The cell

11.1 Introduction

.
These organ ·isms are considere d tO b .
study the biology of k e the first to make a home on earth. In this unit you will
P:f
5.0u . You need the d a;oles. ! hey are the smallest living cells measuring between 0.5 -
unicellu lar although a microscope to see a bal:teriul cell. Most prokaryotes are
species aggregate temporary or permanently ·m cu Ionies. •
Prokaryo tic' cells ct 1· 1some .
throu gh to spiral Zt\a ~anety 0 _f _shapes ranging from spheres (cocci), rods (bacilli)
Prokaryo te hav s. . t e _h fe sustammg metabolic activities take place within one cell.
The ir UNA •s e ~ d ?tcrcst mg metabolism since they lack chloroplasts and mitochondria.
11 1

t
Ioca e in structure called a nucleoid.

(slructu re of bacterial ce II ' r? Ies Of the cell wall, cell surface (plasma) membrane and .its
invagina f fl
~ IOns, age Ila, bacterial ch romosomes, plastids, glycogen granules, lipid droplets.)

'&I 11.2 Objectives

By the end of th is modul e, you should be able to:
I . d~scribe the molecular composition of cell wall.
2. discuss the role of the cell wall in the classification of bacteria.
2. d~scuss the significance of a highly convoluted plasmamembrane.
3 • d1scu~s the nutritional and metabolic adaptations that have evolved in prokaryotes.
4. explam how rapid reproduc tion, mutation and genetic recombination promote genetic
diversity.
5. describe the functions of a nucleoid in a nucleus of a cell.
6. explain beneficial and hannful effects of bacteria on humans.

11.3 Contents
There is a very high probability that the first cell assembled from prehistoric organic matter
through chemical processes that occurred under the cloud cover of lightenin g and thunder.
Prehistoric times were characterised by such phenomena. Some of these chem ical reactions
could have led to the spontaneous generation of the most prim itive cell. The earliest cells
were probably heterotrophs that satisfied their energy requ irements obtained from organ ic
and inorganic molecules from the environment. These pri mitive cells probab ly consumed
many types of organic molecules that had spontaneously form ed such as sugars, nucleotides
and amino acids, among others. The cell must have used these chem ical compounds as raw
materials in the fermentation process in order to obtain energy from them . Fermentation is
process used by cells to obtain energy from substrates in the absence of oxygen. The first
cells were certainly anaerobes and therefore heterotrophs in nature.

With passage in time, the supply of spontaneously generated organic molecule s decreased in
the environment and only certain organisms could survive. Mutations had probably already
occurred that allowed some cells to obtain energy from sunlight to make the energy rich
molecule Adenos ine Triphosphate (ATP). These could have been the first cells to be able to
make the ir own food as a source of energy. These kinds of organisms are called autotrophs.

-
Pagel :
1
•

UNZA Fast Track Teacher Education Programme

 J. .i • .., . ,. • Iv •• -· J - .
• rd dates them to have exist
a otic ce_l,ls . T.,he foss
The ear
liest cells are called pr
ok 3.5 billion year
il _
the planet ea rth between 3.1 an . . pie cellu s ag . ation, than eukaryotes . Bat
J
r~~oThe prok_aryotes
be long ,t(
Kin <lorn Prokaryotae, h' h have a stm lar organ1s
w ic w hereas ti and an an 1·mal cell are exam pl{
are ~n example of pr a plant ce he first organ isms to .
okaz~t::~ considered ev ol ve
eukaryotic cells . Pro~ to be among t II
aryo rth
[Link] of l11e 1onn at1on on ea ·
• J:. J:'.

. . d
. .d variety O f t hem as h
·Bacteria are 1d ent1fie by ,thei r ou tward shape. There ts a Wt e s ow
. .
figure l l 2 .

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• • .- 1 . G..,,·, ,,. b~ n•i " ■ lic
•lf.m1
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. .. ······· ··-
4ipl•'-•1illi
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:·~. __·-···... :.. ::. , ·.: ......,, .• • - -•:•

1 hrp
h~ •·... - · .. \ st~lk.

http ://[Link]
/wiki/Bacterial cell
Fig . 112 Racte structure#Cell mo rph
ology
ria: classified accord
g to their sh apes in
C on se qu en tly , they
can also be classifie
d into se ve ra l gr ou
ps ba se d on th e ir sh
l . T he so lit ar y ro ap e.
un d ones
'T'
[Link]~
Jv
0
,, -
'-A- iv r'"'""
,~• •-> ll"""-"d CCC"v,; 1sinru
.

\ 6 l-:.......
H", coccus\ .1 ~
· Pn eu m oc oc cu s (P J • " .. PX -:> ....... ple
,-..+ +~is o-r" ''P
neumococci plural). .1 •
are the
...., , ~t!i • U i..
(d ip lo co cc us ~ingul Th_o se th at ex is t Li• • b l V L-.
•
ar). in -p airs are calle
d diplococci
2. Th os e th at oc
cur in groups of
(s ta ph yl oc oc ci plur m or e th an tw o ar
al) bacteria . Th e on e re fe rr ed to as
ba ct er ia (streptococ es th at st ap hy lo co cc us
cus singular) .. oc cu r in ch ai ns ar e
th e st re pt oc oc cu s
3. · T he rods
Th es e ar e much lo~
g_er th~n sho~. Th is
rods are _called baci group is di vi de d in
lli (~ac,llu~ singula to tw o gr ou ps . Th
Th e gr ou p that oc r) . An ex am pl e of th e so li ta ~
cu rs m ch ai ns are also referred to is gr ou p is Es ch er
group ar e the Azoto ichia co lz.
bacter. as bacilli and an ex
ample of this

4. T he helical ba
cteria

UNZA Fast Track Te ac

he r Education Pro9ram
me
 These have a . l
singular). spira shape and they are commonly referred to as spiritla (sp irillum

5. The comm h·
T a s apet.J bacteria
hese are generally called V' .
of al imentary ca ct· ibnos. An example of this group is Vibrios cholera the cause
na 1 isease called cholera.

': specific example of bacte . . .

given in figure _ na is Escherichia coli. It is a bacillus whose classification is
113

Fig. 113 Electron micrograph of E. coli

[Link] col i
Retrieved 09/01/11

Domain : Eubacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Escherichia
Species: £. coli

Structu re
A specific. example of bacteria is Escherichia coli, which is rod shRped . The genern .1 si/.e
r(lnee f
bacteria is 0.5-1 Oµ although E. coli measures 0.5x2.5 µ. It is a common inhabitant of the
gut ,
vertebrates. Therefore, it belongs to the group of fungi called colon aerogens (coliforrns).
When .
coli cells are present in a water body, it is an indication that the water is polluted with human faec
substances. Human faeces are said to contain up to 40% of E. col i.

