A membrane is any delicate sheet that separates one region from another,
blocking or permitting (selectively or completely) the passage of
substances. The skin, for example, can be considered a membrane that
separates the inside and the outside of the body; cellophane, used in
chemical laboratories to separate solutions, also acts as a membrane.
Even when the solution contains a mixture of different solutes, its osmotic
pressure only depends on its total particle concentration, regardless of the
nature of the solutes.
Excessive dilution of blood plasma causes, via osmosis, the entrance of too
much water into red blood cells and the subsequent destruction of these
cells (hemolysis). Osmosis is also the main process in the maintenance of
the flaccid, turgid or plasmolytic states of plant cells. Osmosis is one of the
forces responsible for the entrance of water into the roots of plants, since
root cells are hypertonic in comparison to the soil.
22. What do facilitated diffusion and
active transport have in common? What
are the differences between them?
Facilitated diffusion can be confused with active transport because
membrane proteins participate in both processes.
Endocytosis
25. What is mass transport across the
cell membrane?
Mass transport is the entrance or exit of substances through the process of
being engulfed by portions of membrane. The fusion of internal substance-
containing membranous vesicles with the cell membrane is called
exocytosis. The entrance of substances into the cell after they have been
engulfed by projections of the membrane is called endocytosis.
When plant cells are placed in hypotonic medium, water tends to enter
them, SF = TP (since the osmotic pressure is fully compensated by the
distension of the cell wall) and DPD = 0. A cell that has expanded to this
point is called a turgid cell.
Before the discovery of the cell, people were unaware that living organisms
were made of building blocks like cells.
Cell theory is one of the basic theories of biology.
Plasma Membrane
7. What is the plasma membrane of the
cell? What are its main functions?
The plasma membrane is the outer membrane of a cell, it encloses the cell
itself, maintaining specific conditions for cellular function within the cell.
Since it is selectively permeable, the plasma membrane plays an important
role in the entrance and exit of substances.
Because cell membranes are fragile, in some types of cells, there are also
external structures to support and protect the membrane, like the cellulose
wall of plant cells and the chitin wall of some fungi cells. Most bacteria also
have an outer cell wall made of peptidoglycans and other organic
substances.
10. What are the main respective
components of cell walls in bacteria,
protists, fungi and plants?
In bacteria, the cell wall is made of peptidoglycans; among protists, algae
have cell walls made of cellulose; in fungi, the cell wall is made of chitin
(the same substance that makes the exoskeleton of arthropods); and in
plants, the cell wall is also made of cellulose.
Cell Nucleus
12. Which type of cell evolved first, the
eukaryotic cell or the prokaryotic cell?
This is an interesting problem of biological evolution. The most accepted
hypothesis claims that the simpler cell, the prokaryotic cell, appeared
earlier in evolution than the more complex eukaryotic cell. The
endosymbiotic hypothesis, for example, claims that aerobic eukaryotic cells
appeared from the mutualistic ecological interaction between aerobic
prokaryotes and primitive anaerobic eukaryotes.
13. Regarding the presence of the
nucleus, what is the difference between
animal and bacterial cells?
Animal cells (the cells of organisms of the kingdom Animalia) have an
interior membrane that encloses a cell nucleus and are therefore eukaryotic
cells. In these cells, the genetic material is located within the nucleus.
Bacterial cells (the cells of living organisms of the kingdom Monera) do not
have organized cellular nuclei and are therefore prokaryotic cells. Their
genetic material is found in the cytosol.
The Cytoplasm
20. What are the main structures of the
cytoplasm present in animal cells?
The main structures of the cytoplasm of a cell are centrioles, the
cytoskeleton, lysosomes, mitochondria, peroxisomes, the Golgi apparatus,
the endoplasmic reticula and ribosomes.
Ribosomes
22. Where in the cell can ribosomes be
found? What is the main biological
function of ribosomes?
Ribosomes can be found unbound in the cytoplasm, attached to the outer
side of the nuclear membrane or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum
membrane that encloses the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Ribosomes are
the structures in which protein synthesis takes place.
Centrioles
28. Which cell organelles participate in
cell division and in the formation of the
cilia and flagella of some eukaryotic
cells?
The organelles that participate in cell division and in the formation of the
cilia and flagella of some eukaryotic cells are centrioles. Some cells have
cilia (paramecium, the bronchial ciliated epithelium, etc.) or flagella
(flagellate protists, sperm cells, etc.). These cell structures are composed
of microtubules that originate from the centrioles. Centrioles also produce
the aster microtubules that are very important for cell division.
Mitochondria
29. What are mitochondria? What is the
basic morphology of these organelles
and in which cells can they be found?
Mitochondria are the organelles in which the most important part of cellular
respiration occurs: ATP production.
Mitochondria are organelles enclosed by two lipid membranes. The inner
membrane invaginates to the interior of the organelle, forming the cristae
that enclose the internal space known as the mitochondrial matrix, in which
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), mitochondrial RNA (mt RNA), mitochondrial
ribosomes and respiratory enzymes can be found. Mitochondria are
numerous in eukaryotic cells and they are even more abundant in cells that
use more energy, such as muscle cells. Because they have their own DNA,
RNA and ribosomes, mitochondria can self-replicate.
The Cytoskeleton
32. What are the main components of
the cytoskeleton?
The cytoskeleton is a network of very small tubules and filaments
distributed throughout the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. It is made of
microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate filaments.
Chloroplasts
34. What are chloroplasts? What is the
main function of chloroplasts?
Chloroplasts are organelles present in the cytoplasm of plant and algae
cells. Like mitochondria, chloroplasts have two boundary membranes and
many internal membranous sacs. Within the organelle, DNA, RNA
ribosomes and also the pigment chlorophyll are present. The latter
is responsible for the absorption of the light photic energy used in
photosynthesis.
There is a difference between the optimum color frequency for the two
main types of chlorophyll, chlorophyll A and the chlorophyll B. Chlorophyll A
has an absorption peak at a wavelength of approximately 420 nm (indigo)
and chlorophyll B has its major absorption at a wavelength of 450 nm
(blue).
37. What path is followed by the energy
absorbed by plants to be used in
photosynthesis?
The energy source of photosynthesis is the sun, the unique and central star
of our solar system. In photosynthesis, solar energy is transformed into
chemical energy, the energy of the chemical bonds of the produced
glucose molecules (and of the molecular oxygen released). The energy of
glucose is then stored as starch (a glucose polymer) or it is used in the
cellular respiration process and transferred to ATP molecules. ATP is
consumed during metabolic processes that require energy (for example, in
active transport across membranes).
The membrane that encloses vacuoles is called the tonoplast, named after
the osmotic function of the structure.