2 9/18/2018

The Characteristics of life

1. Cells
2. Organization
3. Energy Use: Metabolism
4. Homeostasis
5. Growth
6. Reproduction
 3 9/18/2018

Biosphere
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Multicellular Organism
Organ System
Organ
Tissue
Cell
a. smallest living unit
b. may be free living
c. may live as part of
multicellular organisms
Organelle
Molecule
Atom
Subatomic Particle

Levels
of Organization
of Life
BASIC PROPERTIES OF CELLS
 1. Cells are highly complex and organized

 2. Cells posses a genetic program and the means to

use it

 3. Cells are capable of producing more of themselves

 4. Cells acquire and utilize energy

 5. Cells carry out a variety of chemical reactions

 6. Cells engage in numerous mechanical activities

 7. Cells are able to respond to stimuli

 8. Cells are capable of self-regulation

 5 9/18/2018

Modern Tenets of the Cell Theory

1. All known living things are made up of cells.

2. The cell is structural & functional unit of all living things.

3. All cells come from pre-existing cells by division.

4. Cells contain hereditary information which is passed

from cell to cell during cell division.

5. All cells are basically the same in chemical

composition.

6. All energy flow (metabolism & biochemistry) of life

occurs within cells.
 6 9/18/2018

Cell Classification
Based on complexity of structural organization
COMPARISON
Parameter Prokaryotic Eukaryotic
Average size 0.1-10 um 10-100 um
Complexity Simple More complex

Organelle Not bounded Double membrane bound

Nucleus (genetic Naked DNA with histones

material)
Organisms Monera Protista, Fungi, Plantae,
(eubacteria, blue green Animalia
algae,
archaebacteria)

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Differences Between Plant & Animal Cells
Plant cells
Usually larger in size and regular in
shape
Presence of cellulose cell wall
outside the cell membrane
Presence of chloroplasts containing
chlorophyll
Presence of large vacuoles
containing cell sap
Nucleus usually found just beneath
the cell wall
Have starch granules = food
reserves
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Animal cells
Usually smaller in size and irregular in
shape
Absence of cellulose cell wall
Absence of chloroplasts
Vacuoles are absent, or when
present, they are small containing
excretory or secretory products
Nucleus usually found at the center of
the cell
Have glycogen granules = food
reserves
 9 9/18/2018

Organization of the Cell

Cell and Molecular Biology

Organization of the Cell

9/18/2018
STRUCTURES & FUNCTIONS
1. Plasma membrane or Cell membrane
- composed of proteins, phospholipids, and cholesterol arranged
in a fluid-mosaic pattern
- gives the cell its integrity and regulates what comes in and goes out
Fluid-Mosaic Model of Cell Membrane
Plasma Membrane
Specializations

 Microvilli
Finger-like projections
that increase surface
area for absorption
Plasma Membrane
Specializations

Membrane junctions
 Tight junctions
 Desmosomes
 Gap junctions
2. Nucleus
- has a double membrane that separates it from the cytoplasm, has
pores  nucleopores
- contains DNA in the form of chromatin threads that clump up during
cell division to form chromosomes
- controls structure and function through genes
 17 9/18/2018

NUCLEUS

Cell and Molecular Biology

3. Cytoplasm
 The cellular material outside the
nucleus and inside the plasma
membrane

 Site of most cellular activities

 Contains
 Cytosol - semitransparent fluid
that suspends other structures in
cytoplasm.
 Organelles – small organs
suspended in the cytosol. These
organelles perform specific
functions.
 Inclusions – chemical
substances that may or may not
be present depending on the
kind of cell.
The Nucleolus
- the largest structure in the nucleus of
eukaryotic cells
- best known as the site of ribosome
biogenesis
- participates in the formation of signal
recognition particles and play a role in
the cell's response to stress.
- made of proteins, DNA and RNA and
form around specific chromosomal
regions called nucleolar organizing
regions (NOR).
- Malfunction of nucleoli can be the
cause of several human conditions
called "nucleolopathies" and the
nucleolus is being investigated as a
target for cancer chemotherapy.
 The
Intracellular
Compartments
 22 9/18/2018

Characteristics of Intracellular Compartments

 Membrane-bounded compartments
 House various cellular activities
 Biosynthesis of secretory products
 Breakdown of long-chain fatty acids
 Other metabolic processes occurring within the eukaryotic cells
 Regulation of trafficking within the cell

