PLANT CELL STRUCTURE

THE CELL

Cells are the structural functional unit of living structures. The overall function of the
body is actually the combined function of all these cells. Within these cells the
complex biochemical and physical processes necessary for maintenance and
reproduction of life are carried out.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: DISCOVERY OF THE CELL

The finer structure of living matter remained unknown until after the invention of the
compound microscope. Below are some of the scientists who contributed to the study
of the cell.

ROBERT HOOKE

• Reported that thin slices of cork and other plant materials contained minute
partitions separating cavities that he named “cells”. What he saw were
empty cavities and it was not until 1835 that:

ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK

• Discovered the microscope and £free cells£ with nucleus (red blood cells)
• Father of Microscopy

DUJARDIN

• Discovered the cell substance (protoplasm)

JEAN BAPTISTE DE LAMARCK

• Stated that any living body must have its parts of cellular tissue or formed by
such tissue.

ROBERT BROWN

• Described the nucleus as the central feature in plant cells.

• Discovered movement of microscopic particles (Brownian
movement)THEODOR SCHWANN
• Cells were the unit of structure in animals.
RUDOLF VIRCHOW

• Concluded that cells come only from other cells.

ALEXANDER FLEMMING

• Cells ensure continuity between one generation through mitosis.

cell theory

• Proposed by two German physiologists: Theodor Schwann and Rudolf

Virchow.
• Basic tents
➢ All living organisms are made up of one or more cells.
➢ The cell is the basic unit of structure for all living organisms.
➢ All cells come only from pre-existing cells (Rudolf Virchow).

basic cell types

• Prokaryotes (Greek for “before nucleus”)

➢ Are independent, unicellular organisms that lack true nuclei (e.g.
bacteria)
➢ Have nucleoids or naked nuclei
➢ Absence of membrane-bound organelles.
➢ Are usually smaller than eukaryotic cells (o.3 to 0.5 microns) in
Rickettsia; 1 to 10 microns in other bacterial groups.
• Eukaryotes (Greek for “true nucleus”)
➢ Multicellular organisms like protist, fungi, plants, and animals
➢ With membrane-bound nucleoli containing DNA.
➢ Presence of membrane-bound organelles.
cell size and cell shape

• Most of the cells are small, ranging from about 1-100 microns in diameter,
though some can be seen such as “yolks” of eggs of most vertebrates (fishes,
amphibians, reptiles, and birds) and some giant nerve cells of cows.
• Most of the cells are small due to the following reasons:
➢ The ratio of the volume of the cell’s nucleus to the volume of its
cytoplasm must not be so small than the nucleus in order for it to control
the cytoplasm.
➢ The need for cells o exchange nutrients and wastes with their external
environment through the plasma membrane.
o As a roughly spherical cell becomes larger, the innermost
regions become farther away from the membrane which makes
diffusion of substances a lot difficult and would take a relatively
longer time.
➢ Cell volume works to limit cell size
o As cell enlarges, its volume increases more rapidly than its
surface area does; so a larger cell has a greater need for
exchange of nutrients and wastes with the environment but a
relatively smaller surface area of the plasma membrane trough
which to make these exchanges.
o muscle cells and neurons can get very large due to their
elongated shape that increases their membrane surface area.
 THREE STRUCTURAL PARTS OF A GENERALIZED ANIMAL CELL

PLASMA MEMBRANE

• gatekeeper of the cell; it must perform these functions:

