CELL
PROKARYOTIC & EUKARYOTIC
CELL
AMAILA QAISAR
M.PHIL MLS (UHS, LAHORE)
COURSE TITLE: GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY
COURSE CODE MLMB-513
CELLS:
THE BASIC UNITS OF LIFE
THE CELL THEORY
1. ALL ORGANISMS ARE MADE OF CELLS.
2. THE CELL IS THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE IN ALL LIVING
THINGS.
3. ALL CELLS COME FROM PRE-EXISTING CELLS.
THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT ALL LIVING
THINGS SHARE A SIMILAR STRUCTURE
TWO TYPES OF CELLS
All cells, whether they are prokaryotic or eukaryotic, have some
common features
ORGANELLES
ORGANELLES ARE STRUCTURES THAT ENABLE THE CELL TO
LIVE, GROW AND REPRODUCE.
TWO TYPES OF CELLS
PROKARYOTIC CELLS:
• HAVE NO MEMBRANE
COVERED NUCLEUS
• HAVE NO MEMBRANE -
COVERED ORGANELLES
• HAVE CIRCULAR DNA
• ARE BACTERIA
TWO TYPES OF CELLS
EUKARYOTIC CELLS:
• HAVE A NUCLEUS
• HAVE A MEMBRANE -
COVERED ORGANELLES
• HAVE LINEAR DNA
• ARE ALL OTHER CELLS
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROKARYOTIC &
EUKARYOTIC CELLS
ORGANELLES
ORGANELLES ARE STRUCTURES THAT ENABLE THE CELL TO
LIVE, GROW AND REPRODUCE.
NUCLEUS
• THE NUCLEUS IS A COMPACT SPHERE THAT IS THE MOST PROMINENT
ORGANELLE OF EUCARYOTIC CELLS.
• IT IS SEPARATED FROM THE CELL CYTOPLASM BY AN EXTERNAL BOUNDARY
CALLED A NUCLEAR ENVELOPE.
• THE ENVELOPE HAS A UNIQUE ARCHITECTURE.
• IT IS COMPOSED OF TWO PARALLEL MEMBRANES SEPARATED BY A NARROW
SPACE, AND IT IS PERFORATED WITH SMALL, REGULARLY SPACED OPENINGS,
OR PORES, FORMED AT SITES WHERE THE TWO MEMBRANES UNITE
• THE NUCLEAR PORES ARE PASSAGEWAYS THROUGH WHICH
MACROMOLECULES MIGRATE FROM THE NUCLEUS TO THE CYTOPLASM AND
VICE VERSA.
• THE NUCLEUS CONTAINS A MATRIX CALLED THE NUCLEOPLASM AND A
GRANULAR MASS, THE NUCLEOLUS,* THAT CAN STAIN MORE INTENSELY
THAN THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS BECAUSE OF ITS RNA CONTENT.
• THE NUCLEOLUS IS THE SITE FOR RIBOSOMAL RNA SYNTHESIS AND A
COLLECTION AREA FOR RIBOSOMAL SUBUNITS.
• THE SUBUNITS ARE TRANSPORTED THROUGH THE NUCLEAR PORES INTO THE
CYTOPLASM FOR FINAL ASSEMBLY INTO RIBOSOMES.
• A PROMINENT FEATURE OF THE NUCLEOPLASM IN STAINED PREPARATIONS IS A NETWORK
OF DARK FIBERS KNOWN AS CHROMATIN* BECAUSE OF ITS ATTRACTION FOR DYES.
• ANALYSIS HAS SHOWN THAT CHROMATIN ACTUALLY COMPRISES THE EUKARYOTIC
CHROMOSOMES, LARGE UNITS OF GENETIC INFORMATION IN THE CELL.
• THE CHROMOSOMES IN THE NUCLEUS OF MOST CELLS ARE NOT READILY
VISIBLE BECAUSE THEY ARE LONG, LINEAR DNA MOLECULES BOUND IN
VARYING DEGREES TO HISTONE PROTEINS, AND THEY ARE FAR TOO FINE TO
BE RESOLVED AS DISTINCT STRUCTURES WITHOUT EXTREMELY HIGH
MAGNIFICATION.
