The cell is the basic unit of life. Organisms may either be unicellular (composed of one cell alone), or multicellular.

Cells comprise both animals and plants, although

there are differences with regards to each. However, the cell is the smallest unit of life. Cells may come together to form tissues, which can come together to form organs.
Organs make up the human body, as well as the bodies of plants and animals.

THE CELL THEORY

 ZACHARIAS JANSSEN and HANS were a contributor on the discovery of the cell. The two are known for their invention the compound optical
microscope. They invented the microscope in 1590’s. Their invention played a great role in the discovery of the cell theory, by making it easier and more
practical when observing cells. The microscope invented by Janssen and Hans was used by Robert Hooke, the earliest scientist to study living things under a
microscope.

(Hans and Zacharias Janssen) (Robert Hooke) (Anton van Leeuwenhoek) (Matthias Jakob Schleiden) (Theodor Schwann) (Rudolf Virchow)

 ROBERT HOOKE was a British scientist. In 1665 Hooke made an important discovery under a compound optical microscope. When he looked at a thin
slice of cork under his microscope, he saw that the cork was made-up of many tiny units’ room like structure, he saw tiny little shapes that looked like little
rooms with walls around each of them. He named them “cellulae” or simply “Cell”. This Latin word means "little rooms”. That was the first discovery of the
cell. In 1674, ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK became the first to observe live cells. It became possible for Leeuwenhoek to observe the cells -living
cells- clearly because of his invention, the microscope with improved lenses that could magnify objects from 270 to 300-fold.

 In 1838, a German botanist, MATTHIAS JAKOB SCHLEIDEN was the first to state that cells are the building blocks of all plants and that an embryonic
plant arose from one single cell. In the following year, another German botanist, THEODOR SCHWANN stated that cells are the fundamental units of
animals too. These statements ended the notion that plants, and animals have fundamental differences in structure.

 Their discoveries led to the formulation of the ‘Cell Theory’ which states that cells are the basic units of all living organisms (plants and animals). But the cell
theory failed to explain how new cells arise. In 1855, RUDOLF VIRCHOW, a German physiologist stated in German ‘Omnis cellula e cellula’ which
means that new cells come from already existing cells (Wakim [Link]., Discovery of Cells and Cell Theory 2020, Butte College).

Therefore, the three important points of the modified cell theory are as follows:
1. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells.
2. The cell is the basic unit of structure and functioning in organism.
3. Cells come from pre-existing cells.

CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

 The organisms with only one cell in their body are called UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS (bacteria, blue green algae, some algae, Protozoa, etc.).
 The organisms having many cells in their body are called MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS (fungi, most plants, and animals).

 PROKARYOTIC CELL – lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

 EUKARYOTIC CELL – do have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

MAJOR PARTS OF CELL DESCRIPTION Plant Cell Animal Cell

EUKARYOTE
 double layer of phospholipid molecules. Proteins in the cell membrane provide structural
1. CELL MEMBRANE support, form channels for passage of materials, act as receptor sites, function as carrier / /
molecules, and provide identification markers.
 the control center of the cell
2. NUCLEUS
 determines how the cell will function, as well as the basic structure of that cell. / /
 the gel-like fluid inside the cell. It is the medium for chemical reaction. It provides a
3. CYTOPLASM platform upon which other organelles can operate within the cell. All the functions for cell / /
expansion, growth and replication are carried out in the cytoplasm of a cell.

Subcellular organelles are "little organs" that are suspended in the cytoplasm of the cell. Each type of subcellular organelle has a definite structure and a specific role in the
function of the cell.

THE DIFFERENT SUBCELLULAR ORGANELLES ARE:

SUBCELLULAR Animal
DESCRIPTION Plant Cell
ORGANELLES Cell

EUKARYOTE
CELL WALL  acts as an extra layer of protection, helps the cell ma intain its shape, and prevents dehydration. /
CENTRIOLES  they contain the microtubules that help separate chromosomes and move them during cell division among
animals. /
 Produce energy through photosynthesis and oxygen-release processes, which sustain plant growth and
CHLOROPLAST
crop yield /
  it forms an interconnected network of flattened sacs. Like some of the other organelles found in
eukaryotes, ER is enclosed in a membrane.

The ER is divided into two regions that vary in structure and function.

a. SMOOTH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

- it lacks in ribosomes, making it to be smooth. It is involved in synthesis of lipids and
ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM
carbohydrates that are used to build the cell membrane. It is also involved in / /
transportation of vesicles, enzyme production in the liver, contraction of muscle cells in
the muscle, and synthesis of hormones in the brain cells.

b. ROUGH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

- it contains ribosomes making it to be called rough. It is involved in the manufacture of
various proteins in the cell. It is also involved in the production of antibodies, insulin as
well as transportation of proteins into the smooth ER.
 it is known as the packaging plant of a cell. The primary function of this organelle is to process and
GOLGI APPARATUS package the macromolecules, which would include proteins and lipids, after their synthesis but before / /
they make their way to their destination. In short it sorts, package and distributes macromolecules.
 they are like little stomachs moving around the cytoplasm. They break up waste materials and cellular
LYSOSOME
debris. They function as a garbage collector of the cell. /
 are long, hollow tubes serves as girders and give the cell it shapes. They may also help send signals from
MICROTUBULES
membrane to nucleus. / /
 one of the largest organelles within the cell. It contains the DNA which makes them semiautonomous. It
also contains a double membrane with the inner membrane folding to form cristae. It is also known as the
MITOCHONDRION
(plural: mitochondria)
powerhouse of the cell. It plays an important role in respiration where they generate ATP. Using their / /
DNA, they can encode for some of the components they require to perform their function. (Mitochondria,
plural)
NUCLEOLUS  Where ribosomes are made and produce. /
PLASMODESMA  Channel through the cell wall that allows molecules and substances to move back and forth as needed.
(plural: plasmodesmata) /
 they are tiny organelles that contains RNA and specific proteins within the cytoplasm. They directly
RIBOSOMES involved in the manufacture of proteins by using their RNA and amino acids. This process involves / /
decoding the information contained in the mRNA and using amino acids to produce the required proteins.
 In plant cell, help maintain water balance
VACUOLE
 In animal cell, help sequester waste products / /