The outermost material of the bacteria is a capsule . It is agelatinous substance that is too thin
to be seen in most species. Often the capsule is much wi~er than a bacterial cell itself. More
often than not, it is made up of complex polysaccharides. The capsule acts as a kind
of
defence barrier against bacterial factors in body fluids. The capsule plays a significant role
jn
virulence of the organisms, which has been shown to degenerate with loss of the capsule.
This normally happens when the bacteria are cultured under laboratory conditions for a long
time. Capsular chemical structure determines the specificity of protective antibiotics formed
by the infected individual. Di~f~rent types of pneum?cocci _for example, differ from one
another in the chemical compos1t1on of the polysacchandes which make up their capsules and
consequently each type stimulates the formation of a different antibody .

The outermost coating of [Link] is the cell wall. It is a rigid substance, which contains lipids,
carbohydrates, protein, phospho~us and son:ie inorganic substances. However, it is elastic to
a
limited extent. The cell wall neither contains cellu lose, which is normally present in plants

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nor the ch1tm, which is w_una in wa 11~ u1 1u11 b1.
111 ,.,
to tie cornerll
- - --
-
mechanic;al suppor t . to rhc pn." x ncc
against the immed iate enviro nment and or~er~ interna l osmoti c pres~ure d~c crmca
u i l it y o r
The cell is prevented from rupture due to 11g 11 wall plays no role in p
of the tough and rie;id outer cell wall. Therefo,.e, the ce
metabolism of the cell. . - · ., ., into
. .
• I gth 15 d1v1ueu
The peptoglycan in the cell wall of bacter~ a, wh1c.h .is for bined
mecha n1ca stren '
with lipopo lysacc hande s . .
. . Inc
Lwo parts. The outer part is composed of h~opro te m com f e tidogly can . The cell
_wall is
second and lower part of the ~e ll wall is m~d~ up o of c~llulo se. The cell wa
l~ tn ~omc
incorpo rated with a special maten al called murt::m m st ead . ells have a nucila
. ginous
the .mfect1.v1ty
. o f t he ce II s. Some bacteri a 1 c 1
bacteri a determines
capsul e that surrounds the ce ll wall.
. which helps
~ome prokaryotic cells h_a ve flage ll a (smgula_r; [Link] um), a hostile envirothe cell to move
nment. They are
about in the env ironment m search fo r food or in flight from d easily break away
very thin (0.013 µ) structu res that arise from . the inner cytoplaSm nn can
from the mother c.;cl I.

.
A number of the species of gram negativ e bac .illi. possess sur f;ace st_ructure s ~ simila r to but
T . d may
different from flagel la. These are called fimb r iae . They have no relat ion to moti ,ty
anl II
occur in nonmotile as well as motile . organis · ms . Th ey arc num erous on a sing e cc
· about several hu ndreds . ·They are fh
numbering short er and muc h th tnn.
. c r than fl:i_!">0 ~11a• . • ~y arc•
generally short in len gt h and present in hi gh numbers obout th e entire bc1ctcr tal cell
surfac e.
Fimbriae usually functi on to faciliLate th e atti.1c hmen t of hJcter1::i to .1 s urfo cc .

Pili are sim ilar in structure to fimbri ae but are tnL, c h l011 2,er anJ prc~ent on the bacter
ia l cell
in low numbers . Pili are in vol ved in th e proce-.;;.;; ,,f bc1 ctcri Ld conjug ation. Non-s ex
pili a Jso
aid bacteria in gripping surfaces.

Other cells have cilia, wh ich are bristles linin g the ce ll wall. They too serve a simila r
functio n
?.S the flagella for motility. Flagella and cilia have a cy
lind rical stalk covere d by an extens ion
uf the plasma membrane. Th~ C8 r e of the stalk contain s a group of microt ubules . Nine
pairs
of microtubules are arranged around the c ircumference and t'.'.'O single m icrotub ubult!s
are
located in the centre. The 9+2 arrangement is charac ter istic of all cuknry ot ic-. cilia and
tiagdl a
in whatever organism they are found . Howe ver, the prokaryotic fl age lla are basica
::iifferent. lly

Underly ing the cell wa ll are the outer an d inne r memb ran es, which are simiia r iii ~![Link]
re
rnd function to the one found in eukary otes but lacks cholesterol and other
;teroi ds. The inner membrane is characterised by invaginations, which increa se the
surfac e
:1rea of the membrane. These structu res are called mesosomes. The respira tory enzy
Iocat~ d · h · ,
m t e mner mem brane ma [Link] 1t- t he site . mes
for anabol ic and catabo lic chemi cal are
·eact1on s. The cell membrane acts as a hormone recepto r and a control barrier for th
) f matena· ls ·man d out of the cell. ~
e passao ::- e

!'he cytoplasm is unstructured. It is without the double membrane organe lles It h

-
ranular appearance because of the presence of ribosomes which are the ."t r as 3
tine
.yn th es1s.
· Th e n·bosomes are
smaller and 1·1gh ter than eukary'ot ic ribosom es 151 c 10 r p rote1•1
he ru . , ·
·enerally lack membr ane bound organelles such as mitochondria chloro pl t p knr yOd:S
t=ti culum, golgi bodies and the lysosom es. ' nd 0
 . •
in a spcL:iaI ···; . •~1111:;~um Prokaryotae I1ave. .DNA as their nuclear material which
am po,,ition 1n the cyt 1 is located
ounts of RN op asrn call d · · ' · ·h 11
· A and non-11· t e the nucleoid. The DNA is associated wit ·smah
Stnet sens. e Of the term be .is one proteins. · . 1,he prokaryotes do not have a nucleus m t e
h . ·· · .
enve I ope · Th e genetic mat<.:ause • thei
. r ered1tary materials are not . cnduscd in a nuclear
cytoplasm · ena1s m th e t·orm of chromosomes are free · floating· · tl1e
m

Certain bacteria such as E. h . . c ..t· d . . l chromosomes ·tn

. ns have add1t1ona
•
the fiorm of a circular ONAsc erichia
1
°
1 an A. temefacie

of replicating independe ti rnof ecule. ~he~e structures are called. plasmids . They are capable
O th
materials that are ad n ty e bacterial chromosome. These structures carry hereditary
. van ageous . . for normal [Link], growth or
but no t essential
repro duct1on of a cell H · · · I
..
add 1t1on, they bear ge· owever
.. . 1 s I1ave genes that allow for their self rephcat1on . n
' plasm·d
advantages to the bact n~s involved In resistance lo antibiotics and therefore provide survival
ena cells that possess them (Fig. 114). ·

c~-ci1,.
C

-: ;

[Link] ki [Link]/wiki/B acterial eel I structure#Cel I morpholog y

Retrieved on 11/01 / 11

Fig. 114 Cell structure of a gram positive prokaryote

11.3.2 Reproduction
E. coli reproduces asexually by binary fission. This is a process in which a cell divides into
two equal parts. The bacterial cells can double th~ir populations every 20 minutes using this
method ·of reproduction. E. coli can also take part in -a primitive form of sexual activity
called a conjugation. Genetic material is passed on from one cell to another · through a
cellular extension called a pilus. The process does not brin'g about new offspring at the end of
it, but the genetic material is passed on to·the .nex! offspring through asexual reproduction.

