THE CELL

Prepared by:
Mrs. Forbes-Reid

Prepared by Mrs. Forbes-Reid

 OBJECTIVES
 Compare the structure of typical animal and
plant cells

 Describe the structure of a prokaryotic cell

 Compare the structure of prokaryotic cells with

that of eukaryotic cells

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INTRODUCTION
 CELL THEORY STATES THAT:

- All living things are made up of

one or more cells and the
products of those cells

- Cells are the functional units of

life

- All cells come from pre-existing

cells

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INTRODUCTION
 First mentioned by Robert Hooke

 A cell is the basic unit of living things

 Average diameter of cells is approximately 20μm

 It shows the properties of life (has capacity for metabolism,

homeostasis, growth and reproduction)

 Eukaryotic cells tend to be divided into various functional

compartments, including a nucleus

 Prokaryotic cells are usually simpler and smaller

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INTRODUCTION
 While cells may differ in size, shape and activities, they are
similar in three aspects, in that they have:

1. Plasma membrane
- allows separation of activities within the cell from
outside
- allows compartmentalisation
2. DNA containing region
- eukaryotes (nucleus) and prokaryotes (nucleoid)
3. Cytoplasm

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CELL ORGANELLES
 TO BE LOOKED AT:
1. Nucleus
2. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
3. Golgi apparatus
4. Lysosomes
5. Vacuoles
6. Mitochondria
7. Chloroplasts
8. Cell wall
9. Cytoplasm
10. Cytoskeleton
11. Centrioles
12. Microvilli
13. Cilia, flagella and pseudopods
14. Cell membrane (will be looked at as an individual topic)

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 NUCLEUS
 Largest, most distinct organelle
 Ranges between 10 – 20µm in diameter
 Contains and protects the cell’s genetic material in its
own compartment
 Components include nuclear membrane, nucleoplasm,
nucleolus and chromatin

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NUCLEUS
 Nuclear membrane/envelope
- Consists of two lipid bilayers
folded together as a single
membrane with a small gap
between them

- Outer membrane continuous

with membrane of ER

- Selective

- Inner and outer membranes

connected at nuclear pore

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NUCLEUS
 Nucleoplasm
- Semi-fluid interior of the
nucleus

- Contains nucleolus and

chromosomes

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NUCLEUS
 Nucleolus
- Dense irregularly
shaped mass of proteins
and copies of genes

- Responsible for making

ribosomal RNA (rRNA)

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NUCLEUS
 Chromatin
- Chromosomes have DNA
attached to proteins called
histones

- These chromosomes form a

granular mass when the cell is
not dividing (chromatin)

- Chromatin is the total

collection of DNA and
associated proteins in the
nucleus
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NUCLEUS
 Chromatin

- Heterochromatin
 contains densely packed DNA
 Stains darker than
euchromatin

- Euchromatin
 Lighter stained areas
 Thought to contain active
DNA
 This DNA is involved in
protein synthesis
(transcription)

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ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER)
 A system of flattened
membrane-bound sacs
forming tubes and sheets

 Sacs are fluid-filled and

called cisternae

 May be an extension of
nuclear membrane (rough
ER)

 Two types: rough and smooth

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ROUGH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (RER)
 Have ribosomes attached to
them
- The ribosomes on the RER
thrust into the membrane and
synthesise polypeptide chains
which can enter the RER

- Inside the RER, proteins fold

and take on their tertiary
structure (may become part of
the ER or transported other
parts of the cell)
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RIBOSOMES
 Minute organelles containing protein and RNA
 Sites of protein synthesis
 May be attached to the RER or may lie freely in the
cytoplasm
 They are about 30nm in diameter

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 SMOOTH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER)
 Have no attached ribosomes

 Do not make proteins

 Synthesises, secretes and stores

non-protein products such as
carbohydrates and lipids eg.
steroids

 May also contain enzymes that

break down toxins, drugs and
alcohol, eg, in the liver cels
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GOLGI APPARATUS/BODY
 Has flattened and folded membrane-bound sacs called
cisternae
 Looks like a stack of pancakes
 Not a stable structure; constantly changes as new
membranes are added or vesicles may bud off

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 GOLGI APPARATUS/BODY
 Functions as a processing and
packaging structure

- Helps to build polysaccharides for cell

walls (by joining sugars together

- Enzymes in the golgi put finishing

touches on polypeptides and lipids that
have been delivered from the ER

- Some finished products are released in

vesicles from the cell by exocytosis

- Some vesicles remain in the cell with

powerful digestive enzymes
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(lysosomes)
LYSOSOMES
 Tiny bags called “suicide bags”

 Contain digestive enzymes

 Especially common in
phagocytic cells

 About 0.5µm in diameter

 Surrounded by a single membrane

 Fuse with vacuoles containing old, worn-out materials; release

hydrolytic enzymes that digest contents
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LYSOSOMES
 They also digest materials engulfed
by phagocytes

