms and macrophages
Autophagy: recycling organelles and macromolecules
Lysosome fuses with membrane-bound debris
Vacuoles
o Large vesicles derived from the ER and golgi apparatus
o Vacuoles perform a variety of different functions
Food vacuoles are formed by phagocytosis
Contractile vacuoles pump excess water out of cells
Enzymatic hydrolysis in plants and fungi
Central vacuoles hold organic compounds and water
Food vacuole, membrane, cell membrane