• DURING MITOSIS,* HOWEVER, WHEN THE DUPLICATED CHROMOSOMES ARE
SEPARATED EQUALLY INTO DAUGHTER CELLS, THE CHROMOSOMES
THEMSELVES FINALLY BECOME READILY VISIBLE AS DISCRETE BODIES.
• THIS APPEARANCE ARISES WHEN THE DNA BECOMES HIGHLY CONDENSED BY
FORMING COILS AND SUPERCOILS AROUND THE HISTONES TO PREVENT THE
CHROMOSOMES FROM TANGLING AS THEY ARE SEPARATED INTO NEW CELLS.
ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM:A PASSAGEWAY
IN THE CELL
• THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM* (ER) IS A MICROSCOPIC SERIES OF
TUNNELS USED IN TRANSPORT AND STORAGE.
• IN SECTIONS, IT APPEARS AS PARALLEL, FLAT POUCHES BOUNDED BY
MEMBRANES.
• TWO KINDS OF ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM ARE THE ROUGH ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM (RER) AND THE SMOOTH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM
(SER).
• ELECTRON MICROGRAPHS SHOW THAT THE RER ORIGINATES FROM THE
OUTER MEMBRANE OF THE NUCLEAR ENVELOPE AND EXTENDS IN A
CONTINUOUS NETWORK
THROUGH THE CYTOPLASM, EVEN OUT TO THE CELL MEMBRANE.
• THIS ARCHITECTURE PERMITS THE SPACES IN THE RER, OR CISTERNAE, TO
TRANSPORT MATERIALS FROM THE NUCLEUS TO THE CYTOPLASM AND
ULTIMATELY TO THE CELL’S EXTERIOR.
• THE RER APPEARS ROUGH BECAUSE OF LARGE NUMBERS OF
RIBOSOMES PARTLY ATTACHED TO ITS MEMBRANE TO ACT AS SECRETORY
FACTORIES.
• PROTEINS SYNTHESIZED ON THE RIBOSOMES ARE SHUNTED INTO THE
CAVITY OF THE RETICULUM AND HELD THERE FOR LATER PACKAGING AND
TRANSPORT.
• THE SER IS A CLOSED TUBULAR NETWORK WITHOUT RIBOSOMES THAT
FUNCTIONS IN NUTRIENT PROCESSING AND IN SYNTHESIS AND STORAGE OF
NONPROTEIN MACROMOLECULES SUCH AS LIPIDS
GOLGI APPARATUS:A PACKAGING
MACHINE
• THE GOLGI* APPARATUS, ALSO CALLED THE GOLGI COMPLEX OR BODY, IS A
DISCRETE ORGANELLE CONSISTING OF A STACK OF SEVERAL FLATTENED, DISC
SHAPED SACS CALLED CISTERNAE.
• THESE SACS HAVE OUTER LIMITING MEMBRANES AND CAVITIES LIKE THOSE OF
THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM, BUT THEY DO NOT FORM A CONTINUOUS
NETWORK
• THIS ORGANELLE IS ALWAYS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM BOTH IN ITS LOCATION AND FUNCTION.
• AT A SITE WHERE IT MEETS THE GOLGI APPARATUS, THE ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM BUDS OFF TINY MEMBRANE-BOUND PACKETS OF PROTEIN
CALLED TRANSITIONAL VESICLES* THAT ARE PICKED UP BY THE FORMING
FACE OF THE GOLGI APPARATUS.
• ONCE IN THE COMPLEX ITSELF, THE PROTEINS ARE OFTEN MODIFIED BY THE
ADDITION OF POLYSACCHARIDES AND LIPIDS.