• Lysosomes may form

acrosomes in the head
of a sperm cell

• Usually isolated to prevent

self-digestion (but may still
occur, eg, reabsorption of a
tadpole’s tail during metamorphosis
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VACUOLES
 Membrane-bound organelle that is fluid-filled

 Tonoplast is the membrane surrounding the vacuole

 May be food, contractile, phagocytic or autophagic in

animal cells

 While small in animal cells, they are large and centrally

located in plant cells and contain cell sap

 Fluid pressure in central vacuole of plant cells offer

turgidity
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VACUOLES

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MITOCHONDRIA
 This organelle specialises in ATP (energy) production

 Usually between 1 and 4µm in length, although a few may

be as long as 10µm
(0.2 to 1.0μm in diameter)

 They are seen as sausage-

shaped or oval-shaped
structures under the
electron microscope

 Self-replicating – reproduce through division

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MITOCHONDRIA
 Each mitochondrion is bound by an envelop consisting of two membranes

 The inner membrane is

deeply folded into shelves
called cristae

 In aerobic respiration,
hydrogen ions accumulate
between the two membranes
- aids in the formation of ATP

 Jelly-like matrix lies within the inner

membrane (contains enzymes, ribosomes,
a circular DNA molecule and calcium
phosphate granules)

 Cells with high energy requirements, like muscle and sperm, contain a large amount of
mitochondria Prepared by Mrs. Forbes-Reid
CHLOROPLASTS
 Plastids are membrane-enclosed organelles that
function in photosynthesis or storage in plants and
algal cells

 Examples of plastids include:

- Chloroplasts
- Chromoplasts
- Amyloplasts

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 CHLOROPLASTS
 Self-replicating

 Mainly in plant cells, but may be in bacteria

and plants

 Specialised for photosynthesis

 About 0.2 – 1.0µm in diameter

(1 to 4 μm in length)

 Most have an oval or disc shape

 Two outer membranes enclose a semi-fluid interior called stroma (contains

enzymes and organelle’s own DNA)

 Stroma may also contain starch grains, lipid droplets and ribosomes

 Stroma is also the site of the light-independent stage

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CHLOROPLASTS
 Inside the stroma are highly-folded
membranes called thylakoids

 Thylakoids are arranged into stacks

of flattened disks called grana

 Thylakoids incorporate pigments

and proteins

 Hence, grana are the sites of light-

dependent processes
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PLANT CELL WALL
 Not necessarily considered an organelle since it is not inside the cell

 Contains non-living cellulose

 Found outside the plasma membrane

 Porous structure that supports and imparts shape to the cell

 Allows internal pressures to build up within cells as a result of the

osmotic entry of water

 Plasmodesmata are passageways that connect neighbouring cells via

strands of cytoplasm (allows transport of materials between cells)

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PLANT CELL WALL

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PLANT

CELL WALL - Formation
A young plant cell secretes pectins and other polysaccharides onto the
outer surface of the plasma membrane

 The sticky coating is shared between adjacent cells and cement them
together

 Each cell then forms a primary wall by secreting cellulose strands into
the coating

 The primary wall allows growing since it is thin and flexible

 Some of the coating remains as the middle lamella

 Mature cells secrete materials onto the inner surface of the primary
wall (eg. Lignin which makes the wall more waterproof and stronger),
thereby making a firm secondary wall Prepared by Mrs. Forbes-Reid
PLANT CELL WALL

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CYTOPLASM
 Living parts of he cell excluding the nucleus

 Contains membrane bound organelles and the cytosol

(fluid part of the cytoplasm) which contains numerous
small molecules in solution such as salts, sugars, amino
acids, vitamins and dissolved gases

 Larger molecules like proteins may also be found in the

cytoplasm

 It is the site of numerous metabolic activities

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CYTOPLASM

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CYTOSKELETON
 An interconnected system of many protein filaments
which reinforces, organises and moves cell structures

 Three main types include:

1. Microtubules
2. Microfilaments
3. Intermediate filaments

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CYTOSKELETON

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CYTOSKELETON

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CENTRIOLES
 Paired cylinders composed of a complex arrangement
of microtubules

 Present in animal cells, fungi and algae, but not in

plant cells

 During cell division, they replicate themselves and

migrate to opposite poles of the cell

 They from spindle fibres that pull chromosomes apart

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CENTRIOLES

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CILIA, FLAGELLA & PSEUDOPODS
 Flagella and cilia are
slender, whip-like
extensions of cells with a
complex assembly of
microtubules
 Microtubules aid in
movement

 Involved in cell locomotion

 Flagella tend to be longer

and less abundant than cilia
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CILIA, FLAGELLA & PSEUDOPODS
 Pseudopods or “false
feet” are temporary,
irregular extensions of
the cytoplasm

 They facilitate
movement and engulfing

 Microfilaments aid in
this cell motility

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MICROVILLI
 Minute outgrowths or folds of the plasma membrane,
found mainly in the animal cells

 Increase surface area

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Prepared by Mrs. Forbes-Reid