➢ isolates/separates the internal components of the cell from the
extracellular environment (extracellular fluid-ECF)
➢ Being semi-permeable (selective, allows passage of selected molecules),
regulates the exchange of substances between the cell’s protoplasm and
the ECF.
➢ Communicates with other cells.
• outer, limiting membrane separating the cell’s interior from the
environment.
• The key membrane function lies in its structure:
➢ The “Fluid Mosaic Model”, developed by Jonathan Singer and Garth
Nicolson (1972), describes the molecular arrangement of the plasma
membrane and other membranes in living organisms. A mosaic is a
pattern of many small pieces fitted together. According to this model,
the membrane is a double-layer (bilayer) mosaic of proteins floating like
icebergs in the sea of lipids. The membrane in order to properly function
must be fluid in nature; however, specific functions of membrane are
dependent on proteins.
• Components:
➢ Membrane lipids
o Phospholipids (75%) form the bilayer; the arrangement occurs
because the phospholipids are amphipathic having both polar
and nonpolar components; the polar phosphate “heads” are
hydrophilic while the nonpolar lipid “tails” are hydrophobic; the
heads face outward on either side towards the watery cytosol
and ECF, while the tails face each other in the bilayer’s interior.
o Glycolipids (5%) are also amphipathic occurring only on the
membrane layer facing the ECF; glycolipids are important for
the following:
✓ Adhesion among cells and tissues
✓ Meditating cell-to-cell recognition and communication
via the surface markers.
❖ E.g. gangliosides exposed on the membranes
of brain and nerve cells serve as antigens
recognized by antibodies in immune reaction.
❖ Glycosphingolipids serve as antigens on
surfaces of RBCs for blood group interactions.
 o Cholesterol (20%) molecules are located among the
phospholipids in both sides of the bilayer; these molecules
strengthen the membrane but decrease its flexibility.
o Phospholipids bilayer is very dynamic and is also self-healing.
➢ Membrane Proteins
o are of two types: integral and peripheral
o Intrinsic/Integral Proteins extend across the phospholipids
bilayer among the fatty acid tails; most of the integral proteins
are glycoproteins.
o Extrinsic/Peripheral Proteins are loosely attached to the inner
and outer surfaces of the membrane and are easily separated
from it.
o Membrane proteins and glycoproteins determine what functions a cell
can perform; proteins can act as:
✓ Channel – allows passage of specific molecules (e.g. K+, Cl) to
move through the pore.
✓ Transporter – carries specific substance across the membrane
by changing its shape (e.g. amino acids)
✓ Enzyme – catalyzes different reactions (e.g. adenylyl cyclase
coverts ATP to cAMP)
✓ Cell Identity Markers – distinguishes cells from other cells (e.g.)
glycosphingolipids serve as antigen on surfaces of RBCs for
blood group interactions.
✓ Receptor – recognizes specific molecules (e.g. hormones) and
alters cell’s functions in some ways.
✓ Cytoskeleton Anchor – attaches filaments and tubules inside cell
to the cell membrane to stabilize the structure and shape of the
cells.
CYTOSOL

• thick semi-fluid portion of the cytoplasm.

• Also called intracellular fluid (ICF).
• Contains many soluble proteins like enzymes, nutrients, ions, and other small
molecules which participate in various phases of metabolism.
• Suspends organelles and inclusions.
NUCLEUS

• A large, double membrane-bound organelle that contains the chromosomal

DNA of a eukaryotic cell.
• Is usually a spherical or oval organelle and is the largest structure in the cell.
• It contains the hereditary units of the cell called genes which control cellular
structure and direct many cellular activities.
• Most body cells contain a nucleus, although some, such as mature RBCs do
not.
• Skeletal muscle fibers contain several nuclei (multinucleated).

Components:

o Nuclear Envelope or Membrane

➢ Separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm
➢ Both the inner and outer nuclear membranes are phospholipid bilayers
similar to the plasma membrane.
➢ Water-filled nuclear pores in the envelop allow most ions and water
soluble molecules to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.
➢ Nuclear pores are about ten times larger in diameter than channels in
the plasms membrane and thus permit passage of large molecules such
as RNA and various proteins.
o Nucleoli
➢ “nucleus inside a nucleus”
➢ Are aggregations of proteins, DNA, and RNA that are not bounded by a
membrane.
➢ Nucleoli disperse and disappear during cell division and reorganize once
new cells are formed.
➢ Nucleoli are the sites of assembly of ribosomes which contain a type of
RNA called ribosomal RNA which plays a key role in protein synthesis.
o Chromatin
➢ In a non-dividing cell, DNA and associated proteins are loosely packed
and form a network called chromatin
➢ During cell division, DNA and certain proteins condense and coil into rod-
shaped bodies called chromosomes.
➢ Chromosomes contain a very large amount of DNA relative to their size.
➢ Each chromosome is thought to be a single DNA molecule, highly folded
and coiled, combined with a variety of protein molecules.
➢ Through an electron microscope (EM), chromatin appears like “beads-
on-a-string”. Each bead is nucleosome, consisting of double-stranded
 DNA wrapped twice around a core of 8 proteins called histones. The
string between beads is linker DNA, which holds an adjacent
nucleosomes together. Another histone promotes folding of a
nucleosome into a target diameter structure called a chromatin fiber.
Chromatin fibers, in turn, fold into large loops. In cells that are not
dividing, this is the extent of DNA packing.
➢ Before cell division, the DNA duplicates and the chromatin strands
subsequently shorten and coil even more to form chromatids. During
certain stages of the cell in division, a pair of chromatids makes a
chromosome.
The cell also includes other components such as:

INCLUSIONS

• Temporary structures that contain secretions and storage products if the cell.

ORGANELLES

• Highly organized structures with characteristic shapes that are highly

specialized for specific cellular activities.
• There are specialized structures that have characteristics appearances and
specific roles in growth, maintenance, repair, and control.
• The numbers and types of organelles vary in different kinds of cell depending
in their functions.
o E.g. the liver cell contains numerous ER and golgi complex to meet
its function of production and secretion of bile.
o Mature red blood cells do not have mitochondria that would
consume O2.

MITOCHONDRIA

• Universally present within animal cells except in mature red blood cells.
• Capable of self replication; that is, they divide to increase in number in
response to cellular need for ATP and cell division.
• Because of their function in generating ATP, an energy-rich molecule, they
are called the powerhouses or power generators of the cell.
Structure

o The mitochondrion consists of two membranes; the outer mitochondrial

membrane is smooth, but the inner membrane is arranged in a series of
folds called cristae.
o The central cavity of a mitochondrion, enclosed by the inner membrane
and cristae, is called the matrix which contains ribosomes, circular DNA,
and other materials.
RIBOSOMES

• Are tiny spheres that contain ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and several ribosomal
proteins
• With large and small ribosomal subunits
• Site of protein synthesis

Some are free ribosomes and the others are attached to the ER (Endoplasmic
reticulum)

o Free Ribosomes – manufacture proteins for domestic use

➢ E.g. membrane proteins and enzymes (e.g. catalase) which form
peroxisomes
o Attached Ribosomes – manufacture proteins for “export” use.
➢ E.g. secretory proteins like enzymes and different hormones

ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM

• A system of membrane – enclosed channels of varying shapes called cistems

or cisternae.
• Is continuous with the nuclear envelope

Two types of ER:

o Rough ER (RER)
➢ Studded with ribosomes
➢ Functions:
✓ Protein synthesis
✓ Glycosylation or addition of carbohydrate groups to
glycoprotein.
o Smooth ER (SER)
➢ Has no ribosomes
➢ Functions:
✓ Triacylglycerols , phospholipids and steroid synthesis
✓ Drug detoxification (by hydroxylation or addition of OH
groups which increases solubility or hydrophobic drugs in
water so they can be easily excreted from the body)
✓ Carbohydrate metabolism (e.g. breakdown of glycogen by a
membrane-bound enzyme known as glucose-6-phosphate)
 ✓ Calcium storage (e.g. in muscle cells, sarcoplasmic
reticulum stores and releases calcium during relaxation and
contraction respectively)

GOLGI COMPLEX

• Are located near the nucleus

• Consists of 4-6 flattened sacs called cisterns stacked upon each other like a
pile of plates with expanded bulges at their ends.
• Also associated are small golgi vesicles which cluster along the expanded
ends of the cisterns; these vesicles shuttle protein and lipid products among
the cisterns for further processing and modification.
• Function: processes, sorts, packages, and delivers proteins and lipids to the
plasma membrane, lysosomes, and secretary vesicles.

Route of proteins to be exported:

➢ Ribosomes -> RER -> Transport Vesicles -> Golgi Complex ->
Secretory Vesicles -> Released to exterior of the cell by exocytosis.

LYSOSOMES

• Are membrane-enclosed vesicles that form in the Golgi complex.