11,.3.3 Staining
The Gram staining technique discovered by a Danish Physician called H. C. Gram in 1884
separates eubacteria into two distinct groups, _depending on the nature of their cell walls.
Cells that have thick cell walls made .of murem fibres combined with polysaccharides and
proteins bind with crystal violet. Gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Bacillus,
which bear this kind of cell wall, tum purple when treated with a safranin stain. Their walls
fonn such a barrier that organic solvents fail to penetrate it. Bacteria such as Salmonella and
E. coli are Gram negative. They hav~ ·thin cell walls made of lipopolysaccharides and
 ·-·-·•-..J . . '"" ''.'"" '''"'
~ b.., .. .., ...... ) whi ~·h· -~~~ -- e-;zy mes com mon
...
, •
u.,,u • '""'" v,,, ..... )'\.\.,, u.11L 1u1uL 1v.:::,
111l.,;.1uu1ng
yso zymes, ly foun d in nasal secr etio ns and sali va. These
enz yme s help to dige st cell wal ls of the bac. . • b ·
tena . Wh erea s, the_ Gra m neg ativ e acte na such
as Salmone llla and E. coli, are con trol led
quic k ly by stre ptom ycin .

Stai ni ng tech niq ue

Heat fi x sme ars of bac teria from yog urt or
milk on a glas s slid e.
Stain smear with crys ta l/Gentia n vio let so
luti on.
Wash the sme a r in ethanol to diss olve the
Iipid laye r of Gra m neg ativ e bac teri a.
Gram pos itive bacteri a cell wal ls bind to stai
n and take on a viol et colo ur
Gra m neg ativ e bac teri a do not take the stai
n bec ause it was was hed awa y in alco hol
The sme ar is sub seq uen tly fl ood ed with a
cou nter stai n call ed safr anin
Gra m neg ativ e bac teri a get a pink colo ur
from safr anin (Sa lmo nell a/(£ . coli) .
Gra m pos itive bac teri a stai n a pur ple colo
ur (Sta phy loco ccu s/B acil lus)

11.3.4 Eco logy

Pro kary otes exis t eve ryw here life sup por
ting con diti ons ca n be foun d. Ma ny bac
thei r exc ess carb ohy drat e in the form of glyc teri a store
ogen. It is a nutr ient stor age stra tegy for
in tim es of need . Bac teri a that use sulp hur survival
as a sou rce of elec trons stor e sulp hur in
of gran ules . And yet othe rs stor e nitr ates the form
in nitrate vac uole s.
Oxy gen dem and for bac teri a vari es with
bacterial type . Bas ed on th is fact they are
diff eren t grou ps as foll ows : placed in

1. . Fac ulta tive ana ero bes . Mo st of Ent

erob acte ria and V ibrios are harm less but
them cau se dise ase in plan ts and anim als. some of
The y live in the inte stin es of hum ans and
anim als. Som e sp~ cies live in the natu other
ral env iron men t free of anim als. Vibrios
repr esen ted by both curv ed and stra ight are
rods . A cha rnct eris tic spe cies of the grou
Ent erob acte ria (int estine) is Escherichia p of
coli .Th is grou p of bac teri a can survive in
pres enc e and abs enc e of oxy gen . For the
exa mpl e E. coli gro w wel l und er anae
con diti ons in the hum an inte stin e (En tero ro bic
bacteria) but also can gro w ade qua tely
arti fici al con ditio ns as long as oxy gen is prov unde r
ided.
Stre ptoc occ i (Ed it and doe s it be long here
?)
Spe cies that d ivid e repe ated ly in parallel
plan es pro duc e cha ins o f bac tera characte
of the gen us Streptococcus. The y are eith ristic
er alph a or beta -hae m o lysi s dep end ing on
red bloo d cell s arou nd them are part ly if the
dest roy ed or ·com plet e ly des troyed , leav
c lear area arou nd the colo ny resp ectively ing a
. The y are refe rred to as gamma-streptoc
whe n they do not pro duc e any blood dest occ i
ructi on arou nd them . The y are eith er tole
oxy gen or ana erob ic. rant of

Stap hy loco cci (Ed it and doe s it belo ng here

?)
Rep eated divi s ions in d iffe rent plan es
pro duc e clus ters or pac kets of organism
cha racteri stic of the gen us Staphy lococcu s
s. The se org anis ms gro w best in air but they c,an
also be ana erob ic.
2. Obl igat e nna erob es. Such bact era cann ot repr odu
of air. A few serious hum an illne sses such as botu
ce ~ as gan gren
l - the pre sen ce
utsi dc the ho~;t eel in
e and_ tc
tan us art
•
.
lism , g . ,•nfec t cert ain arth rop o 0
·
caused by poisons released by anae robi c bact ena. Ricketts1ns
species, including insects, mites, and ticks, that nn bloo ded an1· rna ls_· The
arthropods are largely unaffected by the rick etts ias,
feed on :'a dise ase can resu lt 1f th ey
bu_t sen o~ mou ntai n spo tted fe~ er.
tran smit the bact eria to thei r war m-b lood ed host s
cauS mg roe y asit ise bloo d suc kin g
Chl amy dias are more spherical than rick ettsi as.
The y_do not ?ar t·ivt·t·is of new bor n;
arthropods. The y caus e trac oma a serio us eye • &'.1 ton · con Jun c
m ec 1 ' ·tted dise ase .
urethritis and genital trac t disease; the mos t com mon
sexu ally tran smt
3. Aer obic bact eria . This group of bact eria , like . · a con tinu al sup ply of
amm als, requ ires • Rhi zob ium .
oxygen for anae robi c respiration. An imp orta nt
exa mpl e of th e gro up ~ . itro gen
Species of Rhiz obiu m inhabit the root cells of cert
ain plan ts and fix_ atm osp enc n . f
CN2) in the form of am monium ion (Nlt4+) that
can be used by plan ts. ~an y s~e cies 0
Pseu dom onad s are free living and harmless whe reas
othe rs _can pro duc e ?1se ase tn plan ts
and animals. Members of the genu s Pseu dom ona
s use a vari ety of org anic com pou nds as
a source of thei r nutrient s. The se include sugars,
ami no acid s, and far mor e com ple x
organic com pound s that contai n arom atic ring s. The
refo re, the gen us play s an · imp orla nt
role in recy cling of nutrients in the envi ronm ent by
deg radi ng man y syn thet ic and natu ral
compou nds that resist breakdo wn by most othe r
m icro orga nism s. Th is is don e mai nly
with the help of plasmid s.

