Defining Life

What is life:
can’t define in one sentence

a highly organized interaction of matter and

energy

must consider several properties of life or life

functions

all life is based on some basic principles or

characteristics

each property taken individually is NOT unique to

living things

many nonliving things do one or more of them

viruses don’t quite fit

General properties of all living things:

1. Unique chemical structure
2. Life shows Hierarchical Complexity
3. Compartmentalization/Boundaries
4. A genetic program contained in DNA molecules
5. Metabolism
6. Reproduction
7. Development and Growth
8. Environmental Interactions
9. Adaptation & Evolution

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 1

General properties of all living things:

1. Unique chemical structure

the atoms of life were generated long ago in giant

red stars and supernovae

life is highly complicated and ordered

eg. smallest living organism: pleuropneumonial like
organism PPLO

 contains ~12,000,000 atoms = ~1200

molecules

all life shares a communal pool of atoms and

molecules
99% of universe is made of H or He; the two simplest
elements

95-99% of all biomass consists of just 6 elements: CHONPS

these elements combine to form 2 main kinds of

molecules

combination of both inorganic and organic

molecules

inorganic: small, little or no carbon

atoms, don’t form polymers

organic: large to very large, lots of carbon,

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 2

 hydrogen and oxygen atoms, usually
form large polymers:

sugars  starches
amino acids  proteins
fatty acids  lipids
nucleotides  nucleic acids

but laws of physics say that there is a tendency

toward disorder

the only way to remain ordered in a disordered

world is with the input of energy

 life must consume energy to remain

ordered
most life energy is directly or indirectly from sun

2. Life shows Hierarchical Complexity

can study all living organisms at several different

levels of structure:
atoms & molecules
cells
tissues
organs
organ systems
organisms
populations
communities
ecosystems

most of these levels do not exist in the nonliving

world
Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 3
 each level builds on levels below

new properties (emergent properties) appear at

each new level

the whole is greater than the sum of its

parts
eg. cell is more than a bunch of chemicals

can’t understand a higher level by breaking

it down

would no longer have the property

but can’t analyze something so complex

without taking it apart (reductionism)

3. Compartmentalization/Boundaries

all living organisms are confined to a limited

volume surrounded by a surface or skin

highly ordered structure must be separated and

protected from the disorder of nature

most basic compartment of living organisms is the

“cell”

all organism can consist of at least one cell

self contained “life unit”
Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 4
 separates internal from external environment

has all the things it needs to be alive

an organism can consist of one or more cells:

unicellular, solitary cell
 eg. bacteria, some protists

colonial, loose association of single celled

species
 eg. many protists

multicellular, always consist of many cells,

never found as individual celled organism
 most fungi, all plants, all animals

in larger organisms groups of cells are

compartmentalized into tissues and organs
and organ systems

Eubacteria unicellular
Archaea or colonial

procaryotes____________________________
eucaryotes
Protists unicellular, colonial
Fungi or multicellular

Plants all multicellular,

Animals some with tissues &/or organs

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 5

4. A genetic program using nucleic acids

all living organisms use DNA as the genetic

material
 codes for all the organism is and does

= blueprint for structure and function

all also use RNA, a related chemical to help DNA do

its work

DNA is contained in chromosomes, plasmids

on each DNA molecule are thousands of genes

each gene codes for one ‘job’ in the cell

all also use RNA, a related chemical, to help DNA

do its work

the DNA is copied exactly during reproduction and

then is passed on to next generation

fidelity during reproduction

5. Metabolism

life, at simplest level, can be visualized as a bag of

1000’s of chemical reactions

metabolism = all the chemical reactions occurring

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 6
 in a cell or organism

two basic kinds of reactions:

synthesis
decomposition

metabolism = synthesis + decomposition

synthesis is required to prevent parts from

wearing out:
eg. skin and bone completely replaced every 7 years

eg. oldest RBC's are 4 months old

eg. entire lining of digestive tract is replaced every 3 days

Decomposition
removes unwanted materials
produces energy for cells

we can say that these chemical reactions have two

basic kinds of uses:
1. construction projects
2. energy procurement and use

A. construction projects

all life requires nutrients for building blocks

and consumes energy

nutrients are used as building blocks to make

cells, tissues, skeletons, blood, etc
Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 7
B. energy procurement and use

organisms also need an energy source to

“power” everything that an organism does

the direct source of that energy is the break

down of sugar molecules (and other organic
molecules)
 ie. they use chemical energy
organic molecules store lots of energy as chemical
bond energy