Cell and Molecular Biology

Endomembrane System

 Eukaryotic cell: Includes ER, Golgi complex,

endosomes, and lysosomes
 Closely associated to the nuclear membrane
 Endomembrane trafficking: Materials flow in these
structures through transport vesicles, shuttles
compounds between organelles
 Transport vesicle – carry membrane lipids and
membrane proteins to their proper destinations and
carry soluble materials for synthesis of secretions
Relative Cellular Volumes Of The Major Membranous Organelles
Cytoplasmic Organelles
 Organelle Functions

Endoplasmic reticulum Protein synthesis and processing, ion storage

and steroid production, drug deactivation,
carbohydrate breakdown

Golgi complex Flow of lipids and proteins, involved in

further CHON glycosylation, protein
trafficking, exocytosis and endocytosis
transports, forms endosomes

Lysosomes Cellular digestion

Vacuole (plant) Multifunctional
Peroxisomes Hydrogen peroxide metabolism
 Endoplasmic reticulum
- circulatory system of the cell
 Continued network of flattened
sacs, tubules and vesicles,
occupying the cytoplasmic area

Cisternae – membrane-bound sacs

ER lumen – space within cisternae

ER enzymes are involved in protein

synthesis and cellular export of
proteins; and biosynthesis of lipids
(triacylglycerols, cholesterol and
related compounds)

Biosynthesis of lipids is the major

source of membrane lipids.
The Endoplasmic
Reticulum (ER)
The ER is a network of membrane sheets and tubules
Endoplasmic reticulum

 Two types are distinguished morphologically but are not

separate organelles
 Transport of materials between the 2 ERs does not require
vesicles (Both ERs are connected by their lumen)
 Is determined by the presence of ribosomes:
Rough ER – biosynthesis and processing of proteins
Smooth ER – drug detoxification, carbohydrate metabolism,
calcium storage, and steroid biosynthesis
Cells characterized by the biosynthesis of secretory proteins
have very prominent RER networks (liver cells)

Cells producing steroid hormones contain excessive SER

(Leydig cells of the testes)
Rough endoplasmic reticulum
 Has a flattened structure/sheet

 With ribosomes attached to

the cytosolic side (outer
surface) of the membrane
away from the ER lumen

 Ribosomes – translation site

and new proteins immediately
enter the ER lumen
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum

 Has tubular
structure
 Lacks
ribosomes
SER involvement in cellular processes

 Drug Detoxification
 Carbohydrate Metabolism
 Calcium storage
 Steroid biosynthesis (male and female sex
hormones and hormones in adrenal cortex)
36 9/18/2018

Cell and Molecular Biology

Golgi Apparatus
- packages proteins
- a major collection and dispatch station of protein products received
from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).
- Proteins synthesized in the ER are packaged into vesicles, which then
fuse with the Golgi apparatus. These cargo proteins are modified
and destined for secretion via exocytosis or for use in the cell.
 The name of this organelle comes from its discoverer, the Italian
Biologist, Camillo Golgi (1898)
 The number of Golgi stacks may vary depending on the nature of
the cell.
Functions of Golgi Complex
 With ER
Protein glycosylation
Protein trafficking
Lysosomal formation
 Cellular secretion
 Cellular transport
processes
 40 9/18/2018

Golgi Complex
In most eukaryotes, the Golgi apparatus is made up of a series of
compartments and is a collection of fused, flattened membrane-enclosed
disks known as cisternae (singular: cisterna, also called "dictyosomes"),
originating from vesicular clusters that bud off the endoplasmic reticulum.

A mammalian cell typically contains 40 to 100 stacks of cisternae.

This collection of cisternae is broken down into cis, medial, and trans
compartments, making up two main networks: the cis Golgi network (CGN)
and the trans Golgi network (TGN).

The CGN is the first cisternal structure, and the TGN is the final, from
which proteins are packaged into vesicles destined to lysosomes, secretory
vesicles, or the cell surface.