Mem bers of the genu s Azo toba cter are un ique in

that th ey are able to fix atm osp her ic
nit_rogen unde r aerobic cond ition s in the absen_ce
of p lants. Azo toba cter live in alk alin e
soil. The y are amo ng the few groups of bact eria
. h. that form a type of rest ing c ll
cys t , w h 1c 1s Iess resis
.
tant to exte ma l phys ical
. 11 d
harm ful agen ts than end osp orees. ca e .a
Some ·members of the gene ra Nitrosom onas, N itro
. spir a, and Nitr
to nitrate. Th ese bacte na . .
are importa nt in the nitr oge n cyc le oco ccu s ox1.d12
.
e nit ·t
aquatic environments. · b h, . n e
in ot terr estr ial and
Cya nob ucte ria
This group of bacteria liberates oxygen ~s a byp rodu
ct of thei r hot . .
that of al gae and plants. The y have phy cobi lipro
tein pigm ents t~at osy n th e s1 s, whi ch is like
of wavelengths not well abso rbed by chlo roph yll .
abso rb ene rgy from ligh t
- 11.4 Qu ick self ass essm ent
1. Describe the functions of cilia flag ella and
T ·
. . . . '
2. Des cnbe the stam mg tech niqu P1 1 m b acte na
.
3 . e used to d. t· . .. ·
. Describe aerobic bact eria and state thei rs·is· mgu
.fi
1sh pos1tiv d
. e an
igm ican ce in the e . neg ativ e bac teri a.
--------==-==~n1 viro nme nt.
 Eukaryotic cell

12 · 1 Introduction k yo tic ce ll ha s int ern al

In a dd itio n to the plasmamem brane ' a deuti om ar
the I b
co mp art me nts of
res t of the cy tos o y a me b
organe lle s. The co mpartmen ts are sep ara te r m ran e of
Ea ch · d t
si milar structure as t he Plas ma me mb ran e. me mb ran e bo un co mp art me n is ca IIed an
.
b I" fi nc tio ns sp ec ifi c to . b
organ ell e an d carries out i~eta O 1t. In so me ca se s, me m rane
tbc .u fa ce ll be ca us e en zy me s are im pl anted int
organell es ta ke pa rt d"r
I ectly m me ta o 1ism o ' o the
F . tan b t ms of the ch lor . h
me mbrane. or _ms ce me m rane sys e op las t tak e pa rt m P oto sy nth es is
' b f ·to
while enzymes 10. the mem ~a 0 1 ch on dri a ma ke po ssi ble the pr oc es.s o f respir. ati
: ; pla ntc ell an d an an on .
There are a few differ ences im al ce ll. Th is
e ce n lie s in the fac t that
plant ce ll s hav e ce ll walls an d ch lor op las ts wh ich an im al ce 11 s d h
' o no t av e.
.
Th is uni·t w1-11 exam ine the ce llu lar org anizatio n of a eu ka
distribution of its organ e lle s ry oti c ce ll an d dis cu ss the
.
Th e un it wt·11 a Iso h.1g hi"1gh
and state the ir fun cti o ns .
differences between the two typ t the
es of ce lls .
organization of a leaf palisad
e cell and an an im al liv er
nucleus, nucleolus, rough an cell , or ga ne lle s, str uc tur es
d sm oo th en do pla sm ic ret icu of the
plastids, mitochondria, ribosom lum , go lgi ap pa rat us , lysoso
es, ce ntr iul es, cy tos ke let on , mes,
cell wall~ Structure. m icr otu bu les , va cu ole s, cel
lulose

@ 1 2 .2 Objectives
By the end of this module, yo
u should be able to:
1. ciescr ibe the cell wall as a po
rou s sy ste m of ca rbo hy dra te
2. describe the cytoplasm with su bs tan ce .
ref ere nc e to the cy tos ke let on
3 . . di~cuss . the compartmenta
. mo ve me nt an d sites for me
liz~d internal me mb ran e sy
ste ms ~s ~egulato_rs of . pro
, [
tab oli c function s... . tein
..
4. describe the str ucture of a
r
nu cle us _an d rel ate it to the .fu
5. co mp are and co ntrast mi toc nctions of ~ rib os om e.
hond ria an d ch lor op lasts as en
6. discu ss extracellular comp erg y tra ns fo rm ati on units.
on ents an d the ir conn ectio ns
cellul ar activitie s be tw ee n ce lls as coordinator
· s of
7. compare an d contrast a pla

12.3 Co nt en ts
nt ce ll an d an an im al cell.
r
The cell the or y
!s
Th~ ~ell theory the ce ntral
I'1I
the me of all co nc ep ts in bio log
• livmg matte r 1s ma de up ce y. In rec en t times, it states tha
lls t:
• meta_bo lic proce sse s wh ich
(anabolism) take place in a ce
ll.
yie ld energ y (ca tab oli sm )
.
·
and those that use up energy I' I
• cells can on ly ari se from pre ·
-ex ist ing ce lls
• cells are the carriers of he red
itary inf orm ati on from ge nerat .
ion to generation . ? t·f (

r \1
There is an unbroken co nti nu
ity be tw ee n mo de m cells and 1
the ancient cells.
Most. cells · scop1c. . They are measu . meters ( µm ) . Howe ver, some
• red in micro II o f
. are m1cro
cells~ f animals such as ova are large enouoc,h to be seen with a naked eye. Ce s
specia lised I
plants a ct ·
n anima s fall within the range of IO - I 00 µm in length .
es in its abi_lity to
Why should cells be so small? The smalle r a cell the more efficient it becom
th the prod~ ct,_o n of
carry out e metab olic processes. Nutrie nts that are taken into a cell for
st in a cell. S,m ila_rly,
energy mu travel the shortest distances to where the substrate is require d
th st sh~rteSI possible
e wa e materi als of metabolism need to be expelled from a cell in the
ing. ~essa g~s
~ime, becau se their brief accumulation in a cell can possibly lead to cell poison
m respon se to cellula r requirements from the nucleus are required
to travel quickl y m
has to travel short
respon se to cellula r needs . It is of advantage to a cell if the messa ge
distan ces to the area of need .

e area of th e
It i_s know,_ that the volume of a substance increases more rap idly than the surfac
1
rtiona tely smal !er
Object. This means that if a cell increased its volume it would have a propo
Such a cell wou ld
surfac e area over which it would need to get rid of its waste materials.
t in its ability to
strugg le to surviv e and probably [Link], becau st it would 1.,ecom e ine fficien
carry out physio logica l functions.

Cube Leng th SA Volu me SA:V ol

2 3
size mm mm mm ratio
·,
(JI 0.3 mm 0.09 0 .027 3.3 : 1

ED 0.6 mm 0 .36 0 .216 l. 7 : 1

(j] 0.9mm 0 .81 0.729 1.1 l

uJ 1.2 mm l.44 1. 728 0.8 ; 1

DJ 1.5 mm 2 .25 3.375 0.7 : l

Fig. 115 Surface area to volume relationship

does its volume

It is clear from the table that as len~h of sides of the cube increases, so
H oweve r, as the volum e of the cube increases, the surface • area fa il s to increas e at rhe Sjffi e
11
t . stead it proportionate ly gets sma .er compa red with the volume it has to LO -..c::r (fiLJei
ra e, in ·r t
h
e size o
f
a ce
II
got
I
arger. Some processe s such as the
115). Th is is what would happen I
tC I) wh ile the
rate of diffu sion, wh ich depend on the su'.face area, would get affected negati'l
metab oli c rate o f the cell would be on the increas e .
tra ch ea .