• Inside are as many as 40 kinds of powerful digestive (hydrolytic) enzymes
capable of breaking down a wide variety of molecules; enzymes are very
active in an acidic pH.
• Act as waste disposal units, digesting and removing foreign material brought
into the cell from outside or removing cellular organelles which are not
needed.

Specific functions of lysosomes:

o Intracellular Digestion
➢ Lysosomal enzyme digest bacteria and other substances that enter
the cell in phagocytic vesicles (phagosomes) during phagocytosis,
pinocytic vesicles during pinocytosis, or endosomes during reporter-
mediated endocytosis.
 o Autophagy
➢ Lysosomes also use their enzymes to recycle the cell’s own
structures. A lysosome can engulf another organelle, digest it, and
return the digested components to the cytosol to reuse. In this way,
old organelles are continually replaced. A human liver cell recycles
about half its contents every week.
o Autolysis
➢ Lysosomes act as “suicide bags” during apoptosis or “programmed
cell death” in which the cells themselves die in order to go about
normal development.
➢ E.g. during development of the vertebrate hand and foot, cells
between the digits die by apoptosis to generate free fingers and
toes.
o Extracellular Digestion
➢ Lysosomal enzymes released at sites of injury help digest cellular
debris, which prepares the injured area for effective repair.

PEROXISOMES

• Another group of organelles similar in structure to lysosomes, but smaller

• Capable of self-replication like mitochondria
• Numerous in liver and kidney cells

Functions

o HZOZ Metabolism
➢ Contain enzymes like oxidase that generate hydrogen peroxide and
catalase which degrades HZOZ; these enzymes are localized in the
same compartment to ensure that HZOZ would not harm cells.
o Detoxification of Harmful Compounds
➢ Catalase also detoxifies methanol, ethanol, formic acid,
formaldehyde, nitrites and phenols.
o Oxidation of Fatty Acids
➢ Peroxisomes shorten fatty acids in preparation for subsequent
metabolism in mitochondrion to produce acetyl coenzyme A.
CYTOSKELETON

• Cellular shape and the capability to carry out a variety of coordinated

movements depend on a complex internal network of filamentous proteins in
the cytoplasm called the cytoskeleton.
• Responsible for the movement of whole cells, such as phagocytes, and for
the movement of organelles and chemical within the cell.

Three main types of protein filaments:

o Microtubules
➢ Hollow, cylindrical structures 25nm in diameter assembled from the
protein called tubulin

Functions:

✓ Together with the microfilaments, microtubules help support

and shape cells
✓ Microtubules also function like a “conveyor belt” or “roads” or
“tracts” to move various substances and organelle’s thru the
cytosol.
✓ They assist in the movement of pseudopods that are
characteristic of phagocytes
✓ Form structure of flagella, cilia, centrioles and mitotic spindles
o Intermediate Filaments
➢ Composed of rope-like protein strands which as 8-12 nm in
diameter
➢ They are exceptionally strong and tough and are resistant to tensile
and are relatively insoluble

Functions:

✓ Mechanical stability due to plectin crossbridges that bind

intermediate filaments together and also bind microtubules and
microfilaments
✓ They provide structural reinforcement inside cellss hold
organelles (such as the nucleus) in place and associate closely
with microtubules and give shape to the cell.
o Microfilaments
➢ Twisted double strands, each consisting of a string of protein (actin)
subunits
➢ About 8 nm in diameter
 Function: play a key role in almost all types of contractility and motility

✓ E.g. muscle tissue – actin filaments (thin filaments) and myosin

filaments (thick filaments) slide past one another to produce
contraction (shortening) of muscle fiber
✓ In nonmuscle cells, actin filaments provide support and shape,
they also assist in cell movement (e.g. phagocytic cells) and
movements within the cells (e.g. phagocytosis, pinyocytosis)

