CELL

THE UNIT OF LIFE

SYLLABUS

 UNIT I: DIVERSITY IN THE LIVING WORLD

 UNIT II: STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION IN PLANTS AND

ANIMALS

 UNIT III: CELL: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

 UNIT IV: PLANT PHYSIOLOGY

 UNIT V: ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY

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TOPICS TO BE COVERED
 WHAT IS A CELL?
 CELL THEORY
 CELL SHAPES
 PROKARYOTIC CELLS
 EUKARYOTIC CELLS

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STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL UNIT
OF LIFE

 Cell is called the fundamental unit of life. A cell is capable of independent

existence and can carry out all the functions which are necessary for
a living being. A cell carries out nutrition, respiration, excretion,
transportation and reproduction; the way an individual organism does.
 In the hierarchy of biological organization, the cell is the simplest collection
of matter that can be alive. Even when cells are arranged into higher levels of
organization, such as tissues and organs, the cell remains the organism’s basic
unit of structure and function.
 Anything less than a complete structure of a cell does not ensure
independent living. Hence, cell is the fundamental structural and functional
unit of all living organisms.
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BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY

 In a multicellular organism certain cells

become specialised to perform a specific
function and thus DIVISION OF LABOUR is
established among different groups of cells.

 In majority of animals, several organs are

interrelated to perform a specific function
and thus constitute an organ system ( e.g.
digestive system, excretory system, etc.).

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 THE CELL THEORY
 Matthias Schleiden, a botanist, and Theodor Schwann, a zoologist,
examined a large number of plant and animal tissues. They, hence,
observed and concluded that the bodies of animals and plants (i.e., all
living organisms) are composed of the cells and the products of cells.
 Rudolf Virchow extended the theory by stating that all new cells are from
pre-existing cells (Omnis cellula-e-cellula).
 It was Louis Pasteur whose experiments successfully established that life
originates from pre-existing life.

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CELL SHAPES

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Prokaryotic cells
1. General features
2. Cell envelope and its
modifications
3. Ribosomes
4. Inclusion bodies
General features of prokaryotic cells

 Represented by Bacteria, Blue-green algae, Mycoplasma or PPLO

(Pluero pneumonia-like organism), Archaebacteria.
 Multiply very rapidly.
 Most diverse group of living organism found in all conditions known on
earth.
 Four basic shapes of bacteria: bacillus, coccus, vibrio, spirillum
 Cells do not have membrane-bound organelles.
 Genetic material is localised within a discrete region, called nucleoid.
 Every prokaryotic cell is invariably bounded by a complex cell wall
( except mycoplasma).
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 Cell envelope
 Most of the prokaryotic cells, particularly bacterial cells, have a chemically
complex cell envelope. It is constituted of three layers : outermost
glycocalyx, cell wall, cell membrane
 1. Glycocalyx: protective layer and also helps in adhesion. Some bacteria
have a loose sheath called slime layer, which protects the cells from loss of
water and nutrients. Others may have a thick and tough covering known as
capsule. It is responsible for giving gummy and sticky character to the cell
 2. Cell wall: this layer determines the shape of the cell and provides a kind
of strong structural support. Based on the difference of the chemical
composition of cell wall, bacteria are categorised into two groups; Gram
positive and Gram negative bacteria.
 3. Plasma membrane: It forms the boundary of the cytoplasm. It is
selectively permeable. A special membranous structure is the mesosome
which is formed by the extensions of plasma membrane into the cell.
Chromatophores are also found in the cell membrane.
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CELL:THE UNIT OF LIFE
 Gram stain
Gram staining is a common technique used to differentiate two large groups of bacteria based on
their different cell wall constituents.

1.Cells are stained with crystal violet dye. Next, a Gram's iodine solution (iodine and potassium
iodide) is added.

2. A decolorizer such as ethyl alcohol or acetone is added to the sample. The alcohol will decolorize
the sample if it is Gram negative, removing the crystal violet.

