Cell nucleus1
Cell nucleus
HeLa cells stained for DNA with the Blue Hoechst dye. The central and rightmost cell arein interphase, thus their entire nuclei are labeled. On the left a cell is going throughmitosis and its DNA has condensed ready for division.Schematic of typical animal cell, showing subcellular components. Organelles: (1)nucleolus (2)
nucleus
(3) ribosome (4) vesicle (5) rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (6)Golgi apparatus (7) Cytoskeleton (8) smooth ER (9) mitochondria (10) vacuole (11)cytoplasm (12) lysosome (13) centrioles
In cell biology, the
nucleus
(pl.
nuclei
;from Latin
nucleus
or
nuculeus
,meaning kernel), also sometimesreferred to as the "control center", is amembrane-enclosed organelle found ineukaryotic cells. It contains most of thecell's genetic material, organized asmultiple long linear DNA molecules incomplex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to formchromosomes. The genes within thesechromosomes are the cell's nucleargenome. The function of the nucleus isto maintain the integrity of these genesand to control the activities of the cellby regulating gene expression
—
thenucleus is therefore the control centerof the cell.The main structures making up thenucleus are the nuclear envelope, adouble membrane that encloses theentire organelle and separates itscontents from the cellular cytoplasm,and the nuclear lamina, a meshwork within the nucleus that addsmechanical support, much like thecytoskeleton supports the cell as awhole. Because the nuclear membraneis impermeable to most molecules,nuclear pores are required to allowmovement of molecules across theenvelope. These pores cross both of themembranes, providing a channel thatallows free movement of smallmolecules and ions. The movement of larger molecules such as proteins iscarefully controlled, and requires active transport regulated by carrier proteins. Nuclear transport is crucial to cellfunction, as movement through the pores is required for both gene expression and chromosomal maintenance.
Cell nucleus2
Entry of material into the nucleus through phagocytosis. The phagosome travels from thecell membrane to the nucleus, and then is engulfed by the nucleus, releasing its contents.
Although the interior of the nucleusdoes not contain any membrane-boundsubcompartments, its contents are notuniform, and a number of
subnuclear bodies
exist, made up of uniqueproteins, RNA molecules, andparticular parts of the chromosomes.The best known of these is thenucleolus, which is mainly involved inthe assembly of ribosomes. After beingproduced in the nucleolus, ribosomesare exported to the cytoplasm wherethey translate mRNA.
History
Oldest known depiction of cells and their nuclei by Antonie vanLeeuwenhoek, 1719.Drawing of a
Chironomus
salivary gland cellpublished by Walther Flemming in 1882. Thenucleus contains Polytene chromosomes.
The nucleus was the first organelle to bediscovered. The probably oldest preserved drawingdates back to the early microscopist Antonie vanLeeuwenhoek (1632
–
1723). He observed a"Lumen", the nucleus, in the red blood cells of salmon
[1]
. Unlike mammalian red blood cells,those of other vertebrates still possess nuclei. Thenucleus was also described by Franz Bauer in1804
[2]
and in more detail in 1831 by Scottishbotanist Robert Brown in a talk at the LinneanSociety of London. Brown was studying orchidsmicroscopically when he observed an opaque area,which he called the areola or nucleus, in the cellsof the flower's outer layer.
[3]
He did not suggest apotential function. In 1838 Matthias Schleidenproposed that the nucleus plays a role in generatingcells, thus he introduced the name "Cytoblast" (cellbuilder). He believed that he had observed newcells assembling around "cytoblasts". Franz Meyenwas a strong opponent of this view having alreadydescribed cells multiplying by division andbelieving that many cells would have no nuclei.The idea that cells can be generated de novo, bythe "cytoblast" or otherwise, contradicted work byRobert Remak (1852) and Rudolf Virchow (1855)who decisively propagated the new paradigm that cells are generated solely by cells ("Omnis cellula e cellula"). Thefunction of the nucleus remained unclear.
[4]
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