THE ORIGIN OF LIFE AND THE EVOLUTION OF CELLS

Early Ideas of the Origin of Life

 Spontaneous Generation was a concept proposed by Aristotle around mid-300 B.C. which is the hypothesis that
living things arise from non-living material.
- Widely accepted theory for a long period of time
- Believed maggots arose from decaying meat, lice formed from sweat and frogs originated from mud.
 an opposing theory was biogenesis, a concept that life originated only from pre-existing life.

Disproving the Spontaneous Generation

 In 1668. Francesco Reidi, performed an experiment where he set up two sets of jars with decaying meat, one
which was covered with gauze, the other one was exposed.
- Reidi saw that the gauze blocked their access.
- Flies arose from the open jar, so Reidi concluded that maggots arose from the eggs of flies.
 In 1861, Louis Pasteur placed a fermented sugar solution and yeast mixture in a flask with a long swan neck are
boiled. The flask was left open and for a control, one flask neck was broken off.

Endosymbiotic Theory

 Biologist generally believe that eukaryotes evolved from prokaryotes.

- Eukaryotes have their DNA in a muscles and membrane bound organelles.
 The Endosymbiotic Theory states that present clay eukaryotic cells evolved from the writing of several types of
primitive prokaryotic cells.
- Some organelles (mitochondria and chloroplasts) might have been were originally prokaryotes that were
involved in a symbiotic relationship.
 Symbiotic relationship is where both element or organism benefit from one another.

MANIFESTATIONS OF LIFE

1. Structional – what they are made of.

 Metabolism - sum of all the chemical reactions in an organism

- All requires energy
- Sunlight is the ultimate energy for life on Earth
 Nutrition
o Autotrophic – creates their own food
o Heterotrophic – relies on their environment
o Photoautotrophs – uses sunlight to make food (photosynthesis)
o Chemoautotrophs – uses chemicals such as iron and sulfur ass the source of energy
o Saprotrophs – attain energy from consuming from dead or living organism
 Respiration
o Mechanical respiration
o Cellular respiration

- anaerobic – does not require oxygen

- aerobic – does require oxygen

 Biosynthesis
o Growth
o Repair
o Development
2. Functional – what they can do.

 Self perpetuation
 Homeostasis
o Internal equilibrium
o The ability to remain the same even with short term environmental changes
o Keep the internal environment of all organism within the ranges required for lif

- organism respond to stimuli – they respond to stimuli (temperature, water, food, etc.) in order
to survive and reproduce

- irritability/sensibility – the response of organism to stimuli (tropism)

 Reproduction
o Organisms reproduce to pass on their genetic traits
o Sexual reproduction

- involves 2 parents

- egg fertilized by sperm to make zygote

- offspring DIFFERENT from parent

o Asexual reproduction

- involves a single organism or cell

- cell divides

- offspring IDENTICAL to parent

 Heredity
o The passing of genetic materials like DNA from parents to offspring
o The presence in every living organism explains the unity of life
 Adaptation
o Response – allows organism to react to changes in their surroundings

- Locomotion or motility – movement from place to another or changing position

- Irritability – external factors or stimuli

CELL - structural & functional units of living body.

- it is the smallest structure that is able to carry out the basic functions of life.

HOW WERE CELLS DISCOVERED?

 ROBERT HOOKE first discovered cell while viewing cork specimen. He noticed little rooms that resembled cells,
& thus the term "CELL" was born. Hooke was not able to observe living cells but they were remnants of a cell
specifically the cell wall.
 ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK invention of a much better microscope led to the study of living cells.
The following years, other scientists also studied living cells. Their collective work led to the formulation of the
CELL THEORY.

WHAT DOES THE CELL THEORY STATE?

a. All organisms are composed of one or more cells.
b. Cell is the structural unit of all living organisms.
  MATTIAS SCHLEIDEN proposed that all plants are composed of cells. The following year, THEODORE SCHWAN
made a similar statement regarding animals.
a. Cells come from pre-existing cells.
 RUDOLPH VIRCHOW showed that cells self reproduces which contributed to the third principle of the cell
theory.
 R.H. DUTROCHET presented the first clear statement that all living things are composed of cells.
 ROBERT BROWN, English botanist, discovered the presence of nuclei within cells.
 PURKINJE, Bohemian who coined the term “protoplasm” to refer to the living part of the cells.
 FELIX DUJARDIN noted that all living cells contains protoplasm.
 LOUIS PASTEUR, French Chemist, was supplied the proof for Virchow’s theory for biogenesis.