12.3. 1 Cel, sti-u_ctur e and ultra

structure

Th e cell wa ll
Eu ka ryo tic cel ls are bo un d by
an ou ter lay er of cel lul ose ma · 1 h · h · d
an ord erl y pat ter n as to off ten a , w ic is ep osi'ted m ·
s~ch
er the cel l m ech an ica l str en
·c ell ulo se as a sub stance do gth for SUpport a nd ~rotec
es no t pa ck so tig htl y, as a tion .
Th ere for e, it all ow s fre e pa ssa res ult the cel l wa ll is_ porous.
ge of bo th sm all an d lar ge pa
ou tsi de of the pla sm am em bra rtic le~ . Th e ~e ll wa ll is on the
ne . It is for thi s fact lha l the <;d
system , Howeve r~ the pri ma ry cell w l wa ll ts co nsid~red to be a de~d
a ll has be en sho wn to gro w tog
so me ca ses it ha s be en sho wn cth c_r wi th a cel l , and m
to co nta in som e rib oso me s. Th
pri ma ry cel l wa ll is a living sys ese ob se rva tio n s sug ge st tha t
tem . the

·Th e ce ll wa ll is in dir ect co~fuc

[Link] h the envi ron rne nt an d be
is ma de up .of, off ers th~ cell cau se of the kin d of m ate ria ls
pro tec tio n fro m ext ern al inj ury it
- sw ell s. Th e co nte nts of the cy. . Wh en a cel l tak es in wa ter ,
t:opla_sm increa se in vo lu me du it
. vo lum e of the cel l exe,~s··:·s om e to the imbi bit ion of wa ter . Th
·e·p:r~ssu~e on the cell w all, wh e
ou tw ard s . Th is ~ontinu es untiL ich ma ke s the cel l wa ll extend
th~ inc tea se . in vol um e of the
inw ard pre ssu re of the cell wa ll. A( thi~ po int the cytop las m is res iste d by the
pre ssu re ex ert ed : by the -_ ce ll is sai d to be tur g id, be cau se the inward
ceir. [Link]'.' ts >;:e,qual to the ou tw ard
· cy top l~s m. Wh en pla n( cel ls-· pre ssu re be ing ex ert ed by the
are :tur gid ~the y bec om e fi rm an
_co ns ide red tog eth er in a pla nt d reg ain the ir cell sha pe . When
[Link] like the ste m, lea f or fl ow
me ch an ica l sup po rt as well ~.:\- er the cell w all ult im ate ly give
. .. . .
"/'
.,~ ·_ -:. ~

W he n' a ·se co nd ary cel l v&.~tl is

dep osi ted ov er the pri ma ry o ne
de ve lop calle d '.'Pit pa irs . Th ese , spe ~ial are as in the cel l wall
are mi cro sco pic de pre ssion s in
co mm un ication cha nn els -c~lled the cel l wa ll wh ich contain
pla s~ od esm ata . Th ese str uct u res
ma teri a1.s be t'.v een ,t'.v o con ti gu all ow for e~sy ex ch an ge of
.> . ,. ou s (ad jac ent ) cells in a ti ssu e .

htt p://WWW .bi o.i nd ian a.e du /~h

ang art erlab/cou rse s/b 37 3/lect ure
Fo r mo lec ula r no tes/ce llw all /ce llw all .html
str uct ure s -, go to thi s we b 10/ 09/ 09

T he w all is a rnatrix of P? lys

acc har ide ma ter ial in wh ich .,is
int erw ov en sys tem of m1cro{ib em bed de d a hig hly org anised
rils . Th ese mi cro fib rils are cel
m? lec ule s joined by ~ - 1,4-lin lul ose c hains of gl ucose
kages. Ce llu los e, the ref ore , is
wi th the . ox 7g en bridge ?et ma de up ~f B- D- glucos e units
dis acc han de 1s cal led cellob1os we en C-·l and C-4 po sit ion s. Th e cor res pond ing B-1
e. ,4-
Ce ll wa lls con sist of 3 types of
layers
M idd le lam ell a : This is the _first
layer for me d du rin g cell divisi
ou ter wa ll of the ce_ll and 1s on . It makes up t~ e
co mpou nd s and pro tein. sha red . by adj ace nt cel ls. It is composed of pec tic
 . . ---- -
· st
Pruna ry w all: ~his is form ed after the middl e lamell a and c?nsi s ot a
-
'J'
· iu ·· ... . ,-:-.--~
or' .. pectic
of cellulo se m1crofibrils embed ded in a gel-lik e matnx compo se
com pound s, hemic ellulos e, and glycop rotein s. d wall is
Secon dary wall : formed after cell enlargement is compl eted . The secon fary II lose
· made o ce u '
· ·d and provid
ext r~me IY ng1 ·
· es compr ession stre ngt h . It is
hemic ellulos e and lignin. The second ary wall is often layere d.

• Provid e tensile strength and lim ited plastic ity which are important for:
•keeping cells from ruptur ing fro m turgor pressure
· turgor pressu re prov ides suppo rt fo r non-w oody tissue s
•Thick walled cells provid e mecha nical suppo rt
·Tube s for long-d istance transp o rt
·Cutin ized walls preven t water loss
• Provid e inecha nical protec tion from insects' & pathog ens
·Phys iologic al & bioche m ical activit ies in the wall contri bute to cell-ce ll
com m un ication

12.3.2 The plasm a memb ran e

Struc ture
The p lasma memb rane is located immed iately beneath the cell wall. It is less than
10 n m in
plasm a
thickn ess. Chem ical anal yses have shown that the dry weigh t compo sition of th~
memb rane is 50-60°/4 protein $ . follow ed by phosph ol ipids that make up 30-40
% a nd
ns are the
carboh ydrate s that account for 1-10% . It is obv ious fro m these data that protei
layers ,
major consti tuents of the plasm a membrane. The phosp hol ipids are arrang ed in two
oth er.
w ith each hydrop hilic head of the phosp holipid s molec ule directed away from each
e ment
Th is results in the hydrop hobic lipi d tails to be inward ly arranged. The resulti ng arrang
ures are
is what has been termed the phosp holip id bilayer. Prote ins of variou s molec ular struct
o th er are
inserte d into the phosph oli pids bilaye r. Some cross the memb rane compl ete ly a nd
te ins,
partial ly subme rged. In additio n to protein s, the plasm a memb rane also carrie s g ly copro
te- I ip id
which are carboh ydrate -prote in ~o mplexes and glycol ipids, which are carbo hydra
compl exes. In humans, glycop rote ms act as refoepto rs for hormo nes and anti bod ie s .
 ,,,..,..,...if. .a , .· i " •• • •

Phospholi pid

Phmpll1tlipi1I IMl•yrr

lnltcral proteia Peripheral protei n

Cytoplasm

Fig. 116 Phosphol ipid bilayer ofmemb; anes. The extra cellu lar side of
the membrane shows the mosaic properties of cell membranes.

Functions
I. A livi ng cell continuously interacts w ith its su rround ings in orde r to acqu ire nutrients or
to get ri d of metabolic wastes. The ce ll membrane is select ivel y permeable. Molecules that
carry a charge on them such as water and other hydrophilic molecu les do not mix with lipids,
wh ich are hydrophobic · in character. Therefore, bioiogica i mem branes serve as barriers to
po lar mole cules and ions. Most organic molecules of bio logica l im portance have po lar
function al groups and therefo re fail o di ffuse free ly th rough th e hydrophobic lipid barrier.
Hence; a number of mechan isms exist fo r getting hydroph ilic molecules and ions across the
cell mem brane.