• THE FINAL ACTION OF THIS APPARATUS IS TO PINCH OFF FINISHED
CONDENSING VESICLES THAT WILL BE CONVEYED TO ORGANELLES SUCH AS
LYSOSOMES OR TRANSPORTED OUTSIDE THE CELL AS SECRETORY VESICLES
• THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBODIES AND RECEPTORS IN HUMAN WHITE
BLOOD CELLS INVOLVES THIS PACKAGING AND TRANSPORT SYSTEM
NUCLEUS, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM, AND GOLGI
APPARATUS: NATURE’S ASSEMBLY LINE
• THE EUCARYOTIC GENETIC CODE, THE NUCLEUS ULTIMATELY GOVERNS AND
REGULATES ALL CELL ACTIVITIES.
• BUT, BECAUSE THE NUCLEUS REMAINS FIXED IN A SPECIFIC CELLULAR SITE, IT MUST
DIRECT THESE ACTIVITIES THROUGH A STRUCTURAL AND CHEMICAL NETWORK
• THIS NETWORK INCLUDES RIBOSOMES, WHICH ORIGINATE IN THE NUCLEUS, AND
THE ROUGH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM, WHICH IS CONTINUOUSLY CONNECTED
WITH THE NUCLEAR ENVELOPE.
• INITIALLY, A SEGMENT OF THE GENETIC CODE OF DNA IS COPIED INTO RNA
AND PASSED OUT THROUGH THE NUCLEAR PORES DIRECTLY TO THE
RIBOSOMES ON THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM.
• HERE, SPECIFIC PROTEINS ARE SYNTHESIZED FROM THE RNA CODE AND
DEPOSITED IN THE LUMEN (SPACE) OF THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM.
• AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE GOLGI APPARATUS, THE PROTEIN
PRODUCTS ARE CHEMICALLY MODIFIED AND PACKAGED INTO VESICLES THAT
CAN BE USED BY THE CELL IN A VARIETY OF WAYS
• SOME OF THE VESICLES CONTAIN ENZYMES TO DIGEST FOOD INSIDE THE
CELL;
• OTHER VESICLES ARE SECRETED TO DIGEST MATERIALS OUTSIDE THE CELL,
AND YET OTHERS ARE IMPORTANT IN THE ENLARGEMENT AND REPAIR OF
THE CELL WALL AND MEMBRANE.
LYSOSOME
• A LYSOSOME* IS ONE TYPE OF VESICLE ORIGINATING FROM THE
GOLGI APPARATUS THAT CONTAINS A VARIETY OF ENZYMES.
• LYSOSOMES ARE INVOLVED IN INTRACELLULAR DIGESTION OF FOOD
PARTICLES AND IN PROTECTION AGAINST INVADING MICROORGANISMS
• THEY ALSO PARTICIPATE IN DIGESTION AND REMOVAL OF CELL DEBRIS IN
DAMAGED TISSUE
VACUOLES
• OTHER TYPES OF VESICLES INCLUDE VACUOLES,* WHICH ARE MEMBRANE-
BOUND SACS CONTAINING FLUIDS OR SOLID PARTICLES TO BE DIGESTED,
EXCRETED, OR STORED.
• THEY ARE FORMED IN PHAGOCYTIC CELLS (CERTAIN WHITE BLOOD CELLS
AND PROTOZOA) IN RESPONSE TO FOOD AND OTHER SUBSTANCES THAT
HAVE BEEN ENGULFED.
• THE CONTENTS OF A FOOD VACUOLE ARE DIGESTED THROUGH THE MERGER
OF THE VACUOLE WITH A LYSOSOME
TYPES OF VACUOLES
• OTHER TYPES OF VACUOLES ARE USED IN STORING RESERVE FOOD SUCH AS
FATS AND GLYCOGEN.
• PROTOZOA LIVING IN FRESHWATER HABITATS REGULATE OSMOTIC PRESSURE
BY MEANS OF CONTRACTILE VACUOLES, WHICH REGULARLY EXPEL EXCESS
WATER THAT HAS DIFFUSED INTO THE CELL
MITOCHONDRIA: ENERGY GENERATORS
OF THE CELL
• ALTHOUGH THE NUCLEUS IS THE CELL’S CONTROL CENTER, NONE OF THE CELLULAR
ACTIVITIES IT COMMANDS COULD PROCEED WITHOUT A CONSTANT SUPPLY
OF ENERGY, THE BULK OF WHICH IS GENERATED IN MOST EUCARYOTES BY
MITOCHONDRIA.
