SBL -100

CeLLULAR STRUCTURE AND

FUNCTION
LECTURE 1
2023-24 SemESTER II

Anita Roy
School of Biological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi 1
 LIVING ORGANISMS

WHAT IS THE COMMON UNIT AMONG THEM?

WHAT IS A CELL AND HOW WERE CELLS FIRST VISUALIZED?

ROBERT HOOKE 1665-1667

WHAT IS A CELL AND HOW WERE CELLS FIRST VISUALIZED?

SECTION OF A BARK MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATION OF BACTERIA

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 1670-80

WHAT MADE THIS DISCOVERY POSSIBLE? THE TECHNOLOGY OF DEVELOPING
LENSES
HOOKE’S MICROSCOPE

Galilean telescope
ROBERT HOOKE
 TENETS OF CELL THEORY

1. All organisms are composed of one or more cells.

2. The cell is the structural unit of life.

3. Cells can arise only from pre-existing cells.

 CONSTITUENTS OF A CELL
1. Water constitutes 70-80% of a cell.

2. 7% of the cell is composed of ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ etc.), small molecules (sugars such as glucose, amino acids, lipids,
nucleotides, ATP (the energy currency of the cell) etc.

3. Rest is composed of macromolecules such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acids), complex carbohydrates
(such as starch) and proteins.
3. Many biomolecules (sugars) readily dissolve in water. These are hydrophilic in nature.

Glucose

3. Other biomolecules (fats such as triacyl-glycerol) dislike water. They are hydrophobic in nature.

4. Some biomolecules have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. They are called amiphipathic (phospholipids).
Prokaryotes come in various shapes

Spiral Example: Leptospira sp.

Rod shaped “BACILLUS” Example: Bacillus subtilis

Spherical “COCCUS” Example: Staphylococcus aureus

Comma shaped Example: Vibrio cholerae

Cross-section of a bacterial cell

12
 RIBOSOMES

Ref: doi.org/10.1002/1097-0185(20000701)259:3<276::AID-AR50>3.0.CO;2-L

The four Gram-negative cocci present successive stages in division. A, the earliest stage; B, a slightly later stage
(with larger nucleoid); C, a still later stage where the plasma membrane and outer membrane have started to
invaginate to form membrane septum and cross wall, and the nucleoid is elongated into a dumbbell
configuration; D, a still later stage where the nucleoid has divided. The top cell is probably a cross-section
through a small Gram-positive bacillus. The bottom cell is a Gram-negative bacillus included to illustrate the
similarity, i.e., the undulant outer membrane in envelope structure of Gram-negative cocci and bacilli. ×37,500.
 The FLAGELLA helps in bacterial locomotion

REF: DOI: 10.7554/eLife.01579

 Components of a prokaryotic cell
1. Cell wall – meshwork of peptidoglycan.

2. Inner Cell membrane – phospholipid bilayer. Contains embedded proteins.

3. Outer membrane – Only certain bacteria “called Gram negative” have this bilayer outer membrane which
also contains Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or endotoxin that is known to cause systemic shock during
infection.

Ref: doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2019.01.009
Hans Christian Gram and his method of distinguishing bacteria by
staining – GRAM STAINING

Crystal violet is not

Crystal violet is retained
retained due to thin
due to multilayered
peptidoglycan. Counter-
peptidoglycan
stained with Safranin.
4. NUCLEOID contains a circular double stranded DNA that is condensed with the help of proteins. Escherichia coli genome
has roughly 4.6 million base pairs which is compacted inside the bacterial cell. This would extend a distance
of about 1.6 mm if stretched out.

4. RIBOSOMES help in proteins synthesis. Ribosomes are macromolecular complexes made up of protein and RNA.

5. Cytoplasm is the jelly-like viscous (70% water containing) mass that is contained within the inner membrane. It holds all the
inner cellular contents such as nucleoid and ribosomes.

6. Flagella is the whip-like appendage that drives bacterial motion. Bacteria may have 1 or many flagella.

7. All components for energy (ATP - adenosine triphosphate) production, division, growth etc.

8. Bacteria may have an outer hydrated polysaccharide layer called as CAPSULE. Used by bacteria to evade host defence
mechanisms during infection.
 The Nucleoid

DNA compaction with the help of proteins

DNA supercoiling
4.6 million base pairs

Ref: doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7120631
Let’s recapitulate…………….
 The story behind the first modern antibiotic : Penicillin

Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology, 1945

The flagella propels the bacteria
 REFERENCE TEXTBOOKS

1) Cell and Molecular Biology, Gerald Karp

2) Microbiology; Pelczar, Chan and Kreig