Chloroplasts: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Chloroplasts
An examination of leaves, stems, and other types of plant tissue reveals the presence of tiny green, spherical structures called
chloroplasts, visible here in the cells of an onion root. Chloroplasts are essential to the process of photosynthesis, in which captured
sunlight is combined with water and carbon dioxide in the presence of the chlorophyll molecule to produce oxygen and sugars that
can be used by animals. Without the process of photosynthesis, the atmosphere would not contain enough oxygen to support animal
life.
Richard Kirby/Oxford Scientific Films
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Plant Cell
Plant cells contain a variety of membrane-bound structures called organelles. These include a nucleus that carries genetic material;
mitochondria that generate energy; ribosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum that manufacture proteins; smooth endoplasmic
reticulum that manufactures lipids used for making membranes and storing energy; and a thin lipid membrane that surrounds the
cell. Plant cells also contain chloroplasts that capture energy from sunlight and a single fluid-filled vacuole that stores compounds and
helps in plant growth. Plant cells are surrounded by a rigid cell wall that protects the cell and maintains its shape.
© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Root Tip Showing Apical Meristem
This lengthwise section through the tip of a plant root reveals the apical meristem, characterized by rapidly dividing cells that are
responsible for primary growth. Apical meristem can also be found at the tips of stems.
Walker/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Plant Tissues
Stems differ between gymnosperms (conifers and related plants) and angiosperms (flowering plants) and between the two divisions
of angiosperms—monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Common to all of them, though, are basic tissue types: vascular tissue (xylem
and phloem), which conducts water and nutrients to the cells of the plant; ground tissue, called pith at the center of the stem, which
surrounds the vascular tissue; and dermal tissue, a protective layer.
Fibrous Root
The main root of many plants divides as it grows downward. The branches, called lateral roots, further divide to form a network that
anchors the plant in the ground. New growth takes place at the ends of the smallest roots. Tiny root hairs absorb water and nutrients
from the soil, channeling them up to the stem and leaves of the plant through the xylem tissue at the center of the root.
Dorling Kindersley
Cellulose
Cellulose from pine fibers, seen here through an electron microscope, is used in the manufacture of textiles. Treating cellulose with
chemicals produces a number of useful substances, including starch for coating parchment paper, and the threads and film that form
rayon and cellophane. Found in the cell walls of all plants, cellulose is the most abundant organic compound in the world.
Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Plasma Membrane
The plasma membrane that surrounds eukaryotic cells is a dynamic structure composed of two layers of phospholipid molecules
interspersed with cholesterol and proteins. Phospholipids are composed of a hydrophilic, or water-loving, head and two tails, which
are hydrophobic, or water-hating. The two phospholipid layers face each other in the membrane, with the heads directed outward and
the tails pointing inward. The water-attracting heads anchor the membrane to the cytoplasm, the watery fluid inside the cell, and also
to the water surrounding the cell. The water-hating tails block large water-soluble molecules from passing through the membrane
while permitting fat-soluble molecules, including medications such as tranquilizers and sleeping pills, to freely cross the membrane.
Proteins embedded in the plasma membrane carry out a variety of functions, including transport of large water soluble molecules
such as sugars and certain amino acids. Glycoproteins, proteins bonded to carbohydrates, serve in part to identify the cell as
belonging to a unique organism, enabling the immune system to detect foreign cells, such as invading bacteria, which carry different
glycoproteins. Cholesterol molecules in the plasma membrane act as stabilizers that limit the movement of the two slippery
phospholipids layers, which slide back and forth in the membrane. Tiny gaps in the membrane enable small molecules such as
oxygen (upper right) to diffuse readily into and out of the cell. Since cells constantly use up oxygen, decreasing its concentration
within the cell, the higher concentration of oxygen outside the cell causes a net flow of oxygen into the cell. The steady stream of
oxygen into the cell enables it to carry out aerobic respiration continually, a process that provides the cell with the energy needed to
carry out its functions.
Cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton, a network of protein fibers, crisscrosses the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, providing shape and mechanical support.
The cytoskeleton also functions as a monorail to transport substances around the cell. A cell such as an amoeba changes shape by
dismantling parts of the cytoskeleton and reassembling them in other locations.
Don Fawcett/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Bacterium Showing Flagella