WHAT'S INSIDE A CELL?

Cell is made up of organelles, structures with a membrane that perform a variety of functions such as protein
production, storage of materials, harvesting energy & digestion of substance, & among others. Organelles roles are
interdependent.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANELLES?

a. ENDOMEMBRANE SYSTEM
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
- filled with ribosomes, production of glycoprotein.
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
- lacks ribosomes, responsible for lipid and hormone production.
• Golgi Apparatus
- packaging center of the cell.
• Vacuole
- serve as storage of the cell.
• Lysosome
- contains digestive enzymes, organelle - recycling facility of an animal cell.
b. ENERGY RELATED ORGANELLES
• Chloroplast
- disk shaped that specialize in photosynthesis.
• Mitochondrion
- place of cell respiration & where most ATP is generated.
c. CYTOSKELETON
-system of interconnected protein filament.
• Actin Filaments
- provide structural support to plasma membrane & facilitate movement of the cell.
• Intermediate Filaments
- provide structure to cell.
• Microtubules
- important during cell division.

WHAT ARE THE TWO MAIN GROUP OF CELLS?

Cells, based on the basis of nucleus are classified into two large groups:
1. PROKARYOTIC CELL (pro =early/primitive)

- Simplest type of cells

- Cells that lack membrane-bound nucleus and organelles
- Single, circular or coiled chromosome (includes bacteria and fungi)
- Surrounded by cell wall (peptidoglycan) and cell membrane
2. EUKARYOTIC CELL (eu=true karyon/nucleus)

- More complex type of cells

- Multicellular organisms
- Living organisms made up of many, specialized cells
 Cell membrane
 Membrane-bound nucleus
 Membrane-bound cytoplasmic organelles

▪PLANT CELL ORGANELLES

• Nucleus – control center of all activities

• Nucleolus – makes ribosomes, which also makes proteins

• Mitochondria – “site of cellular respiration” (burning of glucose)

- Generates biologically available energy (ATP)

• Plasma membrane – selectively permeable boundary of the cell

- Composed of a bilayer of phospholipids with proteins and short carbohydrate chains

- Regulates what enters or exits the cells

• Cytoplasm – contains a cytosol, which is a thick, aqueous solution of salts

- Contains ribosomes (a non-membrane-bound-organelles) to make proteins

• Vacuole – fluid filled sacs for storage (sugars, proteins, minerals, lipids, wastes, salts, water and enzymes)
• Cell wall – found in plants, fungi and bacteria

- Cellulose in plants
- Peptidoglycan in bacteria
- Chitin in fungi

• Chloroplast
• Starch granules

▪ANIMAL CELL ORGANELLES

• Nucleus
• Nucleolus
• Mitochondria
• Cytoplasm
• Vacuole
• Endoplasmic Reticulum
• Centriole – “microtubule-organizing center”
• Pinocyte

WHAT IS CELL MODIFICATION?

It is a features or structure of the cell that makes it different from another type of the cell that makes it different from
another type of cell & at the same time enables it to carry out unusual functions.

WHY DOES CELL MODIFICATION OCCUR?

Plant & animal cells are specialized to be able to carry out their tasks efficiently. They have particular adaptation to their
structure to suits its function.
WHAT IS CELL CYCLE?
Cell cycle is an orderly sequence of stages that takes place from the time a eukaryotic cell divides to the time the
resulting daughter also divides. Its two main parts are: INTERPHASE & M PHASE.

INTERPHASE is the longest stage of cell cycle. It has three stages:

a. G1, the first interval when the cell grows before DNA replication.
b. S, the time of DNA replication.
c. G2, the second interval when the cell prepares to divide.

