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Chapter 8: Cell: The Unit of Life NCERT Capsule

(Also refer to Aakash Material, NCERT and Notes.)

Introduction

 Cell is the basic unit of life.

 All organisms are composed of cells. ( Single cell- Unicellular; More than one cell- Multicellular)
 Unicellular Organisms are capable of 1) Independent Existence
2) Performing the essential functions of life.
 Anything less than a complete structure of cell does not ensure independent living. Therefore,
cell is the fundamental, structural, and functional unit of all living organisms .

Discovery of Cell

1) Robert Hooke was the first person to observe a cell. He observed cork cells (Quercus Suber).
The term “Cell” was coined by Robert Hooke. The term “Cell” is derived from a Latin word
“Cella” meaning Compartment. (Father of Cytology)
2) Anton Von Leeuwenhoek first saw and described a live cell .
3) Robert Brown later discovered the nucleus.

Cell Theory

In 1838, Matthias Schleiden, a German Botanist, examined a large number of plants and
observed that all plants are composed of different kinds of cells which forms the tissue of the
plant.
In 1839, Theodor Schwann, a British Zoologist, studied different types of animal cells and
reported that cells had a thin outer layer which is now known as the “Plasma Membrane”.
Theodor Schwann, based on his study on plant tissues, concluded that the presence of cell
wall is a unique character of the plant cells.
Schleiden and Schwann together formulated the cell theory. It stated that “ The bodies of
animals and plants are composed of cells and products of cells”.( But did not explain how
new cells are formed.)
Rudolf Virchow (1855) first explained that cells divided and new cells are formed from pre-
existing cells.( Omnis cellula - e cellula).He modified the cell theory and gave a final shape.

It states “ i) All living organisms are composed of cells and are products of cells.

ii) All cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Overview of Cell

o Cells that have membrane-bound nucleus are called eukaryotic cells whereas those that lack the
membrane are called prokaryotic cells. But in both, the semi fluid matrix called cytoplasm
occupies the volume of the cell.( Cytoplasm- main arena of cellular activities)
o The eukaryotic cells have other membrane-bound distinct structures called organelles like the
ER, the golgi complex, lysosomes, mitochondria, microbodies and vacuoles. Prokaryotic cells lack
such membrane bound organelles.
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o Ribosomes are non-membrane bound organelles found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Ribosomes are found not only in cytoplasm but also on chloroplasts(plants) and on
mitochondria and rough ER.
o Animal cells contain another non-membrane bound organelle called centrosome which helps in
cell division.

Mycoplasma , the smallest cells 0.3 µm in length

Bacteria 3 to 5 µm in length
Human RBC 7 µm in diameter
Ostrich egg, largest isolated single cell “
Nerve Cells, longest cells. “

Prokaryotic Cells

1) Represented by bacteria, Blue Green Algae , PPLO( Pleuro Pneumonia Like Organisms) and
mycoplasma.

2) Smaller and multiply rapidly than eukaryotic cells. (Vary greatly in shape and size).

3)The four basic shapes of bacteria are bacillus( rod shaped), coccus(spherical), vibrio( comma shapes)
and spirillum(spiral).

Characteristics of Prokaryotic Cell

1) All prokaryotes have a cell wall surrounding the cell membrane except in mycoplasma.

2) The fluid matrix filling the cell is the cytoplasm.

3) There is no well defined nucleus.( The genetic material is naked, not enveloped by a nuclear
membrane).

4) In addition to the genomic DNA, ( single chromosome/circular DNA) , many bacteria have small
circular DNA outside the genomic DNA. These are called Plasmids.