Although many forms of bacteria are not capable of independent movement, species such as the Salmonella bacterium pictured here
can move by means of fine threadlike projections called flagella. The arrangement of flagella across the surface of the bacterium
differs from species to species; they can be present at the ends of the bacterium or all across the body surface. Forward movement is
accomplished either by a tumbling motion or in a forward manner without tumbling.
Chris Bjornberg/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Euglena, Showing Whiplike Flagellum

The euglena is a single-celled alga with two or several flagella (depending on the species) located at one end for locomotion. Other
algae, vertebrate sperm cells, and some protozoans and bacteria possess a single flagellum for movement.
Biophoto Associates/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Amoeba Engulfing a Paramecium

An amoeba, a single-celled organism lacking internal organs, is shown approaching a much smaller paramecium, which it begins to
engulf with large outflowings of its cytoplasm, called pseudopodia. Once the paramecium is completely engulfed, a primitive
digestive cavity, called a vacuole, forms around it. In the vacuole, acids break the paramecium down into chemicals that the amoeba
can diffuse back into its cytoplasm for nourishment.
Peter Parks/Oxford Scientific Films
Mitochondria
Mitochondria, minute sausage-shaped structures found in the clear cytoplasm of the cell, are responsible for energy production.
Mitochondria contain enzymes that help convert food material into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which can be used directly by the
cell as an energy source. Mitochondria tend to be concentrated near cellular structures that require large inputs of energy, such as
the flagellum, which is responsible for movement in sperm cells and single-celled plants and animals.
Don Fawcett-Keith Porter/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Ribosomes
On the surface of the rough endoplasmic reticulum are numerous small, dark structures called ribosomes. Ribosomes, which are also
found floating free in the cytoplasm, are the sites of protein synthesis.
Don W. Fawcett/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Anatomy of a Simple Bacterium
Bacteria cells typically are surrounded by a rigid, protective cell wall. The cell membrane, also called the plasma membrane,
regulates passage of materials into and out of the cytoplasm, the semi-fluid that fills the cell. The DNA, located in the nucleoid region,
contains the genetic information for the cell. Ribosomes carry out protein synthesis. Many baceteria contain a pilus (plural pili), a
structure that extends out of the cell to transfer DNA to another bacterium. The flagellum, found in numerous species, is used for
locomotion. Some bacteria contain a plasmid, a small chromososme with extra genes. Others have a capsule, a sticky substance
external to the cell wall that protects bacteria from attack by white blood cells. Mesosomes were formerly thought to be structures
with unknown functions, but now are know to be artifacts created when cells are prepared for viewing with electron microscopes.
Animal Cell
An animal cell typically contains several types of membrane-bound organs, or organelles. The nucleus directs activities of the cell and
carries genetic information from generation to generation. The mitochondria generate energy for the cell. Proteins are manufactured
by ribosomes, which are bound to the rough endoplasmic reticulum or float free in the cytoplasm. The Golgi apparatus modifies,
packages, and distributes proteins while lysosomes store enzymes for digesting food. The entire cell is wrapped in a lipid membrane
that selectively permits materials to pass in and out of the cytoplasm.
Plasma Membrane
The plasma membrane that surrounds eukaryotic cells is a dynamic structure composed of two layers of phospholipid molecules
interspersed with cholesterol and proteins. Phospholipids are composed of a hydrophilic, or water-loving, head and two tails, which
are hydrophobic, or water-hating. The two phospholipid layers face each other in the membrane, with the heads directed outward and
the tails pointing inward. The water-attracting heads anchor the membrane to the cytoplasm, the watery fluid inside the cell, and also
to the water surrounding the cell. The water-hating tails block large water-soluble molecules from passing through the membrane
while permitting fat-soluble molecules, including medications such as tranquilizers and sleeping pills, to freely cross the membrane.
Proteins embedded in the plasma membrane carry out a variety of functions, including transport of large water soluble molecules
such as sugars and certain amino acids. Glycoproteins, proteins bonded to carbohydrates, serve in part to identify the cell as
belonging to a unique organism, enabling the immune system to detect foreign cells, such as invading bacteria, which carry different
glycoproteins. Cholesterol molecules in the plasma membrane act as stabilizers that limit the movement of the two slippery
phospholipids layers, which slide back and forth in the membrane. Tiny gaps in the membrane enable small molecules such as