The TGN is usually positioned adjacent to the stack, but can also be a
separate structure from it.
The TGN may act as an early endosome in yeast and plants.
Golgi Complex
 CGN
- nearest the ER
- vesicle fusion with CGN
 TGN
- Substances leave the
Golgi in transport
vesicles.
Protein processing occurs in
medial cisternae of the
Golgi complex.
Golgi Apparatus
- can be thought of as similar to
a post office: it packages and
labels items which it then sends
to different parts of the cell or
to the extracellular space.
- is also involved in lipid
transport and lysosome
formation.
- tends to be larger and more
numerous in cells that synthesize
and secrete large amounts of
substances; for example, the
antibody-secreting plasma B
cells of the immune system have
prominent Golgi complexes.
 Golgi Apparatus
Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Mitochondria
- double membrane and have folds called cristae
- contain enzymes for the synthesis of ATP
- contain DNA, thus can self-replicate
- origin is explained by Endosymbiosis theory
 47 9/18/2018

Mitochondria

 Smooth outer Membrane

 Folded inner membrane
 Folds are called Cristae
 Space inside cristae is
called the Matrix

Cell and Molecular Biology

The subcompartments of mitochondria
and chloroplasts
Ribosome
• found ‘free’ in the cytoplasm or bound to the endoplasmic reticulum
(ER) to form the rough ER

• Ribosomes are different from other organelles because they have

no membrane around them that separates them from other
organelles.

• When they are producing certain proteins they can become

membrane-bound to the Endoplasmic reticulum, thus Ribosomes are
often associated with the intracellular membranes that make up the
rough endoplasmic reticulum.

• But they can also be free floating while performing their function.

• functions as a micro-machine for making proteins

Ribosome
• formed from 2 subunits locking together that functions to:
(1) Translate encoded information from the cell nucleus
provided by messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)
(2) Link together amino acids selected and collected from
the cytoplasm by transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA). (The order
in which the amino acids are linked together is determined
by the mRNA)
(3) Export the polypeptide produced to the cytoplasm where it
will form a functional protein.

• The differences in size, sequence, structure, and the ratio of protein to

RNA of ribosomes in bacteria and humans allow some antibiotics
to kill bacteria by inhibiting their ribosomes, while leaving human
ribosomes unaffected.
Svedberg (S)
• nonmetric unit for the sedimentation rate
of a particle of a given size and shape that
measures how fast the particle 'settles‘ at
the bottom.
• It is often used to reflect the rate at which
a molecule travels to the bottom of a test
tube under the centrifugal force of a
centrifuge.
l • a membrane-bound organelle found in
nearly all animal cells
y • spherical vesicle which contains
hydrolytic enzymes that can break

s •
down virtually all kinds of biomolecules
involved in various cell processes, like
secretion, plasma membrane repair,
o cell signaling, and energy
metabolism
• acts as the floating waste disposal
s system of the cell by digesting
unwanted materials in the cytoplasm,

o both from outside the cell and obsolete

components inside the cell
• material from the outside the cell is
m taken-up through endocytosis, while
material from the inside of the cell is
digested through autophagy
e
Lysosomes

 Discovered in 1950 by Christian de Duve and his colleagues

 Vary considerably in size (generally 0.5 μm in diameter)
 Enclosed by a single membrane
 Contain digestive enzymes (acid hydrolases) which are stored
in the lysosomal lumen
 They are found in animal cells, but absent in plant cells.
Enzymes
 All enzymes are hydrolases
- hydrolytic enzymes with a pH optimum 5.0
- List of enzymes includes
5 phosphatases
14 proteases and peptidases
2 nucleases
6 lipases
13 glycosidases
7 sulfatases
Functions of Lysosomes
 Digest excess or worn-out and damaged organelles and
other intracellular structures no longer needed by the cell

 Capable of degrading all the major classes of biological

macromolecules

 Degrade extracellular materials brought into the cell by

endocytosis
Lysosomes developed from Endosomes

Early endosomes: vesicles budding off the trans-Golgi network

that are sites for the sorting and recycling of extracellular
material brought into the cell by endocytosis.

Late endosomes: vesicle containing newly synthesized acid

hydrolases plus material fated for digestion; activated either
by lowering the pH of the late endosome or transferring its
material to an existing lysosome. These are not engaged in
digestive activity.
Why the cells are not attacked by the lysosomes?
 The lumenal side of lysosomal membrane is highly glycosylated
- forms a nearly continuous carbohydrate coating
- provides protection from lysosomal proteases

Types of Lysosomes (Based on different origin)

1. Heterophagic lysosomes – those containing substances from
extracellular origin

2. Autophagic lysosomes - those containing substances from

intracellular origin
Importance of Lysosomes
Important for cellular activities on
 nutrition
 defense
 recycling of cellular components
 differentiation
Lysosomes in Nutrition and Defense
 Nutrition
soluble products of digestion (sugar, amino acids and
nucleotides) are transported across the lysosomal membrane
into the cytosol and are used as source of nutrients of the cell;
and as energy-source.
Only indigestible material remains in the lysosome which
becomes a residual body.

