DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES 2020/21
BIO 111
PRACTICAL 3: Plant cells, Animal cells and single celled organisms
Cells are characteristically microscopic in size. Although there are exceptions, a typical eukaryotic cell
is 10 to 100 micrometers (μm) in diameter, while most prokaryotic cells are only 1 to 10 μm in
diameter. Because cells are so small, they were not discovered until the invention of the microscope in
the 17th century. Robert Hooke was the first to observe cells in 1665, naming the shapes he saw in
cork cellulae (Latin, “small rooms”). This is known to us as cells. Another early microscopist, Anton van
Leeuwenhoek first observed living cells, which he termed “animalcules,” or little animals. After these
early efforts, a century and a half passed before biologists fully recognized the importance of cells. In
1838, botanist Matthias Schleiden stated that all plants “are aggregates of fully individualized,
independent, separate beings, namely the cells themselves.” In 1839, Theodor Schwann reported that
all animal tissues also consist of individual cells.
Rudolf Virchow (1855) concluded that cells arose only by division of preexisting cells: omniscellulae
cellula.
From the works of these people a unified cell theory was developed which can be summarized in three
principles.
1. All organisms are composed of one or more cells, and the life processes of metabolism and
heredity occur within these cells.
2. Cells are the smallest living things, the basic units of organization of all organisms.
3. Cells arise only by division of a previously existing cell.
Cells are defined by a cell membrane and contain cytoplasm. However, beyond the generalizations,
there are many differences between cells of different organisms. The cells of bacteria (prokaryotes) are
different from those of all other organisms. Prokaryotes do not have membrane bound organelles. The
cells of organisms in the domain of eukarya and archae have membrane bound organelles with the
nucleus and other organelles having double membranes. Autotrophic eukaryotic cells can be
recognized by the presence of photosynthetic structures called chloroplasts which are not found in
heterotrophic cells.
Plant, fungal and other bacterial cells have rigid cell wall found outside the cell membrane. Animal cells
do not have cell walls.
In this practical you will examine plant and animal cells. You will need to consult figures from your
lectures or textbooks to guide your examination of the cells under microscope. Some important
structures of cells cannot be seen with a light microscope you will have to consult photographs taken
with an electron microscope to examine details.
Examining epidermal cells from onion (Allium cepa)
Onion bulbs are underground stems from which leaves are attached. Much of the mass of bulb consists
of food storage leaves and the surface of each leaf has a thin layer of epidermal cells.
Procedure
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DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES 2020/21
1. Put a drop of water on a clean microscope slide.
2. Using a forceps remove a piece of epidermis. A single layer looks like very thin piece of plastic
wrap, translucent and limp. Spread the epidermal layer in a drop of water on the microscope
slide. Place the piece of the epidermis so that the outer face (the surface that was outer most
on the bulb scale) is up.
3. Apply a cover slip to the piece of epidermis and observe under LP and MP
4. Now take the slide off the stage of the microscope and run iodine or methylene blue under the
cover glass. Avoid air bubbles.
5. Place it back on the microscope stage and observe under LP and MP.
Question: Draw a plant cell as seen under MP and label the cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm and
nucleus.
Examining animal cells
A good example of typical animal cells can be sampled from the inner surface of your cheek inside your
mouth. These cheek cells are squamous epithelial cells that are constantly sloughing off and being
replaced so you can remove some of these cells without harm.
Procedure
1. Put a drop of 0.9% saline solution on a microscope slide
2. Use a toothpick to lightly scrape the inside of your cheek.
3. Stir the scraped material in a drop of 0.9% saline on a microscope slide
4. Add a small drop of water followed by a small drop of methylene blue or iodine to the
specimen on your slide. Cover with a cover glass and observe under LP then MP.
5. Draw an animal cell as seen under MP and label the nucleus, cytoplasm and cell membrane.
Single celled organisms
You are provided with a dish of pond water. In a disturbed dish, some organisms are found near the
surface, others on the bottom and still others at various depths.
Procedure
1. With a dropper, take a drop from one area in the dish. Put the drop on a clean slide and gently
place a cover glass. Examine under LP and MP. Note that pond water contains both animals and
plants.
Question
State any four single celled eukaryotic organisms. (Note: names at genus level)
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DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES 2020/21
Practical 4: Dividing cells (Mitosis in plant cells)
The process of mitosis is not easy to see in a living cell (except with the phase contrast microscope)
because the nucleus and all the structures within it are colorless and nearly transparent. It is customary
to look at killed and stained preparations to observe mitosis. Many dyes can be used to make the
visible under the microscope. Among the easiest and quickest to use are those in which a dye and a
fixative are combined. A fixative coagulates the cell constituents, fixes them in position and may also
increase the ability to the material to take up the dye. Among the most commonly used combined stain
fixatives are aceto carmine and acetic orcein, the fixative being acetic acid.
Procedure
1. Excise root tips from onion (Alium cepa) killed and fixed with in part glacial acetic acid and three
parts absolute alcohol. Alternatively, McClintock’s fixative may be used but this takes a
minimum of 2 hours.
2. Remove from the fixative.
3. Hydrolase the root tips in 1.0M hydrochloric acid at 60°c for 8 to 10 minutes or alternatively in
5.0M hydrochloric acid at room temperature for 1 hour.
4. Briefly rinse the roots.
5. Place a root tip on a clean slide in a drop of aceto carmine.
6. Mince the root tip thoroughly with a razor blade or glass tapper.
7. Place a cover glass.
8. Heat gently over a low flame.
9. Place the slide within the fold of a piece of clean filter paper.
10. With the ball of your thumb, press firmly and evenly on the cover glass to squash the material
under the cover glass down to thin layer
Alternatively: use permanent slides of mitosis in onion root tips.
11. Place the slide on your microscope stage for observation. Focus first using Lp, then MP and
finaly HP. Identify the stages of mitosis as described below.
Prophase
Chromosomes condense and become visible, Chromosomes appear as two sister chromatids held
together at the centromere, Cytoskeleton is disassembled, spindle begins to form, Golgi and ER are
dispersed, Nuclear envelope breaks down.
Prometaphase
Chromosomes attach to microtubules at the kinetochores, each chromosome is oriented such that the
kinetochores of sister chromatids are attached to microtubules from opposite poles, Chromosomes
move to equator of the cell.
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DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES 2020/21
Metaphase
All chromosomes are aligned at equator of the cell, called the metaphase plate, Chromosomes are
attached to opposite poles and are under tension.
Anaphase
Proteins holding centromeres of sister chromatids are degraded, freeing individual chromosomes,
Chromosomes are pulled to opposite poles.
Telophase
Chromosomes are clustered at opposite poles and decondense, nuclear envelopes re-form around
chromosomes, Golgi complex and ER re-form.
Cytokinesis
In animal cells, cleavage furrow forms to divide the cells, in plant cells, cell plate forms to divide the
cells
Question
Draw a cell at each of the following stages of mitosis: prophase, metaphase, anaphase and
telophase. Include a description of the stages below your drawings.