M em brane protei ns act as chemical carriers that bind to po la r functional groups of

biologically important molecules and transport them across the ce ll m embrane. In so me
cases, the movements of the fluid membrane leaves temporal pores throu gh w hich some
substances required by a cell may pass. Indeed, in yet other c ircum stances, th e cell membrane
may leave permanent pores or apertures through w hich other substances of that size may
pass. In contrast, other non polar molecules are soluble in lip ids and therefore can move
freely through the cell membrane (refer to 6 .4).

2 - T he other funct ion of cell membranes is to sense the che m ical environm ent.
It acts as a
sensory barrier that receives chemical messages in the form of horm ones, growth factors a nd
neurotransm itters from other cells. The prote in receptors on the membrane get stimulated
w~en they bind to the chem ical messages arou nd the cell or those that reach the cell. The
st imulant is translated into a spec ific action by the ce ll which can either be behavioural
,
phys iological or structural. '
 - .... •~''-" \.Jl C, ~ as . - - - o n• v v v I \. ..) V V'V ll l \..,\..,Vl,l LVl .l U.l ~\.,ll. uvu v
~o~nts ~ coordinated chein· n~n ~elf' · Once foreign ce\\s are identified the immune system
lU 'v ll\..J. t .....

' identifying such ce lls c ica _an cellular •baLtle' . The white blood cells, wh ich are capable
~h. · ome into f
· is is the basis of the im ac i_on an<l destroy the foreign bod\e~ by ~n gu\fing them .
mune system in animals

. 12.3.3 The cytoplasm

Immediately below the c ll .
and d isso\veu ino rga . e ~embra~e is the cytoplasm, which is a complex mixture of water
potassium , calcium ~\c
~ organic solutes. Some of the inorganic solutes sodium , are
prote ins and n ucle·' c .~n e, etc. and examples of organic solutes are carbohyd rates, lipids,
as the m itoch ond ~c ac~t · Also 3us~enrled in the cytopl asm are a v<1riety of orgunel\e.s such
and others T lle r~a, c oroplast s, nbosome~, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi bodies
• re1 ore t11e cytopla • . . . .
parts o f a cell 'h sm is viscous suspendmg substance, whteh includes all
' d · d
Co ns1 ere to gether w·thexcept t e eel\ membrane and the nucleus It is called protoplasm when it is
th · . ·
. l · . 1 · e nuc 1eus. When the s·uspend ing medium is waler and the solute is
m esser concentratio n th yt \ . . .
. . . e c op asm1c solution 1s called 'sol' colloid. However, when th~
suspen d mg medium is prot · . h . .1s .m htgher
. . than water,
. . em, meaning t at protetn concentration the
so. lut1
. on .1s called a ' ll s .
ge co 01 . ome cells such as the smgle cell amoeba have .its cytoplasm
p ·ct
div ided mto two part~. An outer cytoplasm, which is a 'gel' colloid form s the peripheral part
of the cytoplasm . It is referred to as ectoplasm. However, the inner part of the cytoplasm
wher~ the suspending medium is 'sol ' colloid is called the endop\asm . The substances
mentioned above are in solution and therefore sub-microscopic, making the cytoplasm a clear
substance when viewed under the light microscope. Chemical reactions take place in the
watery environmen t of the cytoplasm. The presence of the electrolytes in the cytoplasm
makes it an ideal environment fo r chemical reactions.

T he discov_ery of the electron microscope led to a deeper understand ing of the structure of a
cytoplasm . U sin g a h igh voltage electron microscope the cytoplasm has been revealed to be a
complex and hi ghly structured organelle suspending in it a high concentration of organelles .
The cytoplasm has been show n to have a cytoskeleton . The different types of structures of the
cytop lasm are the microtubule s, whose function has been suggested to transport chemical
compo unds involved in cell division. The oth~ structures are the microtraberc ulae, w hich
help to hold the organelles of a cell suspended in the cytoplasm and keep the organelles apart.
The microfi laments have been associated with cell motility . The other structures that have
been identified in the cytoplasm are the intermediate fib res.

In summary, the cytoplasm is the base for chemical reactions in a eel\. The cytoske\et o1.1 h~lps
the cell to maintain its shape, enables it to move . It also helps the cell to anchor its organelles
· space and directs traffic of substances in it. The membranes of all the organelles in a cell
:e similar in structure to that of the eel\ membrane and function in a sim ilar w ay .

T he fo llowing paragraphs describe the different types of organelles typically found in a plant
cell .

12.3.4 The vacuole

Th acuole is relatively small in youn g plant cells. 1t progressively gets bigger as the ce\l
e v lder ln most cases the size of the vacuole can get up to 90% of the eel\ size, al most
get so • ·
taking up most of the cell space. \rti; ...;he~ -barrie~ that controls u1c_ d._,':-".. , .._.d-uthe vacuole is
mert1brane called the tonoplaSL I contents. The flu 1 1051 e .
sa~ts,
◄
betwer-n the cytoplasmic flui~ ~nc.J lhe va~~: :: en, carbon [Link], nit_ rogen , a~1ds,
charactenst1cally co11ta_ ,h. ,yg -- :• 1p· crcute an osmotic potential, which
the cell sap. It
o
•· ·
•
ca. II edents f h lutes Ill t e vacu "' ·d
etc . The presences o t efasocell The vacuo 1e •t s also a storage place for caroteno1 :.
p1gm '
contributes to the turgor pressure o . 1. t organs. The cell vacuole also acts as a
. h . colour to bsome p an db
and plant pigments, wh1c tgive d toxic . t · si·nce the plant cell is surrounde Y a cell
su s ances. - . I
storage ' bag' of all the was e an ·- . t ducts of metabolism to the outside. nstead,
wall, it has no opportunity to r~lease its was e pro .
the cell expels its toxic wastes mto the vacuole.

. . .
12 _3_5 The endoplasmic reticulum s within a
h els of communication for chemical substance l ·
These structures are fl attene d c ann · h d
· de hose pipes when they are without. water m t . ·em an ymg on
cell. They resem bl e tiire b nga k Th
the ground . They are tubular canals that coil around parts of the (;ytoplasm like a sna e. e
coiling increases the surface area for metabolic reactions. They are connected t~ t~e n~c\eus
through a nuclear envelope. Two types of Lhe endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are d1.5tmgu1shed.
One is called the rough ER (RER) while the oth~r is called the smooth ER (SER). :he tubes
of the RER are associated wilh ribo'Somes, which line the outside surface. The ribosomes
make the ER have a rough appearance under the electron micrograph (a picture of an
organelle taken using the electron microscope). It is in the ribosomes that proteins are
[Link] . Thertforc, the RER being in association with the ribosomes, is the site ·for
protein synthesis in a cell. The proteins are packaged and exported to places of need within a
cell from the RER. The RER are commonly in high concentration in parts of th~ body where
there is a high activity of enzymes. This would be in places such as the lining of the digestive
tract where enzymes are required in high concentrat ions.