• WHEN VIEWED WITH LIGHT MICROSCOPY, MITOCHONDRIA APPEAR AS ROUND TO
ELONGATE PARTICLES SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CYTOPLASM.
MITOCHONDRIA
• THE INTERNAL ULTRASTRUCTURE REVEALS THAT A SINGLE MITOCHONDRION
CONSISTS OF A SMOOTH, CONTINUOUS OUTER MEMBRANE THAT FORMS THE
EXTERNAL CONTOUR, AND AN INNER, FOLDED MEMBRANE NESTLED NEATLY
WITHIN THE OUTER MEMBRANE
• THE FOLDS ON THE INNER MEMBRANE, CALLED CRISTAE,* MAY BE
TUBULAR, LIKE FINGERS, OR FOLDED INTO SHELF LIKE BANDS.
• THE CRISTAE MEMBRANES HOLD THE ENZYMES AND ELECTRON CARRIERS OF
AEROBIC RESPIRATION. THIS IS AN OXYGEN-USING PROCESS THAT EXTRACTS
CHEMICAL ENERGY CONTAINED IN NUTRIENT MOLECULES AND STORES IT IN
THE FORM OF HIGH-ENERGY MOLECULES, OR ATP.
• THE SPACES AROUND THE CRISTAE ARE FILLED WITH A CHEMICALLY
COMPLEX FLUID CALLED THE MATRIX,* WHICH HOLDS RIBOSOMES, DNA,
AND THE POOL OF ENZYMES AND OTHER COMPOUNDS INVOLVED IN THE
METABOLIC CYCLE.
• MITOCHONDRIA (ALONG WITH CHLOROPLASTS) ARE UNIQUE AMONG
ORGANELLES IN THAT THEY DIVIDE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE CELL, CONTAIN
CIRCULAR STRANDS OF DNA, AND HAVE PROCARYOTIC C-SIZED 70S
RIBOSOMES.
CHLOROPLASTS: PHOTOSYNTHESIS
MACHINES
• CHLOROPLASTS* ARE REMARKABLE ORGANELLES FOUND IN ALGAE AND PLANT
CELLS THAT ARE CAPABLE OF CONVERTING THE ENERGY OF SUNLIGHT INTO
CHEMICAL ENERGY THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
• THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC ROLE OF CHLOROPLASTS MAKES THEM THE PRIMARY PRODUCERS
OF ORGANIC NUTRIENTS UPON WHICH ALL OTHER ORGANISMS (EXCEPT CERTAIN
BACTERIA) ULTIMATELY DEPEND.
• ANOTHER IMPORTANT PHOTOSYNTHETIC PRODUCT OF CHLOROPLASTS IS OXYGEN GAS.
ALTHOUGH CHLOROPLASTS RESEMBLE MITOCHONDRIA, CHLOROPLASTS ARE LARGER,
CONTAIN SPECIAL PIGMENTS, AND ARE MUCH MORE VARIED IN SHAPE.
• THERE ARE DIFFERENCES AMONG VARIOUS ALGAL CHLOROPLASTS, BUT
MOST ARE GENERALLY COMPOSED OF TWO MEMBRANES, ONE ENCLOSING
THE OTHER.
• THE SMOOTH, OUTER MEMBRANE COMPLETELY COVERS AN INNER
MEMBRANE FOLDED INTO SMALL, DISCLIKE SACS CALLED THYLAKOIDS* THAT
ARE STACKED UPON ONE ANOTHER INTO GRANA.
• THESE STRUCTURES CARRY THE GREEN PIGMENT CHLOROPHYLL AND
SOMETIMES ADDITIONAL PIGMENTS AS WELL.
• SURROUNDING THE THYLAKOIDS IS A GROUND SUBSTANCE CALLED THE
STROMA*
• THE ROLE OF THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENTS IS TO ABSORB AND
TRANSFORM SOLAR ENERGY INTO CHEMICAL ENERGY, WHICH IS THEN
CONVERTED BY REACTIONS IN THE STROMA TO CARBOHYDRATES.