organisms have developed two basic ways to get

these energy molecules

a. organisms that must eat sugars and organic

molecules and then break them down for
energy

= heterotrophs

b. organisms that extract energy from sunlight or

some other nonfood source to make sugars

then they can break these sugars down as

needed for energy

= autotrophs

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 8

a. Autotrophs

organic molecules are built with backbones of

carbon
 we are “carbon based life forms”

they therefore need lots of carbon to construct

the organic molecules they need

generally all their carbon needs come from CO2

autotrophs also need a source of energy to

construct these organic molecules
(synthesis requires energy)

there are two ways to get this energy:

i. Photosynthesis
energy from sunlight is used to
construct organic molecules
eg. all plants, some protists, some
bacteria

ii. Chemosynthesis
energy is supplied through oxidation
of inorganic molecules
eg. various bacteria

eg sulfur oxidizing bacteria

sulfur cmpds H2 SO4

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 9
 ATP

eg. nitrifying bacteria

NH3 NO2 - +/or NO3 -

ATP

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 10

b. Heterotrophs

all the carbon and the energy they need comes

from organic molecules
eg. animals, fungi, many protists

metabolism consists of continually occurring

chemical reactions
eg. digestion, respiration, excretion

involves the use and release of energy

energy drives metabolism,

counters entropy – keeps things organized

in larger organisms we call these processes

=physiology:
eg. digestion
eg. excretion
waste products must be gotten rid of
eg. respiration
involves exchange of gasses

within cells: protein synthesis

replication of DNA
photosynthesis
respiration
fermentation

6. Reproduction

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 11

 all living things arise from preexisting life

reproduction occurs at both the cellular level and

at the organismal level

sexual vs asexual reproduction:

sexual: unique combination of traits

produces variation which allows
adaptation and evolution

involves specialized cells: sex cells

(meiosis)

asexual: exact copies, clones

easier, quicker, don’t need a mate
(mitosis)

reproduction of multicellular organisms also

includes production of new cells

new cells can be made by:

mitosis
 daughter cells are exact copies

meiosis and fertilization (syngamy)

 daughter cells contain 1 of each kind of
chromosome

plant meiosis makes spores, not eggs or sperm

animal sex always involves meiosis

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 12
 reproduction at organismal level:
asexual:
involves mitosis - clones
eg budding
fragmentation
regeneration

sexual:
involves meiosis which produces egg &
sperm cells

not clones, genetically unique

eg monoecious
dioecious
protandry

7. Development and Growth

all organisms (even bacteria) pass through a

characteristic life cycle

changes in size and shape

eg. Frog: embryo larvaadult
eg. Human: embryofetusjuvenileadult
eg. Butterfly: embryocaterpillar(larva)pupaadult
eg. Fly: embryomaggot(larva)pupaadult
eg. Clam: embryolarva(glochidium)adult

some involve alternation of two completely

different body forms
eg. ferns, jellyfish

some involve two distinct generations, one that

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 13
 reproduces asexually, one sexually
eg: fungi, ferns, mosses

the immature forms may be self sufficient or

completely dependent on mother for
nourishment and protection

eg. embryos, larvae, nymphs, etc

often involves metamorphosis of one free

living form into another

in some the embryonic or immature stage is a

dormant or resistant stage
eg. seeds, cysts, gemmules, some insects

8. Environmental Interactions

all organisms monitor and respond to their

environment (including each other)

=ecology, natural history, symbiosis

=ethology - behavior simple to very complex

all life uses chemicals to communicate/coordinate

eg. pheromones, hormones, chemical trails, etc

in larger organisms requires some kind of more

complex coordination and control:
Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 14
 nervous system
endocrine system/ plant hormones
immune system

9. Adaptation & Evolution

all living organisms adapt to their environment

some adaptations involve behavioral changes and

learning
eg. tool use among animals

eg. cultures

other adaptations can be in the form of changes in

growth and physiology
eg. same species of plant has air leaves and water leaves

eg. euglena with and without light

adaptations also occur across generations as the

most useful traits are selected for and passed
on while harmful traits are eliminated
eg. same species in different ecosystems

eg. reproductive displays

eg. niches and evolution  marsupials in australia

[eg. annual “Darwin awards”]

Life, Biodiversity, History: Defining Life, Ziser, Lecture Notes, 2004 15