The SER as the name suggests lack ribosomes on their surfaces. They are the site for lipid
synthesis. The structures are associated more with the tissues that secrete chemicals other
than proteins. Some of the chemicals that are secreted by SER are hormones, sterols etc.
[
Collectively, the ER are convoluted so as to increase the surfacl: (are) for chemical reactions.
These special structures establish internal transport compartments in the form of tubular
cbmnels. n
'- l

12.3.6 The Golgi body

The Golgi body is the singular for Golgi complex. These double membrane structures occur
in stacks of 3-8. They are closely associated with secretion cells like the SER. Their role in
the cell is to store, modify and transport carbohydrates and lipid precursors . In the process,
ca,rbohydrates are combined with proteins to form glycoproteins while lipids and proteins are
th
repacka~ed to form lipoproteins. The membrane structures of Golgi bodies swell _wi
metabolic raw materials and precursors at their tips. The swellings reach a critical maximum
vol~me when they break off, like droplets of water. These membrane structures are called D
ve s icl~s. They are an extensive membrane transport system of a cell. They ~ov~ raw th
matenals from the site of manufacture to where precursor or raw materials are requtred m e
cell for synthesis work in a cell (Fig. 117 and 118).

Fig. 11 7 Micrograph of Golgi apparatus, visible as

a stack of semicircular black rings near the bottom .
Numerous c ·
to th ircular vesicles ca b . .
~ organell e; htt ·//e . _n ~ seen in proximit
(ketnev ed 0 1103~ - :D_,_~ikn:;~~~drn .org/wik i/Golg/bod_y

1t~~ ~t'.,·
/il:t .n•ti@r /
Q:>
01;-~fht~.:lft .
.\_, :!-

·
.ltt!!gl~1i
·. ,_:ri,(J .,i:\~~:,1·i1;j(,i ••i
· • .. " · 'l:,[Link]; ·,y; ·11
1. . ~- f!:.•g ,i f ®

I.. \......_ ,,'fJ' ···@

© iJ.., ·., ;
-~ ,,_.....__(!)_.,~ .. J.
0 ;I

Fig. 118 · Diagram of secretory process from

endoplasmic reticulum (orange) to Golgi
apparatus (pink).

l. Nuclear membran e·,

2. Nuclear pore;
3. Rough endoplas mic reticulum (RER);
4. Smooth endoplas mic reticulum (SER)·
5. Ribosome attached to-RER· '
6. Macromolecules· '
'
. 7. Transport vesicles;
8. Golgi apparatus;
9. Cis face of Golgi apparatus;
10. Trans face of Golgi apparatus·
11. Cisternae of lipids '
[Link] body
(Retrieved O1/03/11)

Peroxis omes
This is another group of vesicles found in all eukaryo tic cells. Peroxiso mes contain oxidativ e
enzyme s such as catalase , D-amin o acid oxidase, and uric acid oxidase. However the last
enzyme is absent in humans , explaining the disease known as gout, caused by the
accumu lation of uric acid ([Link] 0 1/03/11 ).

Their major role is to break down long chains offatty acids and purines. They are also a site
for a series of reaction s that occur in sunlight when the cell contains relatively high
concent ration of oxygen. These. reactions and the breakdown of purines both produce
hydroge n peroxid e (H 2 O 2 ), a compou nd that is extreme ly toxic to living cells. Peroxisomes
howeve r, contain another enzyme that immediately breaks hydroge n peroxide into water and
oxygen , prevent ing any damage to the cell (Fig. 119).
F' . 119 Basic•structure of a peroxisome
h:p ://en .wikiped [Link]/W iki/P eroxisom e (0 1
/03/ 11)

Lysosome ··
These are cellular organelles that con tain . . d
Iase enzy:11_:s·- th at brea k up was te
.,. t · l
m~
a~1d h~
d cellu l r neri rjs- 'fhe'1ff i'er oun d m animal ro
cells, wn de yea
a !ants the
same roles are perform --=-:::.: · tn st an P
ed by'J lytic
·
vac uoles (http:// [Link]·k·1pe d'[Link]/w 'ki/L vsosom e
I '
0 l /03/11 ). · · ·
These double membrane structures are pecu
liar lo the animal ce 11 . Th. e stru c
t · abse nt in
ure ts
plant cells. These are some of the vesicles .
that bud off the golg1 complex. Th ~ ves
contain very powerful hydrolytic enzymes. icles
The doubl e membran e around the ves icle
the dig~stive enzymes away from the rest of kee ps
the eel!. For the sak e of safety for the ~e
vesicle membrane is continually renewal to ll, the
avo id unexµ ected spillage of the enzymes
cytoplasm of the cell. Their role in the cell into the
is to rid the cell of unwante ? or~a_ni~ su~
rirising from worn out cellular parts. In stan~es
other instanc es, the enzym es assist w1tn the
of trapped food part icles in the food vacuoles a1gest 1~n
or the digestion of fo reign bod ies in the mat
of the cytoplasm. nx

12.3 .7 The M itoc hon drion

The mitochondr ion is among the largest
orga nell es in a cell. The sha pe of mitocho
varies considerably. They can be spheric al , nd ria
potato shaped, or they can be elon gate d cy
Like the other organelles in a cell, it is surr linders.
ounded by a double membrane stru cture.
makes up the outer membrane,. which has One
pits of about 3.0 nm in size traversing its
The pits are irregularly spaced along the mem wi dth .
brane. The inner membrane is folded in seve
places forming special structures called cris ral
tae. The cristae can be tubular as in th e case
plants or plate-like as in the case of animal of
cells. The space between the outer membran
the inner membrane is called the perim itoc e and
hondria l space, while the space of the fold
cristae is call ed intracristal space. The inne ed
r membrane in lined with inner membran
subunits or the stalked part icles. The cellular e
contents of the mitochondrion are general
referr~d to as the matrix. In suspens ion with ly
in the matrix are proteins, and soluble enzy
th~ tncarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Ribosom mes of
es and DNA are suspended in the matrix
m!to~hondria. This phenomenon makes mito of
cho ndri a semi autonomous organell es foun
within the cytoplasm of its host. As a resu d
lt of this, mitochondria are capable of
self
-=;;;t:Fast Track Teacher Education Prog ramm e
,~g~ th is is not in phase with the replication of the cell. The DNA fou n~
i 1st mctly different from the one found in eukaryotic cells.

: th e site for cellular respiration. The oxidases and other enzymes are located
brane. The phosphorylase enzymes are found in the perirnitochondrial space.
JVa~e an~ 00 -ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complexes are located in the inner
Jenine tn phosphatase is found on the stalked particles of the inner membrane

Fig. Structure of mitochondria

Fig. 120 Structure of mitochondria

[Link] [Link]/wiki/Mitochondri on (Retri eved O1/0 3/ 11 )

3 .8 The rok of mitochondria

mitochond ri a are the site for respiration . Organic compounds such as
ate) fatty aci ds and certain of the amino acids are oxi dised in the presence
electron acceptor. The princi pal produ ct of the chemical reactions of
TP) with byproducts of water and carbon diox ide. ATP is the sole source of
vr a eukaryotic cell. The chemical reactions responsible for the release of
trated on the stalked particles of the inner membrane, which are sometimes
·espiratory stalks. There is no definite number of cristae in mitochondria of
; their frequency tends to increase as the ir respiratory activity increases. It·
that cells with a high energy need have a higher concentration of
,ould be the case in a liver cell and the more hi ghly utilised muscle cells.

fe by binary fis sion similar to bacterial cell division .