THE CYTOSKELETON: A SUPPORT
NETWORK
•
THE CYTOPLASM OF A EUCARYOTIC CELL IS PENETRATED BY A FLEXIBLE
FRAMEWORK OF MOLECULES CALLED THE CYTOSKELETON
• THIS FRAMEWORK APPEARS TO HAVE SEVERAL FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS ANCHORING
ORGANELLES, PROVIDING SUPPORT, AND PERMITTING SHAPE CHANGES AND
MOVEMENT IN SOME CELLS.
• THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF CYTOSKELETAL ELEMENTS ARE MICROFILAMENTS AND
MICROTUBULES
MICROFILAMENTS
• MICROFILAMENTS ARE THIN PROTEIN STRANDS THAT ATTACH TO THE CELL
MEMBRANE AND FORM A NETWORK THROUGH THE CYTOPLASM.
• SOME MICROFILAMENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MOVEMENTS OF THE
CYTOPLASM, OFTEN MADE EVIDENT BY THE STREAMING OF ORGANELLES
AROUND THE CELL IN A CYCLIC PATTERN.
• OTHER MICROFILAMENTS ARE ACTIVE IN AMEBOID MOTION, A TYPE OF
MOVEMENT TYPICAL OF CELLS SUCH AS AMEOBAS AND PHAGOCYTES THAT
PRODUCES EXTENSIONS OF THE CELL MEMBRANE (PSEUDOPODS) INTO
WHICH THE CYTOPLASM FLOWS
MICROTUBULES
• MICROTUBULES ARE LONG, HOLLOW TUBES THAT MAINTAIN THE SHAPE OF
EUCARYOTIC CELLS WITHOUT WALLS AND TRANSPORT SUBSTANCES FROM
ONE PART OF A CELL TO ANOTHER.
• THE SPINDLE FIBERS THAT PLAY AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN MITOSIS ARE
ACTUALLY MICROTUBULES THAT ATTACH TO CHROMOSOMES AND SEPARATE
THEM INTO DAUGHTER CELLS.
• AS INDICATED EARLIER, MICROTUBULES ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
MOVEMENT OF CILIA AND FLAGELLA.
RIBOSOMES: PROTEIN SYNTHESIZERS
• IN AN ELECTRON MICROGRAPH OF A EUCARYOTIC CELL, RIBOSOMES ARE
NUMEROUS, TINY PARTICLES THAT GIVE A STIPPLED APPEARANCE TO THE
CYTOPLASM.
• RIBOSOMES ARE DISTRIBUTED IN TWO WAYS:
• SOME ARE SCATTERED FREELY IN THE CYTOPLASM AND CYTOSKELETON;
• OTHERS ARE INTIMATELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROUGH ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM
RIBOSOME
• MULTIPLE RIBOSOMES ARE OFTEN FOUND ARRANGED IN SHORT CHAINS
CALLED POLYRIBOSOMES (POLYSOMES).
• THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF EUCARYOTIC RIBOSOMES IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF
PROCARYOTIC RIBOSOMES.
• BOTH ARE COMPOSED OF LARGE AND SMALL SUBUNITS OF
RIBONUCLEOPROTEIN
• BY CONTRAST, HOWEVER, THE EUCARYOTIC RIBOSOME IS THE LARGER 80S
VARIETY THAT IS A COMBINATION OF 60S AND 40S SUBUNITS.
• AS IN THE PROCARYOTES, EUCARYOTIC RIBOSOMES ARE THE STAGING AREAS
FOR PROTEIN SYNTHESIS.
PLANT OR ANIMAL CELL?
FOUND IN PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS: FOUND ONLY IN PLANT
CELLS:
• Nucleus • Chloroplasts
• Golgi Complex
• Mitochondrion • Cell Wall
• Lyosomes
• Endoplasmic
Reticulum
• Cell Membrane
• Ribosomes
• Vacuoles
