BIO 101 – GENERAL BIOLOGY

Mode of assessment:
• Attendance - 5%

• Assignment - 10%

• Mid-term - 25%

• Exam - 60%
 CELL STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION
• A cell can be defined as the smallest, basic unit of life that is responsible for all of
life’s processes.”

• Cells are the structural, functional and biological units of all living beings. A cell can
replicate itself independently. Hence, they are known as the building blocks of life.

• In addition to having the same basic structure, all cells carry out similar life
processes. These include transport of materials, obtaining and using energy, waste
disposal, replication and responding to their environment.

• Cells are complex and their components perform various functions in an organism.
They are of different shapes and sizes, pretty much like bricks of the buildings. Our
body is made up of cells of different shapes and sizes.
• Cells are the lowest level of organisation in
every life form. From organism to organism,
the count of cells may vary. Humans have
trillions of cells in different shapes and sizes
as compared to that of bacteria.

• Cells comprise several cell organelles that

perform specialised functions to carry out
life processes.

• Cells are usually quite small. A frog’s egg, at

about one millimeter (mm) in diameter, is
large enough to be seen by the human eye.
But most cells are far smaller than one
millimeter; some are even as small as one
micrometer (µm)—one-thousandth of a
millimeter.
 CELL HISTORY
• Robert Hooke, an English man discovered the cell in 1665. He observed a piece of
cork under a compound microscope and noticed minuscule structures that
reminded him of small rooms. Consequently, he named these “rooms” as cells.
• However, his compound microscope had limited magnification, and hence, he
could not see any details in the structure. Owing to this limitation, Hooke
concluded that these were non-living entities.

• Later in 1672, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek observed cells under another compound
microscope with higher magnification. This time, he had noted that the cells
exhibited some form of movement (motility).
• As a result, Leeuwenhoek concluded that these microscopic entities were “alive.”
Eventually, after a host of other observations, these entities were named as
“animalcules”.
• In 1883, Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist, provided the very first
insights into the cell structure. He observed that all cells contain a
centrally placed body, the nucleus. It was the nucleus present in the
cells of orchids.
 THE CELL THEORY
• In the 1930s, three German microscopists; M. J. Schleiden, Theodore
Schwann and Rudolf Virchow formulated the cell theory.
• The cell theory states the following:
i. All living organisms are made up of cells
ii. The cell is the smallest structural and functional unit of all living
organisms
iii. All cells arise from pre-existing cells

• A modern version of the cell theory was eventually formulated, and it

contains the following postulates:
i. Energy flows within the cells.
ii. Genetic information is passed on from one cell to the other.
iii. The chemical composition of all the cells is the same
 CELL STRUCTURE
• Generally, cells are round, spherical or elongated e.g. Red blood cells
• Some cells are long and pointed at both ends. They exhibit a spindle shape e.g.
muscle cells
• Some are branched e.g. the nerve cell or a neuron. The nerve cell receives and
transfers messages, thereby helping to control and coordinate the working of
different parts of the body.
• A cell’s shape is determined by its function.
• The basic components of a cell are cell membrane (also known as plasma
membrane or plasmalemma), cytoplasm and nucleus. The cytoplasm and
nucleus are enclosed within the cell membrane.
• In addition to the cell membrane, there is an outer thick layer in cells of plants
called cell wall.
• Cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance present between the cell membrane
and the nucleus. It is a thick solution that fills each cell and is enclosed by
the cell membrane. Various other components or organelles of cells are
present in the cytoplasm. These are mitochondria, golgi bodies,
ribosomes, etc.

• Nucleus is an important component of the living cell. It is generally

spherical and located in the centre of the cell. It can be stained and seen
easily with the help of a microscope. Nucleus is separated from the
cytoplasm by a membrane called the nuclear membrane. This membrane
is also porous and allows the movement of materials between the
cytoplasm and the inside of the nucleus.

• Protoplasm refers to the entire content of a living cell. It is called the living
substance of the cell and it includes the cytoplasm and the nucleus.
• The nucleus bears some smaller spherical bodies called the
nucleolus. In addition, nucleus contains thread-like structures called
chromosomes.

• The blank-looking structure in the cytoplasm is called the vacuole. It

could be single and big as in an onion cell. Large vacuoles are
common in plant cells while vacuoles in animal cells are much smaller.

• The several small coloured bodies scattered in the cytoplasm of plant

cells are called plastids. They are of different colours and some of
them contain green pigment called chlorophyll. Green coloured
plastids are called chloroplasts. Leucoplast - white or colourless while
Chromoplast – blue, red, yellow.
 FUNCTIONS OF CELLULAR ORGANELLES
Assignment: Write the functions of the organelles within a plant cell
and an animal cell
 CELL ORGANISATION
• Cells are organized into tissues and further, tissues into organs, organs into
systems and finally, systems into organisms.
CELLS ˃ TISSUES ˃ ORGANS ˃ SYSTEMS ˃ ORGANISM

• A tissue is a group of connected cells that have a similar function within

an organism, e.g. xylem tissue, muscle tissue.

• An organ is a group of tissues that has a specific function or group of

functions. E.g. liver, leaf.

• Each organ in a system performs different functions such as digestion,

assimilation, absorption. In plants, different organs perform
specific/specialised functions. For example, roots help in the absorption of
water and minerals while the leaves are responsible for synthesis of food.
PICTORIAL PRESENTATION OF CELL ORGANISATION