•ane bound structures found only in the cells of plants and algae (Fig. 121 ).
~d by two membranes and have an internal membrane system that may be
Matu re plastids are of three types; chloroplasts, chromoplasts and
)plasts are used by plants to synthesise pigments and storage. Leuc~pl_asts
e
1 synthesis. However, they sometimes differentiate into more .speciali sed
nylop lasts for storage of starch and for detecti ng gravity, el~10plasts for
j proteinoplasts for strorage and protein modification. Etioplasts are;
oroplasts.
 1' ·,.

( .- ..) ProP•lastid
Etioplast ·,,_ . .. ,/
---·
() -:.:...~·

@ {f
Chroi~ p las:t ( hl
5)
o,oplast Lcu,oplast
0

. .fferent types of pIasti ds.

FI g: I_ 2 I .Dt . ; ./P las t id (Retrieved OI/031I I)
hrt ://en .w1k1 [Link] w1k1
.· .. . .· .. . . . .
3 9 '[be chloroplast . . be delirnited in a
.. II four distinct zones•cand up of an
d .
jcallY' dis~ shape . o ·. ou rg an c es. outer
I pe rna
ble rnernbrane enve o chloreoplast [ro h
12 rn t.e
Chloroplasts a;e t)'Joroplasl is
chloroplast. T e c ysterll· fhb~[Link] bY
IS sy ste
a:f
rnernbranes se~arates t::e organelle across
thJS
. . brane s rn f ph otos yn the sis en
h process o . h wsynthteres1s. leave [Link] JoropJ~t
ich 1s
and infnt eherrtcelell '[he substrate: f~)
res o 01.
erribranes. In a s1 rn 1ratr .~,ay,' the bprodu~ts ~t,1~ii~ ca lled the st
. inner rnern ran :e.,,JS,cn
y,
a' . ". " (,v r~ t,va, :~o organidc

~
2 •"'
systertl of rt1 ute, 13eloW ~ ctio"s, w, ,;c,, •'". c-like sacs caJle
t :. -a tal)'S e ch em ,co •_'1 r of sets of fla~ d11~ dgrana
b)' th~ ;~ : a~f s enz/iJle} st (granu fl1
5u5Pe,,u~ds. A 00
;; ~ ~rane syste~ :; ~; :noth~r in
third t~Pe iuttons pla~ed one ~ected
:~~f ~;y
,:[Link]:e~~!;
cortl po~n 'fhese are 11ke .ds bY the inte~!~n' cti!ororhYil -~r;nd the
are 'ntercon b a~,, syster!l con:- .de the
th)'jakOldS· ) ·rne 1nylakO' 1,, tlJYlako1 .
1ak oi d r,1 er!
:~alJ[af . .Jl~e . rne ~,!-•~·,n -PhOtos . :··· '[he spaces JOSI
l r
. Yf lth. eSJ S,
•• a~ . ~iinwS that C1t'n hJorfroPthelair•stSowaren.
·" 1 I',
0 ······. .
® ·" •·.. a .. . . .... ··• . ...... ,...... ..... _·---···- -·G)
®-·•- . . . _ ........
. . . ..... . ... . . . . . . .®
.- ~: ~-- -······

//,;-
• • I •

~ j
·. . . . . ....

.. .. . . .®
-'· · , . ,t .... •

© ••. . . .·
(c\ ......
V~···-.-. . ....... . @
0 .... ... -···· 0

·· ·. . ... . .......@
©. ·..... ··@
· Fig. 123 Ch loroplast ultrastructure

! .outer membrane
2. intermembrane space
3. inner membrane (1+2+3 : envelope)
4. stroma (aqueous fluid)
5. thylakoid lumen (inside of thylakoid)
6. thylakoid membrane
7. granum (stack of thylako ids)
8. thylakoi d (larnella)
9. starch
10. ribosome
11 . plastidial DNA
12. pl aslo globule (drop of lipids)
[Link] Retrieved O1/03/11

The nucleus
1 i~ nucleus is the most prominent structure of the organelles in a cell. It has an inner and
oute, membrane system called a nuclear envelope, which is interrupted by nuclear pores thac

page 15 5
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crosseu w:th protoplasm ic materiaL ma'.~ \:.g the m com~lex pore: . _1 he ~· contra\ t1~ I

,ss:.ig~ d
chemie,ats to and from the nucieus. fo r ins·,dnce, proteins ~ynth ·: s1 s~d in the cytcp\;
_;n wcu!~\
CJ~ moved to the DNA assembly s;tes in the nucleus while c hern1cal instruct
io;1s ou\d be
transmitted to the cytoplas,n for the synthesis of proteins. The membran~ is
sni\ar in
structure to the plasma membrane and separates the contents of the nucleus froni
!l rest of
the cell. The main constituent of the nucleus is the nucleoplasm. It contains a
seni-fiu id
substance in which are suspended the nucleolus, the chromosomes, organic cornpo
urtls and
salts. The nucleoplasm contain s nuclear matrix, which is similai to a cytuskeleton.

An organ ism's genes are located in its chromosomes, which only become visib,,
\Vhen a eel\
is dividing. For most of the time, when a cell is not dividing, chromosomes are
~ loosely
organised collection of fibres called chromatin. The nucleolus is the structure in
a nQ~\eus
that is responsible for the synthes is of ribosome subunits from ribosomal RNA and
protein.
The nucleus is a significant organelle in a cell. Since it contains hereditary inform
directs t~e-~anufacture of ~hemi~als for the normal functi oning of it. Fea~res of
ation,
a cell such
it \
as eel\ d1v1s1on and growth mcludmg all the physiological processes experienced by
a cell are '
under the directives of the nucleus . In a way, the nucleus plays a supervisory role
in a cell.
For this reason , the nucleus has sometimes been referred to as the 'control centre'
(Fig. 124). of a cell

I.

·O 0 0 0
{)
r., C,

[Link] /wiki/File:Dia ram h

. um an eel I nucleus .sv (Retrieved O
1103111 )
Fig. 124 A typical eukaryotic cell nucleus h . .
nuclear envelope, the DNA l s owmg the ribosome-dotted membrme
comp ex, and the nucleolus. of thP
Ribosomes
Ribosomes are mad
b • e up of two subunits On b · ·
su unit has a sedimentation rate of 50 (5.0S) e :~ unit is larger than the other. !'he larger
rate of 3 0 (30S). One third of the "b . w 1 e th e smaller subunit has a rcd imentation
.
n osome 1s composed of p t • .
ro e1n and the [Link] 1s made up of
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