ANIMAL CELL PLANT CELL

CELLULAR RESPIRATION
To perform our daily task, cells in our body require transfusions of energy from outside sources, which they get from the food we eat. But, how do cells
harvest the energy stored in food? With the help of enzymes, during digestion the food that we eat is digested to simple forms. These digested foods (glucose, amino
acids, fatty acids, and glycerol) are absorbed by the cells from the walls of our small intestines, and will be diffused in the blood, which will be circulated to every
single cell in our body. However, for cells to perform this process, stored energy must be first converted into ATP through the process of cellular respiration.
 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the source of energy for use and storage at the cellular level.

Cellular respiration is the process of extracting energy in the form of ATP from the glucose in the food you eat. It occurs in all living organisms both
autotrophs and heterotrophs. Organisms release stored energy in food by breaking down glucose into carbon dioxide, water, and energy (ATP) in the presence of
oxygen. In equation form, cellular respiration can be expressed as:

The process of cellular respiration may produce ATP with or without the presence of oxygen. Most eukaryotes perform aerobic respiration, which
depends on oxygen to produce ATP. In eukaryotic cells, mitochondria house most of the metabolic equipment for cellular respiration. However, some eukaryotic
cells resort to an alternative method, anaerobic respiration when oxygen is unavailable.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 Plants make sugar and oxygen with the power of water, carbon dioxide and sunlight

 Photosynthesis is the process of creating sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. It happens through a long series of chemical reactions. But it can be
summarized like this: Carbon dioxide, water and light go in. Glucose, water and oxygen come out. (Glucose is a simple sugar.)

 Photosynthesis can be split into two processes. The “photo” part refers to reactions triggered by light. “Synthesis” — the making of the sugar — is a separate process
called the Calvin cycle.

 Both processes happen inside a chloroplast. This is a specialized structure, or organelle, in a plant cell. The structure contains stacks of membranes called thylakoid
membranes. That’s where the light reaction begins.

LET THE LIGHT

SHINE IN
When light hits a plant’s leaves, it shines on chloroplasts and into their thylakoid membranes. Those membranes are filled with chlorophyll, a green pigment. This
pigment absorbs light energy. Light travels as electromagnetic waves. The wavelength — distance between waves — determines energy level. Some of those
wavelengths are visible to us as the colors we see. If a molecule, such as chlorophyll, has the right shape, it can absorb the energy from some wavelengths of light.

Chlorophyll can absorb light we see as blue and red. That’s why we see plants as green. Green is the wavelength plants reflect, not the color they absorb. While light
travels as a wave, it also can be a particle called a photon. Photons have no mass. They do, however, have a small amount of light energy. When a photon of light
from the sun bounces into a leaf, its energy excites a chlorophyll molecule. That photon starts a process that splits a molecule of water. The oxygen atom that splits
off from the water instantly bonds with another, creating a molecule of oxygen, or O2. The chemical reaction also produces a molecule called ATP and another
molecule called NADPH. Both of these allow a cell to store energy. The ATP and NADPH also will take part in the synthesis part of photosynthesis.
Notice that the light reaction makes no sugar. Instead, it supplies energy — stored in the ATP and NADPH — that gets plugged into the Calvin cycle. This is where
sugar is made. But the light reaction does produce something we use: oxygen. All the oxygen we breathe is the result of this step in photosynthesis, carried out by
plants and algae (which are not plants) the world over.

GIVE ME SOME SUGAR

The next step takes the energy from the light reaction and applies it to a process called the Calvin cycle. The cycle is named for Melvin Calvin, the man who
discovered it.

The Calvin cycle is sometimes also called the dark reaction because none of its steps require light. But it still happens during the day. That’s because it needs the
energy produced by the light reaction that comes before it.

While the light reaction takes place in the thylakoid membranes, the ATP and NADPH it produces end up in the stroma. This is the space inside the chloroplast but
outside the thylakoid membranes.

At the end of photosynthesis, a plant ends up with glucose (C6H12O6), oxygen (O2) and water (H2O). The glucose molecule goes on to bigger things. It can become
part of a long-chain molecule, such as cellulose; that’s the chemical that makes up cell walls. Plants also can store the energy packed in a glucose molecule within
larger starch molecules. They can even put the glucose into other sugars — such as fructose — to make a plant’s fruit sweet.

All of these molecules are carbohydrates — chemicals containing carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. (CarbOHydrate makes it easy to remember.) The plant uses the
bonds in these chemicals to store energy. But we use the these chemicals too. Carbohydrates are an important part of the foods we eat, particularly grains, potatoes,
fruits and vegetables.

BACTERIAL CELL