Sem 1 : Cycle 1 : GenBio

Cell Theory and Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cell

Historical Background
Robert Hooke
● Term “cell” was first used by Robert Hooke (1665, England).
● He looked at cork plant samples through an early compound microscope.
● The empty cork chambers he called cells.
● His famous work is known as Micrographia: physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies
made by Magnifying Glasses (1665).

Antony van Leeuwenhoek

● Dutch, mid-1600’s
● Father of Microbiology.
● Perfected early microscopes and their use.
● Discovered single-celled organisms and named animalcules.
● First to make many observations at the cellular level: bacteria, muscle fibers, blood flow
and etcetera.

Schleiden Schwann Virchow

1838, Schleiden was the first 1839, Schwann concluded 1855, Virchow proposed that
to note that plants are made that all living things are made all cells come from other
of cells. of cells. cells.

Robert Brown Felix Dujardin Johanne Purkinje

Discovered the presence of Stated that cells contain Coined the term “protoplasm”
nucleus within the cells. gelatinous fluid, a life which pertains to the living
substance called sarcode. materials inside the cell.

Robert Remak

Discovered the 3 germ layers of the early embryo - ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm.

In 1852, he was one of the first to point out that cell division accounted for the multiplication
of cells to form tissues. By that year Remak had concluded that new cells arise from existing
cells in diseased as well as healthy tissue.

All of them contributed to the development of cell theory. The cell theory is a scientific theory
which describes the properties of cells.

Cell Theory
● All living things are composed of cells.

Notes by: Dominique Gloria 12B

 ○ Some are unicellular (single-celled), some are multicellular.
● Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living things.
○ Different cell types look and function differently.
● New cells are produced from existing cells.
○ Different types of cell division.

Modern Tenets of Cell Theory

1. All known living things are composed of cells.
2. The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living things.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells by division.
4. Cells contain hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell during cell division.
- DNA is passed from cell to cell.
5. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition.
- Living cells are mainly made up of these elements. Without these elements in a
molecule, life would not exist; carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus,
sulfur.
6. All energy flow (metabolism and biochemistry) of life occurs within cells.
- The energy of the organisms is formed in the cell.
- The organelle called mitochondria manufactures food to make energy in the form
of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecule.

Levels of Organization
● Cells are the basic unit of life. Be it bacteria or complex microorganisms they are
composed of cells. Different cells are interrelated to perform a certain function.

Exception to Cell Theory

● Viruses are considered to be nonliving because they cannot replicate or reproduce,
despite having their genetic materials.
● The very first cell did not arise from a precursor cell.
● Mitochondria and chloroplasts, although present within the cell, have their own genetic
material and can reproduce independently from the cell that they are present in.

Notes by: Dominique Gloria 12B

Broad Categories of Cells: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
● Prokaryotes - single-celled or unicellular organisms that do not have nucleus, or any
membrane bound organelles.
● Example are bacteria and archaebacteria
● Word origin “pro = before ; kary = nucleus”.

Shared Components of All Cells

● Plasma Membrane - an outer covering that separates the cell’s interior from its
surrounding environment.
● Cytoplasm - consisting of a jelly-like cytosol within the cell in which there are other
cellular components.
● DNA - the cell's genetic material; and
● Ribosomes - which synthesize proteins.

However, prokaryotes differ from eukaryotic cells in several ways.

Components of Prokaryotes
● Nucleoid - central part that has DNA.
● Peptidoglycan Cell Wall - maintains shape and prevents dehydration.
● Capsule - is made up of polysaccharide that attaches to the environment.
● Pilus (means' ‘hair’’; plural: pili) is a hair-like appendage found on the surface of many
bacteria and archaea.
● Flagellum - hair-like structure that acts primarily as an organelle of locomotion in the
cells of many living organisms.
● Ribosome
● DNA

Eukaryotes
● Multicellular (many cells) organisms that contain a nucleus and dozens of specialized
structures called organelles, that perform important cellular functions.
● Examples are plants, animals, and fungi.
● Word origin “Eu = true ; kary = nucleus”.

Structure of Prokaryotes Structure of Eukaryotes

Notes by: Dominique Gloria 12B

Notes by: Dominique Gloria 12B