3.Add the secondary stain, safranin, to the slide. If the bacteria is Gram positive, it will retain the
primary stain (crystal violet) and not take the secondary stain (safranin), causing it to look
violet/purple under a microscope. If the bacteria is Gram negative, it will lose the primary stain
and take the secondary stain, causing it to appear red when viewed under a microscope.
Gram staining procedure

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 GRAM NEGATIVE BACTERIA
 The bacteria does not retain the
stain after washing with alcohol.
 Cell wall is thin ; also made up
of peptidoglycan.
 Additional outer membrane is
present which is made up of
lipopolysaccharides.
 Most of the pathogenic bacteria
group belong to this group like
E.coli.
 GRAM POSITIVE BACTERIA
 The bacteria remain blue or
purple coloured .
 Cell wall is thick ; made up
of peptidoglycan primarily.
 Outer membrane is absent.
 A few pathogenic bacteria
belong to gram-positive
group like Bacillus
anthracis.
Cytoplasmic features of a prokaryotic cell
 Nucleoid : the genetic material, single-circular, is localised within a
discrete region not separated from the cytoplasm by any membrane is
called the nucleoid.
 Plasmid : Plasmids are extrachromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
molecules that replicate independently of the bacterial chromosome.
They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA
molecules in bacteria; however, plasmids are sometimes present in
archaea.
 Inclusion bodies: Reserve material in prokaryotic cells are stored in the
cytoplasm in the form of inclusion bodies. These are not bound by any
membrane system and lie free in the cytoplasm, e.g., phosphate
granules, cyanophycean granules and glycogen granules. Gas vacuoles are
found in blue green and purple and green photosynthetic bacteria.
 Ribosomes : They are scattered in the cytoplasm as well as associated
with the plasma membrane. They are non-membranous structures which
are made up of two subunits : large subunit (50S) and small subunit (30S);
the prokaryotic ribosomes are 70S type.
Svedberg unit
 The S in 70S and similar values stands for Svedberg units.
 It is non-S.I. unit of time which measures the time a particle takes to
sediment in an ultra-centrifuge. The numerical value denotes the
Sedimentation coefficient.
 The sedimentation coefficient is a measure of a particles molecular
weight, its shape and volume.
Membrane features of a prokaryotic cell
 Mesosomes : A special membranous structure is the mesosome which
is formed by the extensions of plasma membrane into the cell. They
help in cell wall formation, DNA replication and distribution to
daughter cells. They also help in respiration, secretion processes, to
increase the surface area of the plasma membrane and enzymatic
content.

 Chromatophores : internal membrane systems ,which contain

pigments, that may become extensive and complex in photosynthetic
bacteria like cyanobacteria and purple-bacteria.
Surface features of prokaryotes
 Pili : A pilus is a hair-like appendage found on the surface of
many bacteria and archaea. Pili are antigenic. The pili are made of a
special protein called pilin. They are sometimes used by some
bacteria and archaea for conjugation i.e., in the transmission of
genetic material from donor cell to recipient cell.
 Fimbriae : The fimbriae are small bristle like fibres sprouting out of
the cell. In some bacteria, they are known to help attach the bacteria
to rocks in streams and also to the host tissues.
 Flagella :Bacterial cells may be motile or non-motile. If motile, they
have thin filamentous extensions from their cell wall called flagella.
Bacteria show range in the number and arrangement of flagella.
Bacterial flagellum is composed of three parts – filament, hook and
basal body. The filament is the longest portion and extends from the
cell surface to the outside.
Methods of reproduction
 Bacteria and archaea reproduce through asexual reproduction, usually
by binary fission.
 Genetic transmission: 1. Conjugation – DNA is transferred
Between two prokaryotic cells that are temporarily joined.

2. Transformation – In this process foreign genetic material is

Up taken from its surroundings.

3. Transduction – Phages (the viruses that infect bacteria) carry

Prokaryotic genes from one host cell to another.
Unicellular and multicellular
 As a cell or nay other object increases in size, its surface area grows
proportionately less than its volume ( area is proportional to a linear
dimension squared, whereas volume is proportional to the the linear
dimension cubed). Thus, a smaller object has a greater ratio of
surface area to volume.
 The need for a surface area sufficiently large to accommodate the
volume the volume helps explain the microscopic size of most cells
and the narrow elongated shapes of other cells such as nerve cells.
 Larger organisms do not have larger cells than smaller organisms –
they simply have more cells. A high surface-to-volume ratio
facilitates the exchange of materials between a cell and its
environment. Such cells may have long, thin projections from their
surface called microvilli, which increase surface area without an
appreciable increase in volume.