FLAGELLA & CILIA

• Both cilia (Latin for “eyelash”) and flagella (“whip”) are slender extensions of
the plasma membrane
• Both contain a ring of 9 fused pairs of microtubules, with an unfused pair of
microtubules at the center (forming “9+2” arrangement)
• Main difference between cilia and flagella lie in their length, number, and the
direction of force they generate.
o In general, cilia are short (about 10-25 microns long) and numerous;
they provide force in a direction parallel to the plasma membrane, like
the oars in a canoe; accomplished through a fairly stiff “rowing” motion
during the forceful power stroke and a flexible return stroke that bring
the cilium to its original position.
o Flagella are long (50-75 microns), relatively few in number, and provide
force perpendicular to the plasma membrane, like the engine of a
motorboat; flagella undulate with a continuous bending wavelike
motion, without distinct power-and-return strokes.
• Ciliated protozoans include Paramecium, Didinium, Euplotes, etc.
• Flagellated protozoans include Euglena, Trypanosma, and other
dinoflagellates
• Sperm cells and some spiral and rod-shaped bacteria are also flagellated
• Ciliated cells (e.g. in gills of oysters, oviducts of females, and respiratory
tracts of most land vertebrates) usually propel substances along their
surfaces.
CENTROSOME & CENTRIOLES

• Centrosome is a dense area of cytoplasmic material near the nucleus

• Within the centrosome is a pair of cylindrical structures called centrioles
• Each centriole is composed of nine clusters of three microtubules (triplets)
arranged in a circular pattern
• Centrioles serve as centers for organizing microtubules in non dividing cells
and the mitotic spindle during the cell division

VACUOLES

• Are fluid-filled surrounded by a single membrane

• Food vacuoles that form during phagocytosis, are temporary features of cell
• Freshwater microorganisms have contractile vacuoles in order to withstand
in a hypotonic environment.
 THE CHLOROPLAST ULTRASTRUCTURE

• Chloroplasts are membrane-bound organelles that act as the main centers

for photosynthesis.
• The number of chloroplasts varies widely in different plants for example in
green algae like Chlamydomonas and Spirogya the number of chloroplasts of
chloroplasts present in each cell remains constant.
• In higher plants the number of chloroplasts varies from cell to cell, each cell
may have 30 to 200 chloroplasts
• Although the size of chloroplasts varies from plant to plant, chloroplasts are
generally four to five micrometers in size.
• Also plants growing in shade contain larger chloroplasts in their cells than
those growing in intense light.
• Chloroplasts also differ in shape being plate-shaped in Chlorella, cup-shaped
in Chlamydomonas, ribbon-shaped and spirally-coiled in Spirogyra, and star-
shaped in Zygnema
• In higher plants, most chloroplasts are nearly spherical or ovoidal in shape
• Like most organelles in a eukaryotic cell chloroplasts are surrounded by a
bilayer membrane called chloroplast envelope and are disc shaped
• While the outer membrane is freely permeable to molecules, the inner
membrane is selectively permeable and contains many transporters such as
the integral membrane proteins which regulate the passage of small
molecules like sugars in and out of the chloroplast
• The inner membrane encloses a protein-rich ground substance called stroma
the fluid in the stroma contains a host of enzymes plusted DNA RNAs and
ribosomes.
• Within the stroma is another membrane system called the thylakoids
• The tree membrane system divide chloroplasts into three distinct internal
compartments (1) the inter membrane space between the inner and outer
membranes of the chloroplast envelope (2) the stroma which lies inside the
envelope but outside the thylakoid membrane and (3) the thylakoid lumen
• The thylakoid membrane is a network of membrane bound flattened discs
called thylakoids which are arranged in stacks called Grana
• The membranes of thylakoids are called Fret membranes and the Grana are
interconnected by tubular membranes called the Intergranal Lamellae
• Each chloroplast may contain ten to thirty granule clusters with a single
granum, comprising about 20 to 60 thylakoids
• The thylakoid membranes are made up of 20 to 30 percent lipids and 70 to
80 percent proteins, they also contain a large number of granular structures
embedded in the membranes.
• These granules are called Quantasomes.
• Quantasomes responsible for capturing photons of solar electromagnetic
radiation and act as photosynthetic units
• The larger granules are called Photosystem II or PS II, and the smaller
granules are known as Photosystem I or PS I
• The intergranal membrane lacks PS II but contains PS I
• The thylakoids contain photosynthetic pigments namely the green pigment
chlorophyll A and B and the yellow to red pigments called carotenoids
• Due to the three membrane structure the internal organization of the
chloroplasts is more complex than in other organelles