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What is the difference between procaryotic and eucaryotic cells? Where are eucaryotic cells found in the environment?
Reading Assignment
In addition to the online lecture, read chapter 5 in Wastewater Microbiology .
Lecture Introduction
A eucaryotic cell is larger and more complex than a procaryotic cell and found in animals, plants, algae, fungi, and protozoa.
When you look at a eucaryotic cell with a microscope you'll notice a highly organized structure of organelles that are bound by a membrane. Each organelle performs a specialized function for the cell's metabolism. Eucaryotic cells also contain a membrane-bound nucleus where the cell's DNA is organized into chromosomes.
Depending on the organism, a eucaryotic cell may contain external projections called flagella and cilia. The projections are used for moving substances along the cell's surface or for moving the entire cell. Flagella move the cell in a wavelike motion within its environment. Cilia move substances along the cell's surface and also aid in movement of the cell.
Plasma Membrane
The plasma membrane surrounds a eucaryotic cell and serves as a barrier between the inner cell and its environment. In a eucaryotic microorganism, the cytoskeleton provides support and shape for cells and helps transport substances through the cell. The plasma membrane of a eucaryotic cell functions like the plasma membrane of a procaryotic cell. Substances enter and leave the cell through the cytoplasmic membrane by using simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis, and active transport. Eucaryotic cells extend parts or sections of their plasma membrane, called pseudopod, which means "false foot". Pseudopods are used to engulf substances and bring them into the cell, which is called endocytosis (a type of active transport). There are two types of endocytosis. These are phagocytosis (eat) and pinocytosis (drink). The amoebae feed mainly upon bacteria and algal unicells, as do most of the ciliates. Whereas the amoebae ingest food particles by absorbing them with their pseudopodia, the ciliates feed by either actively capturing and engulfing prey organisms, or by using their cilia to create currents in the surrounding water which bring the food organisms to their mouths. The captured organism is enclosed in a food vacuole, a membrane-bound vesicle which moves through the cytoplasm as digestion occurs. Undigested remains are discharged into the surrounding water, usually at a definite location in the organism's outer pellicle.
The Golgi complex is considered the "Fedex System" of the cell because it packages and delivers proteins, lipids, and enzymes throughout the cell and to the environment. A lysosome is a sphere in animals cells that is formed by, but is separate from, the Golgi complex. It contains enzymes used to digest molecules that have entered the cell. Think of lysosomes as the digestive system of the cell. The mitochondrion is an organelle that is comprised of a series of folds called cristae that is responsible for the cell's energy production and cellular respiration. The mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell where ATP is produced. Eucaryotic cells of green plants and algae contain plastids, one of which is chloroplast. Chloroplasts are organelles that contain pigments of chlorophyll and carotenoids used for gathering light and enzymes necessary for photosynthesis. A centriole is a pair of cylindrical structures near the nucleus that is comprised of microtubules and aids in the formation of flagella and cilia. The centriole also has a part in eucaryotic cell division.
They both have DNA as their genetic material. They are both membrane bound. They both have ribosomes. They have similar basic metabolism. They are both amazingly diverse in forms.
The major differences between the two are: Eucaryotes have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles; procaryotes do not. The DNA of procaryotes floats freely around the cell; The DNA of eucaryotes is held within the nucleus. The organelles of eucaryotes allow them to exhibit higher levels of intracellular division of labor than is possible in procaryotes.
Humans, of course, are an example of multicellular eucaryotes, while Streptococcus pyogenes, the bacterium that causes strep throat, is an example of procaryotes, as is all bacteria. Other examples of eucaryotes are animals, plants, fungi, protozoans, and algae.