Cell and Microbiology

Lecture 1
Aim to look at what makes a cell
Learning outcomes
After attending lectures, participating in discussions, using
the handouts provided and reading general textbooks, you
will have an understanding of:
Cell theory
Basic requirements of a cell
The common features of cells
Endosymbiotic theory
The formation of internal membranes

ATOMS

MOLECULES

MACROMOLECULES

CELLULAR COMPONENTS

CELLS
EUKARYOTES

PROKARYOTES
BACTERIA

ARCHAEA

SINGLE-CELLED
PROTISTA
Eg Amoeba

MULTICELLULAR

Complexity

A little history of the discovery and definition of cells

Robert Hooke
1665

Cork cellulae

Antoine van Leeuwenhoek 1632 - 1723

Microscope - ~ 1670s

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v521/n7553/full/521
423a.html

CELL THEORY
Schleiden and Schwann (1839)
All living things are made of cells
Cells are the basic building blocks of
life
All cells arise from pre-existing cells
Then
Louis Pasteur (1859)
Proved that spontaneous generation
could not occur

A CELL
A self-replicating object- something that can make
accurate copies of itself

The lowest level of structure capable of performing all

the activities of life.

Prokaryotic cell
Cytoplasm
Ribosomes
Nucleic acid (nucleoid)
Cytoplasmic membrane
Cell wall (peptidoglycan)

Cell Sizes
Bacteria (average) 1-10 m
Eukaryotes (average) 10 100 m
Marine Algae (Acetabularia) 5 cm long

Volume to cell surface ratio a problem with

increasing size
x

Surface area = 6 x2
Volume = x3
If x = 1 m
Surface area = 6 m2
Volume = 1 m3
SA/V = 6

If x = 2 m
Surface area = 24 m2
Volume = 8 m3
SA/V = 3

If x = 3 m
Surface area = 54 m2
Volume = 27 m3
SA/V = 2

7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
Surface Area/Volume 3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0

9 10

Length of side of cube

As the size increases the surface area/volume decreases

what is the consequence to the cell?

What can we see?

1cm

frog egg
Light
microscope

0.1mm

most plant &

animal cells

most bacteria

Electron
microscope

1m

nucleus
mitochondria

10nm

ribosomes

smallest bacteria
proteins
atoms

0.1nm

Approximate chemical composition of a bacterial cell

Water
Inorganic ions
Sugars and precursors
Amino acids and precursors
Nucleotides and precursors
Fatty acids and precursors
Other small molecules
Macromolecules (proteins, nucleic
acids and polysaccharides

% of total cell
weight

Number of types of
each molecule

70
1
1
0.4

1
20
250
100

0.4
1
0.2
26

100
50
~300
~3000

Timescale of Life
>3.5 billion years
ago
Prokaryotes

Campbell & Reece, 2005

Evolution of eukaryotic cells

Loss of cell wall

Evolution of cytoskeleton
Evolution of mitotic spindle and centromeres
Acquisition of internal membranes
Acquisition of a nuclear envelope
Acquisition of organelles
Acquisition of digestive vesicles

Endosymbiotic theory-the evolution of

mitochondria/chloroplasts

Mitochondrion

Evidence for endosymbiosis

Mitochondrion has a double membrane
Mitochondria contain a DNA molecule
Mitochondrial ribosomes have a similar structure to
prokaryotic ribosomes (70S; different to eukaryotes)
Mitochondria divide by binary fission
DNA sequence similar to proteobacteria
Chloroplasts cyanobacteria
See Lynn Margulis article

Nuclear membrane

An early cell

Eventually
forming

The plasma/cytoplasmic
membrane might
invaginate

Endoplasmic reticulum

Endoplasmic reticulum
Evolution of internal
membranes

The
nucleus

Outer nuclear
membrane

Inner nuclear
membrane

Endoplasmic reticulum
Ribosome
Nucleoplasm Chromatin
(DNA + protein)
Nucleolus

Nuclear lamina
(protein)

Nuclear
pore

Intermediate
filaments

Introns
and the origin of nucleus
cytosol compartmentalization
William Martin and Eugene V.
Koonin
Nature 440, 41-45(2 March 2006)

Two different prokaryotic

cells may have become
united

Now cells have nuclear

membrane and
mitochondria

Self Study

Clarify keywords / concepts discussed in lecture using any basic biology textbook, eg
Bolsover et al.

Web sites:
Online biology primer: link from StudyNet
Basic tutorial + test: prokaryotes, eukaryotes, viruses
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/pev/main.html
Cells Alive: http://www.cellsalive.com/

University of California Museum of Paleontology & the National Center for Science
Education. From soup to cells the origin of life
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/origsoflife_01

StudyNet resources and activities