M PHASE or Mitotic Phase, replicated DNA & cytoplasm divide to make two new diploid cells, both the same
chromosome number.
It involves CYTOKINESIS which is the splitting of the cytoplasm in two making two new cells.

CELL CYCLE CHECKPOINT

It is a stage where the cell examines internal & external cues & decides whether to go through with cell division or not.

THREE MAJOR CHECKPOINTS:

- G1 Checkpoint
- G2 Checkpoint
- Spindle Checkpoint

WHAT IS MITOSIS AND MEIOSIS?

MITOSIS is a process of cell division in which a cell divides produces identical copies of itself. This process is important
for growth and repair of the body. (PMAT)

Importance of Mitosis
a. It ensures equal distribution of nucleus material down to each daughter cell.
b. Constancy of species is maintained by keeping a constant chromosome number of each daughter cell that is
genetically identical to the parent cell.
c. It restores wear & tear of the body tissues heals wounds & replaces damaged or lost organs through regeneration.
d. It is a means of asexual reproduction for some organisms.
e. Facilitates growth from a single fertilized egg to an individual with billions or trillions of cells.

FOUR MITOTIC STAGES

A. PROPHASE -chromosomes condense & organize nuclear membrane & nucleoli disappear, spindle apparatus
assembled & attached to centromeres of duplicated chromosomes.
B. METAPHASE -spindles line up duplicated chromosomes along equator of cell, one spindle to each half or chromatid of
duplicated chromosome.
C. ANAPHASE -centromere of each duplicated chromosome is separated and paired chromatids are pulled apart.
D. TELOPHASE -chromosomes uncoil; nucleoli reappear; cytokinesis occurs and two genetically identical daughter cell
are produced.

MEIOSIS is a kind of cell division exclusive to gametes or reproductive cell. This process reduces the number of
chromosomes from a diploid (2n) number to a haploid [n] number.
It occurs in two stages as a diploid nucleus cannot be split into a haploid nucleus in a single division. (Meiosis1 &
Meiosis2)

Importance of Meiosis
a. It reduces the number of gametes in half which allows them to unite during fertilization without increasing the normal
no. of chromosome in the offspring.
b. It produces new chromosome combination in the gamete through the process of crossing over.
c. It promotes genetic diversity, which is essential for the survival of the population.
Stages of Meiosis
Meiosis 1
A. Prophase 1 -spindle microtubules become attached to them as the nuclear membrane breaks up.
B. Metaphase 1 -homologous chromosome pairs line up in the middle of the cell. The two chromosomes of each pair
become joined the microtubules at the opposite side of the cell.
C. Anaphase 1 - all of the homologous chromosome separate and move towards the spindle pole.
D. Telophase 1 -homologous chromosome pairs reach the spindle poles, nuclear membrane form around them &
cytokinesis follows to produce two cells

Meiosis 2
You may think of meiosis 2 as a process similar to mitosis except the chromosomes does not replicate before division.
A. Prophase 2 -the centrioles will duplicate & separate into two centrosomes. The nuclear membrane breaks down &
the spindle apparatus forms.
B. Metaphase 2 -chromosomes which are still duplicated, are aligned in the middle of the cell (metaphase plate).
C. Anaphase 2 -sister chromatids of each chromosome separate & move towards the opposite poles.
D. Telophase 2 -nuclear membrane forms around each set of chromosomes & cytokinesis occur, producing 4 haploid
daughter cells.

WHAT IS CROSSING OVER & WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN?

Crossing over is the process that involves an exchange of genetic material between non sister chromatids during
meiosis. It occurs during the leptotene stages of prophase 1.

HOW DOES CROSSING OVER HAPPEN?

Crossing over happens in prophase 1 when chromosomes condense. Each is drawn closer to its homologous partner, so
that non- sister chromatids align along their length. The tight parallel orientation facilitates crossing over.

WHY DO CHROMOSOME CROSS OVER?

Crossing over greatly contributes to variations among individuals. Maternal & paternal genes get shuffles to introduce
new allele combinations which results in the combination of traits among offspring.
Without crossing over an organism's offspring would just be cloned of themselves.

Rest if you must but don’t you quit.