Ent-708 (Insect Molecular Biology), Dr. Zain, Associate Prof. Deptt. Entomology, UAF. E.mail. zainunibas@gmail.

com
Ent-708 (Insect Molecular Biology), Dr. Zain, Associate Prof. Deptt. Entomology, UAF. E.mail. zainunibas@gmail.com
 Cell
(from Latin cella, meaning "small room)

➢ It is the smallest unit of a living thing, All living things are made of
cells.
➢ A living thing, whether made of one cell (like bacteria) or
many cells (like an insect ), is called an organism.

➢ Thus, cells are the basic building blocks of all organisms.

➢ Cells provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food, convert those
nutrients into energy, and carry out specialized functions. Cells contain the
body's hereditary material and can make copies of themselves.

Ent-708 (Insect Molecular Biology), Dr. Zain, Associate Prof. Deptt. Entomology, UAF. E.mail. zainunibas@gmail.com
➢ Cells are fundamental building blocks of living organisms.
➢ Cells contain a nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts, endoplasmatic reticulum, ribosomes,
vacuoles, etc.
➢ The nucleus is important organelle because it houses chromosomes which include the DNA.
➢ The DNA is in essence a blueprint of the organism as it encodes information needed to
synthesize proteins.
➢ One can look at simpler organisms such as yeasts to understand how human biology works
➢ unicellular yeasts are very different from humans who have approximately 1014 cells. However,
the DNA is similar across all living organisms.

➢ For example, humans share 99% of DNA with chimps. Naturally, we would like to know what
information contained in that 1% of DNA is so critical to determine all the distinguishing
features of humans,

Ent-708 (Insect Molecular Biology), Dr. Zain, Associate Prof. Deptt. Entomology, UAF. E.mail.
zainunibas@gmail.com
Introduction to Molecular Biology

It is the field of biology that studies the

➢ composition, structure and interactions
➢ cellular molecules – such as nucleic acids and proteins –
➢ that carry out the biological processes essential for the cell's functions and
maintenance.

➢ It is the study of life at the level of atoms and molecules

➢ It is a branch of science that considers the nature and structure of living

organisms at the molecular level. ...
➢ Cell biology, is typically more focused on the structure and functions at
the cellular level, and not necessarily the genetic impact on the larger
organism.
Eukaryotes have a distinct nucleus containing many chromosomes, while prokaryotes
have a single chromosome contained in an area called a nucleoid.
What are molecules and Biological molecules?
Examples of Molecules
H2O (water)
N2 (nitrogen)
O3 (ozone)
CaO (calcium oxide)
C6H12O6 (glucose, a type of sugar)
NaCl (table salt)
Biomolecules.
•carbohydrates.
•lipids.
•Proteins (are the most common molecules found in cells)
•nucleic acids.
Animal Cell
A ‘true’ nucleus is present in all eukaryotic cells except in mature RBCs. It is largest cell organelle and can be seen
under light-microscope. Normally, spherical in shape but in some cells it may be polymorphic, e.g. in WBCs, nucleus
is bilobed or multilobed. The living matrix of nucleus is called nuclear sap, nucleoplasm or karyoplasm.
 The average size of a human cell is about 100 μm in diameter. The smallest of which is the red
blood cell, and it also has not nucleus

Insect cells Media Cell size (microns)

High Five™ cells Express Five™ SFM 17.5 to 19.5

Sf9 cells Sf-900™ II SFM 15 to 17.5

Sf21 cells Sf-900™ II SFM 15 to 17.5

 Sf9 cells, a clonal isolate of Spodoptera frugiperda
Sf21 cells (IPLB-Sf21-AE), are commonly used in insect
cell culture for recombinant protein production using
baculovirus. They were originally established from ovarian
tissue.

Sf9 Insect Cells

Sf21 -
(IPLB-Sf21-AE) is a continuous cell line developed from
ovaries of the Fall Army worm, Spodoptera frugiperda,
a moth species that is an agricultural pest on corn and other
grass species.
Sf9 is a substrain (clone) of these cells that was isolated from
Sf21 by researchers at Texas A&M University.
Both the clone and parent strains of the cells have been
extensively used in research on viruses,
especially baculoviruses in their use for producing
recombinant proteins.
Sf21 -