 Defense
Lysosomal enzymes function in the degradation of foreign
materials brought about into eukaryotic cells by phagocytosis
and cell-mediated phagocytosis.
 Autophagy (self-eating) is the digestion of old or unwanted
organelles or other cell structures.

 Macrophagy – begins when an organelle or other

structure becomes wrapped in a double membrane
derived from the ER.

 Microphagy – involves formation of a much smaller

autophagic vacuole, surrounded by a single
phospholipid bilayer that encloses small bits of
cytoplasm rather than whole organelle.
Controversy in Botany
• The term lysosome is applied to those vesicular organelles ONLY in
ANIMALS while vacuoles are to plants, fungi, and algae.

• Plant vacuoles contain their own hydrolytic enzymes and perform the
classic lysosomal activity, which is autophagy. These vacuoles are
therefore seen as fulfilling the role of the animal lysosome which made
some botanists strongly argued that these vacuoles are lysosomes.

• However, this is not universally accepted as the vacuoles are strictly not
similar to lysosomes, such as in their specific enzymes and lack of
phagocytic functions.

• Vacuoles DO NOT HAVE catabolic activity and DO NOT undergo

exocytosis as lysosomes do.
  Peroxisomes
• membrane-enclosed organelles that contain 50 different enzymes
involved in a variety of biochemical pathways
• are morphologically similar to lysosomes
• A major function of the peroxisome is the breakdown of very long chain
fatty acids through beta-oxidation. In animal cells, the long fatty acids
are converted to medium chain fatty acids, which are subsequently
shuttled to mitochondria where they are eventually broken down to
carbon dioxide and water.
• originally were defined as organelles that carry out oxidation reactions
leading to the production of hydrogen peroxide.
• Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is harmful to the cell, so peroxisomes contain
the enzyme catalase that decomposes H2O2 either by converting it to
water or by using it to oxidize another organic compound.

In animal cells, fatty acids are oxidized

in both peroxisomes and mitochondria.
But in yeasts and plants, fatty acid
oxidation is restricted to peroxisomes.
PEROXISOMES
 are single bounded organelle
 are not derived from the ER
and are therefore not part of
the endomembrane system
 Smaller than mitochondria but
have varying sizes
 Found in all eukaryotic cells but
are prominent in
a. mammalian kidney and
liver cells
b. algae and photosynthetic
cells of plants
c. germinating seedlings
PEROXISOMES
 Its defining characteristics is the presence of CATALASE,
an enzyme essential for the degradation of hydrogen
peroxide.

 H2O2 is a potentially toxic compound formed by a variety

of oxidative reactions catalyzed by oxidases.

 Both catalase and oxidases are confined to peroxisomes.

 The generation and degradation of H2O2 occur within the

same organelle.
Functions of Peroxisomes
 Most peroxisomal functions are linked to hydrogen
peroxide metabolism.

 There are 5 general functions

- hydrogen peroxide metabolism
- detoxification of harmful compounds
- oxidation of fatty acids
- metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds
- catabolism of unusual products
Types of Peroxisomes exclusive to plants

 Leaf peroxisomes. This is in close contact with

chloroplasts and mitochondria. The close proximity
of the three organelles reflects their mutual
involvement in glycolate pathway

 Glyoxysomes. Occur in seedlings of plant species

that store carbon and energy reserves in the seed
as fat
Cilia and Flagella
- projections from the cell membrane
- microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement
- cilia are small and numerous
- flagella are usually singular and long
 Cytoskeleton
- Network of protein structures
extending throughout the
cytoplasm
- serves as bones and muscles of
the cell
Components of Cytoskeleton
- intermediate filaments
- microtubules
- microfilaments
Centrioles
• collections of microtubules (9 triplets)
• found in pairs (1 pair = centrosome)
• separate chromosomes during cell division
Cytoplasmic inclusions
• substances stored in the cell like hemoglobin, glycogen and fats
 Centrioles
Rod-shaped bodies that direct the formation of mitotic
spindle during cell division