Identifying The Structure And
Function Of Cells : part 1
• To define cell biology and cell theory
• Give the importance of cells
• To explain cell theory
• To describe the structures of a typical animal and
plant cell
Cell biology and cell theory
➢Cell biology (formerly cytology, from the Greek kytos,
"container") is an academic discipline that studies cells
❖ cell physiological properties
❖cell structure
❖cell organelles
❖cell interactions with their environment
❖cell life cycle
❖cell division
❖ cell death.
➢This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level.
The cell
❖Cells are the structural and functional unit of all known
living organisms.
❖Cells is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified
as living
❖it is sometimes called the building block of life.
❖The word cell comes from the Latin cellula, meaning, a
small room.
❖ term cell was coined by Robert Hooke in 1665 -he
compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope
to the small rooms monks lived in.
Cell theory
it is a Theory which states
❖that all organisms are composed of one or more cells.
❖All cells come from pre-existing cells.
❖Vital functions of an organism occur within cells.
❖ all cells contain the hereditary information necessary for
regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to
the next generation of cells.
BasicAllCell Organization
cells contain:
❖ Cell membrane -keeps the inside and outside
separate.
❖ DNA-containing region that holds the instructions to
run the processes of life.
❖Cytoplasm: a semi-fluid region containing the rest of
the cell’s machinery
Prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Living organisms broadly fall in two groups
❖Prokaryotes
➢ (bacteria) have simple cells with no internal membrane-
bound structures.
➢ their DNA is in a special region of the cytoplasm.
❖Eukaryotes
➢have complex cells with internal membrane bound structures
➢ the DNA is in a nucleus separated from the cytoplasm by a
membrane
Class exercise : tabulate 15 differences between
prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Eukaryotic Cells
❖Eukaryotic cells contain internal membranes and organelles.
❖An organelle is an internal membrane bound structure that
serves some specialized function within the cell.
❖The Organelles we will discuss include;
❖ Cellmembrane
❖ Nucleus
❖endoplasmic reticulum
❖ Golgi apparatus
❖ vesicles
❖ lysosomes
❖Peroxisomes
❖Mitochondria
❖ Cytoskeleton
❖Ribosomes
❖ Special plant organelles: chloroplast, central
vacuole, cell wall
Structure of a typical animal cell
When an Animal cell is viewed under a light
microscope it will have the following
• Cell membrane-→encloses cell contents
• Centrally placed nucleus surrounded by a material
called the cytoplasm
• The nucleus contains fibrous called chromatin which
can condense into chromosomes during cell
division
• Chromatin which contain the hereditary genetic
material DNA
• Scattered in the cytoplasm there are small rod like
structures called mitochondria which produce
energy in form of ATP
• Also Scattered in the cytoplasm are glycogen
granules which store the animal polysaccharide
glycogen
Structure of a typical Plant cell
When a plant cell is viewed under a light
microscope it will have the following
• Like an animal cell it will possess a cell
membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus
• Unlike animal cell the typical plant cell will also
have
➢ A large sap filled cavity known as a vacuole
→sap is composed of watery fluid
containing salts and sugars
➢ The vacuole is surrounded by a membrane
called a tonoplast or vacuole membrane
➢ Food storage is inform of starch as starch
grains which are scattered in the cytoplasm
➢ Plant cell also have chloroplasts which
contain the photosynthetic pigment
chlorophyll
➢ To the outside of the cytoplasm is a
cellulose cell wall
➢ The cell wall and vacuole play an important
role in maintaining cell shape
Typical structure of animal cell under
light microscope
Typical structure of onion cell under light
microscope
Part 2: the structure of eukaryotic cells
Objectives
• To explain the ultra structure of plant and animal cells
The ultra structure of animal and plant cells
Cell Membrane
❖It is flexible and Semi permeable
❖It Controls the movement of nutrients, water, chemical
elements and wastes
❖It is Composed of a bilayer of Phospholipids & proteins.
❖Phospholipids have a Phosphate “head” - hydrophilic and
Fatty acid “tails” - hydrophobic
❖Only a few gases, and a few other small non-polar
molecules can move freely through a pure phospholipid
membrane.
❖ Everything else must be transported into the cell by
protein channels in the membrane.
Movement of material through cell membrane
• Directly thru the phospholipid layer:
small non polar molecule diffuse thru
the membrane for they are lipid
soluble O2, CO2,steroids
• Membrane channel: several protein
channels are present in the
membrane. They are specific for each
molecule e.g. Na+ ,K+
• Water moves through special
membrane channels called aquaporins
• Carrier molecules: lipid insoluble
substance e.g. glucose, amino acid are
transported by carrier molecules
• Vesicles: large lipid insoluble
molecules are transported using
small sacs called vesicle
Nucleus
❖The nucleus issues instructions to
❖ buildand maintain the cell
❖ respond to changes in the environment
❖ divide into 2 cells.
