THE CELL

Dr. Shayma`a Jamal Ahmed

Prof. Genetic Engineering
& Biotechnology
Objectives:

At the end of this lecture the student will be

able to:
 Define the cell.
 Recognize to the Cell Theory.
 Describe the Characteristics of Cells.
 Describe the Characteristics of life.
 Compare between Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic.
 Recognize to the Prokaryotic cell structure .
 Recognize to Eukaryotic cell structure.
 The cell:
 What is the cell?
 it is the structural and functional units
of all living organisms .A cell is the
smallest unit that is capable of
performing life functions
 The organisms such as bacteria vs.
Human are unicellular and multicellular
.
 Cell Theory:
 Cells are the fundamental unit of life -
nothing less than a cell is alive.
 All organisms are constructed of and by
cells.
 All cells arise from cells.
 Cells contain the information necessary for
their own reproduction.
 No new cells are originating spontaneously
on earth today.
 .
 Cells are the functional units of life. All
biochemical processes are carried out by
cells.
 Groups of cells can be organized and
function as multicellular organisms.
 Cells of multicellular organisms can become
specialized in form and function to carry out
sub-processes of the multicellular organism.
.
 Characteristics of Cells:
• All living things (single and multicellular) are
made of cells that share some common
characteristics:
 basic shape : spherical, cubical, cylindrical
 internal content : cytoplasm, surrounded by a
membrane
 DNA chromosome(s), ribosomes, metabolic
capabilities
• Two basic cell types:
 Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic
 Animal cell and Plant cell
.
.
.
Characteristics of Life:

 Growth
 Reproduction
 Metabolism
 Movement
 protection
 storage , Transport of nutrients and
waste.
 Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic :
 Prokaryotic:
 Smaller, 1—5 µm
 No organelles
 No nucleus
 DNA in circular loop
 - Binary fission
 Eukaryotic:
 Larger, 8—100 µm
 Membranous organelles
 Nucleus
 DNA in linear chromosomes
 Cell growth by cell division
 Prokaryotic cell structure:
 small, with a plasma
membrane surrounded by
a rigid cell wall ,in many
the cell wall is made of:
-carbohydrate
-cross-linked with
polypeptides
 cell wall may be covered
with a capsule made of
polysaccharides
 . wall may be covered with a capsule
 cell
made of polysaccharides few or no
membrane enclosed spaces within the
cytoplasm.
 no nucleus
- DNA is in a region called the nucleoid
- DNA is circular and naked (has no protein
associated with it).
. Bacteria often have flagella with a
single protein core (flagellin)
. Membrane enclosed
spaces allow cell
functions to be
 Prokaryotes lack
membrane enclosed
spaces in their
cytoplasm.
 Some prokaryotes are
photosynthetic.
 Eukaryotic cell structure:
 larger, with a typical plasma membrane -
some with a cell wall, many and other interior
spaces
enclosed by membranes:
 Nucleus, Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi
apparatus, Mitochondria, Chloroplasts,
Lysosomes, Vacuoles, Vesicles
 cell wall found in plants (cellulose),
fungi(chitin), some protists.
 Cytoplasm with a cytoskeleton - protein
tubules and fibers.
.
Microscope:

 Ancient Greek: Micro means "small" and

scope means "to look" or "see“.
 It is a device(instrument) used for
producing a much larger view(magnified
images ) of very small objects so that they
can be seen clearly by using a lens or a
combination of lenses to be seen by the
eye .
Types of microscope:
Which are:
1- Compound microscopes :
are light illuminated. The image seen with this
type of microscope is two dimensional. This
microscope is the most commonly used. You can
view individual cells, even living ones. It has high
magnification. However, it has a low resolution.
.
 .
 There are many types of
compound(light) microscopes :
 bright-field microscope
 dark-field microscope
 phase-contrast microscope
 fluorescence microscopes
 .
2- Dissection (stereoscope) microscope:
A dissection microscope is light illuminated.
The image that appears is three dimensional.
It is used for dissection to get a better look at
the larger specimen. You cannot see
individual cells because it has a low
magnification.
.
Confocal Microscopy

 confocal scanning laser

microscope
 laser beam used to
illuminate spots on
specimen
 computer compiles
images created from
each point to generate
a 3-dimensional image
.
 .
4- Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM):

SEM use electron illumination. The image is

seen in three dimensional. It has high
magnification and high resolution. The
specimen is coated in gold and the electrons
bounce off to give you and exterior view of
the specimen. The pictures are in black and
white.
.
 .
5- Transmission Electron Microscope
(TEM):
TEM is electron illuminated. This gives
a two dimensional view. Thin slices of
specimen are obtained. The electron
beams pass through this. It has high
magnification and high resolution.
.
.