oxygen (upper right) to diffuse readily into and out of the cell. Since cells constantly use up oxygen, decreasing its concentration
within the cell, the higher concentration of oxygen outside the cell causes a net flow of oxygen into the cell. The steady stream of
oxygen into the cell enables it to carry out aerobic respiration continually, a process that provides the cell with the energy needed to
carry out its functions.
Nucleus of a Cell
The nucleus, present in eukaryotic cells, is a discrete structure containing chromosomes, which hold the genetic information for the
cell. Separated from the cytoplasm of the cell by a double-layered membrane called the nuclear envelope, the nucleus contains a
cellular material called nucleoplasm. Nuclear pores, present around the circumference of the nuclear membrane, allow the exchange
of cellular materials between the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm.
Don W. Fawcett/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Golgi Apparatus
The Golgi apparatus, a minute cellular inclusion in the cytoplasm, is a series of smooth, stacked membranous sacs. The Golgi
apparatus modifies proteins after they are produced by the ribosomes.
David M. Phillips/The Pop. Council/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton, a network of protein fibers, crisscrosses the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, providing shape and mechanical support.
The cytoskeleton also functions as a monorail to transport substances around the cell. A cell such as an amoeba changes shape by
dismantling parts of the cytoskeleton and reassembling them in other locations.
Don Fawcett/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Paramecium
The paramecium is a single-celled organism that propels itself by minute, hairlike projections called cilia. Cilia also create currents
that sweep food particles toward the paramecium’s gullet for ingestion.
M.I. Walker/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Erythrocytes
Erythrocytes, or red blood cells, are the primary carriers of oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body. The biconcave shape of the
erythrocyte is an adaptation for maximizing the surface area across which oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide. Its shape and
flexible plasma membrane allow the erythrocyte to penetrate the smallest of capillaries.
Dr. Tony Brain/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Smooth Muscle
Human smooth muscle, also referred to as visceral or involuntary muscle, is composed of slender, spindle-shaped cells. Controlled by
the autonomic nervous system, smooth muscle cells help form the structure of the skin, blood vessels, and internal organs.
Biophoto Associates/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Cardiac Muscle
Cardiac muscle is a unique muscle tissue found only in the heart. Requiring a constant supply of oxygen, cardiac muscle will quickly
die if obstructions occur in the arteries leading to the heart. Heart attacks occur from the damage caused by insufficient blood supply
to cardiac muscle.
London Scientific Films/Oxford Scientific Films
Nerve Cells
This photomicrograph shows a number of multipolar nerve cells. The central cell body is clearly visible in each of the cells, as are the
dendrites. The dendrites are short extensions of the nerve cell body that function in the reception of stimuli.
Oxford Scientific Films
Spirochete
Bacteria, which are included within the kingdom Prokaryotae, are single-celled organisms lacking a well-defined internal cellular
organization. The bacterium pictured here, exhibits the spirochete, or spiral, structure characteristic of many of the 1600 species of
bacteria.
Omikron/Science Source/Photo Researchers, Inc.
Chloroplasts
An examination of leaves, stems, and other types of plant tissue reveals the presence of tiny green, spherical structures called
chloroplasts, visible here in the cells of an onion. Chloroplasts are essential to the process of photosynthesis, in which captured
sunlight is combined with water and carbon dioxide in the presence of the chlorophyll molecule to produce oxygen and sugars that
can be used by animals. Without the process of photosynthesis, the atmosphere would not contain enough oxygen to support animal
life.
Richard Kirby/Oxford Scientific Films
Diatoms
Diatoms, single-celled algae with a cell wall made of silica, or glass, are significant components of the phytoplankton, tiny, floating,
photosynthetic organisms that form the base of aquatic food chains.
Peter Parks/Oxford Scientific Films
Dinoflagellate
The dinoflagellates are the second most important group of phytoplankton, responsible for producing energy in the ocean food chain.
They have a whiplike structure called a flagellum that acts as an organ of locomotion, and the organisms demonstrate both plant and
animal traits. Dinoflagellates can reproduce rapidly, or bloom, and certain species bloom in toxic red tides that kill fish and
contaminate shellfish.
Eric V. Grave/Phototake NYC

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Chloroplasts

Bacterium Showing Flagella

Euglena, Showing Whiplike Flagellum

Amoeba Engulfing a Paramecium

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