❖ A chromosome is composed of a single DNA molecule plus the
proteins that support it and control it.
❖cell’s instructions are coded in the DNA, which is the main part
of chromosomes.
❖Each instruction in the DNA is called a gene.
❖eukaryotes have a small number of chromosomes: e.g. humans
have 46, corn plants have 20.
❖The chromosome number is fixed within a species
❖nucleus is surrounded by a double membrane called the
nuclear envelope.
❖The nuclear envelope is studded with pores that let the
ribosomes and the RNA messages out to the cytoplasm.
Ribosome
❖ Tiny organelle composed of two
sub units
❖ the smaller subunit is where the
mRNA binds to and the bigger
subunit where the amino acids are
added during protein biosynthesis
❖A ribosome is made of both RNA
and protein in equal amounts
❖It is the site of protein biosynthesis
❖Ribosomes are made in the
nucleolus.
❖the translation of RNA messages
into proteins by the ribosomes
occurs in the Cytoplasm
❖ Both the ribosomes and the
messages move out of the nucleus
into the cytoplasm to function
Endoplasmic Reticulum
❖ER -a network of tubules in the cytoplasm, composed of
membranes.
❖ It provides a membrane channel from the nucleus to the
cell membrane.
❖Two types, connected together: Rough ER and Smooth ER
❖Rough ER - studded with ribosome
❖Smooth ER
➢ has no ribosomes:
➢ It is used to synthesize the lipids of the membrane .e.g.
cholesterol, phospholipids, glycogen
➢ It is also used in liver cells to detoxify harmful
chemicals in the blood.
Golgi body and
vesicles
❖Golgi looks like a series of
stacked plates.
❖Proteins that are synthesized
in the rough ER get packaged
in the Golgi body where sugars
and phosphates are added.
❖Results in making
glycoproteins
❖Vesicles carry proteins from
the ER to the Golgi, and then
from the Golgi body to the cell
membrane.
Lysosomes
❖Lysosomes are intracellular stomachs: they are full of
digestive enzymes that operate at low pH.
❖ Vesicles transport materials to the lysosomes, and the
lysosomes digest them.
❖ In the process of “programmed cell death”, cells scheduled
to die are destroyed from within by their lysosomes
Peroxisomes
❖Peroxisomes are membrane-bound sacs used to break
down fatty acids and amino acids.
❖ They generate hydrogen peroxide, a poisonous molecule,
in the process, which is the source of the name peroxisome
Mitochondria
❖the site where most of the cell’s
ATP is generated
❖ATP is produced when organic
compounds are broken down to
carbon dioxide and water, using
oxygen.
❖All eukaryotes have mitochondria
❖The number in a cell depends on
that cell’s energy needs.
❖Mitochondria have their own
circular DNA.
❖Mitochondria have 2 membranes,
forming 2 compartments inside.
❖Mitochondrial DNA lies on inner
membrane
Cytoskeleton
❖It consists of proteins that give the cell shape.
❖causes organelles to move within the cell and
the cells themselves to move about.
❖components of the cytoskeleton are :
microtubules ,microfilaments and intermediate
filaments
❖Microtubules
➢are long hollow tubes made up of many
subunits called tubulin.
➢are used to pull the chromosomes apart during
cell division.
➢ Microtubules can also be put into a special
circular arrangement to form cilia and flagella.
Cytoskeleton cont..
❖Microfilaments
➢are composed of actin, which is also used in
muscles.
➢ used by Organelles to move inside the cell by
using a motor protein (myosin) by pulling
themselves along the actin microfilaments.
❖Intermediate filaments
➢are the largest cytoskeleton elements.
➢are composed of several different proteins.
➢are found in the cytoplasm
➢ they strengthen cells and give them shape
PLANT CELL ORGANELLES
❖Plants have three special structures not found
in animals:
➢the chloroplast
➢the cell wall
➢and the central vacuole.
❖The chloroplast
➢site of photosynthesis
➢Uses the green pigment chlorophyll to capture
the energy from light.
➢has two membranes
➢Has circular DNA. .
Cell walls and vacuoles
❖A plant cell is surrounded by a rigid cell wall
made of cellulose and polysaccharides.
➢The cell wall is outside of the cell membrane.
➢the cell walls are perforated by plasmodesmata
❖Plant cells contain a central vacuole, which
stores water.
➢ Osmotic pressure from the central vacuole
squeezes the rest of the cytoplasm against the
cell wall, giving the cell its strength.
