Chapter 7

Cell Structure
and Function

Lecture Presentations by
Nicole Tunbridge and
© 2018 Pearson Education Ltd.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
The Fundamental Units of Life

 All organisms are made of cells

 The cell is the simplest collection of matter
that can be alive
 All cells are related by their descent from earlier cells
 Cells can differ substantially from one another but
share common features

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Concept 7.1: Biologists use microscopes and
the tools of biochemistry to study cells
 Cells are usually too small to be seen by the naked
eye

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Microscopy

 Microscopes are used to visualize cells

 In a light microscope (LM), visible light is passed
through a specimen and then through glass lenses
 Lenses refract (bend) the light so that the image is
magnified

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 Three important parameters of microscopy:
 Magnification, the ratio of an object’s image
size to its real size
 Resolution, the measure of the clarity of the image, or
the minimum distance of two distinguishable points
 Contrast, visible differences in brightness between
parts of the sample

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Figure 7.2c

Electron microscopy

Super-
Light microscopy resolution
microscopy

Unaided eye

Nucleus
Length Most Smallest Small
of some Most bacteria bacteria Proteins molecules
nerve plant
Viruses
and and
Human muscle Chicken Frog Human animal Mito- Ribo-
height cells egg egg egg cells chondrion somes Lipids Atoms

10 m 1m 0.1 m 1 cm 1 mm 100 μm 10 μm 1 μm 100 nm 10 nm 1 nm 0.1 nm

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 Light microscopes can magnify effectively to about
1,000 times the size of the actual specimen
 Various techniques enhance contrast and enable
cell components to be stained or labeled
 The resolution of standard light microscopy is too
low to study organelles, the membrane-enclosed
structures in eukaryotic cells

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Figure 7.3a
Light Microscopy (LM)

50 µm

Brightfield Brightfield
(unstained specimen) (stained specimen)

Phase-contrast Differential
interference contrast
(Nomarski)
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Figure 7.3b

Light Microscopy (LM)

10 μm
Fluorescence 10 μm

Deconvolution

50 μm
Confocal (without) Confocal (with)
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Figure 7.3c
Light Microscopy (LM)

1 μm
Super-resolution (without) Super-resolution (with)

Electron Microscopy (EM)

Scanning 2 μm Transmission 2 μm
electron electron
microscopy (SEM) microscopy (TEM)
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 Two basic types of electron microscopes (EMs)
are used to study subcellular structures
 Scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) focus a
beam of electrons onto the surface of a specimen,
providing images that look 3-D
 Transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) focus
a beam of electrons through a specimen
 TEMs are used mainly to study the internal structure
of cells

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 Recent advances in light microscopy:
 Labeling individual cells with fluorescent markers
improve the level of detail that can be seen
 Confocal microscopy and deconvolution microscopy
provide sharper images of three-dimensional tissues
and cells
 New techniques for labeling cells improve resolution
 Super-resolution microscopy allows one to distinguish
structures as small as 10–20 nm across

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Concept 7.2: Eukaryotic cells have
internal membranes that compartmentalize
their functions
 The basic structural and functional unit of every
organism is one of two types of cells: prokaryotic or
eukaryotic
 Only organisms of the domains Bacteria and
Archaea consist of prokaryotic cells
 Protists, fungi, animals, and plants all consist of
eukaryotic cells

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Comparing Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells

 Basic features of all cells:

 Plasma membrane
 Semifluid substance called cytosol
 Chromosomes (carry genes)
 Ribosomes (make proteins)

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 Prokaryotic cells are characterized by having
 No nucleus
 DNA in an unbound region called the nucleoid
 No membrane-bound organelles
 Cytoplasm bound by the plasma membrane

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Figure 7.5

Fimbriae

Nucleoid

Ribosomes

Plasma membrane
Bacterial Cell wall
chromosome
Glycocalyx
0.5 μm
Flagella

(a) A typical rod-shaped (b) A thin section through the

bacterium bacterium Corynebacterium
diphtheriae (colorized TEM)

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 Eukaryotic cells are characterized by having
 DNA in a nucleus that is bounded by a double
membrane
 Membrane-bound organelles
 Cytoplasm in the region between the plasma
membrane and nucleus
 Eukaryotic cells are generally much larger than
prokaryotic cells

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 The plasma membrane is a selective barrier that
allows sufficient passage of oxygen, nutrients, and
waste to service the volume of every cell

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Figure 7.6

Outside of cell (a) TEM of a plasma membrane

Inside
of cell 0.1 μm
Carbohydrate side chains
(cytoplasm)
Phospholipid

Hydrophilic
region

Hydrophobic
region
Hydrophilic
region Proteins

(b) Structure of the plasma membrane

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 Metabolic requirements set upper limits on the size
of cells
 The surface area to volume ratio of a cell is critical
 As a cell increases in size, its volume grows
proportionately more than its surface area

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A Panoramic View of the Eukaryotic Cell

 A eukaryotic cell has internal membranes that divide

the cell into compartments—the organelles
 The basic fabric of biological membranes is a double
layer of phospholipids and other lipids
 Plant and animal cells have most of the same
organelles

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Figure 7.8a
ENDOPLASMIC
RETICULUM (ER)
Nuclear
Rough ER Smooth ER
envelope
Nucleolus NUCLEUS
Flagellum
Chromatin
Centrosome
Plasma
membrane

CYTOSKELETON:
Microfilaments
Intermediate filaments
Microtubules
Ribosomes
Microvilli

Golgi apparatus
Peroxisome
Lysosome
Mitochondrion
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BioFlix: Tour of an Animal Cell

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Figure 7.8b
Nuclear
envelope
NUCLEUS
Nucleolus
Rough ER
Chromatin
Smooth ER

Ribosomes

Golgi Central vacuole

apparatus
Microfilaments
CYTOSKELETON
Microtubules

Mitochondrion
Peroxisome
Plasma
membrane Chloroplast
Cell wall
Plasmodesmata
Wall of adjacent cell
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BioFlix: Tour of a Plant Cell

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 NUCLEUS and RIBOSOMES

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Concept 7.3: The eukaryotic cell’s genetic
instructions are housed in the nucleus and
carried out by the ribosomes
 The nucleus contains most of the DNA in a
eukaryotic cell
 Ribosomes use the information from the DNA to
make proteins

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The Nucleus: Information Central

 The nucleus contains most of the cell’s genes and is

usually the most conspicuous organelle
 The nuclear envelope encloses the nucleus,
separating it from the cytoplasm
 The nuclear envelope is a double membrane; each
membrane consists of a lipid bilayer

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Figure 7.9a

Nucleus
Nucleolus

Chromatin

Nuclear envelope:
Outer membrane
Inner membrane
Nuclear pore

Rough ER

Pore
complex
Ribosome

Close-up
of nuclear Chromatin
envelope
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Figure 7.9b

1 μm

Nuclear envelope:
Outer membrane
Inner membrane

Nuclear pore

Surface of nuclear envelope (TEM)

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 Pores, lined with a structure called a pore complex,
regulate the entry and exit of molecules from the
nucleus
 The nuclear size of the envelope is lined by the
nuclear lamina, which is composed of proteins and
maintains the shape of the nucleus

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Figure 7.9c

0.25 μm

Pore complexes (TEM)

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Figure 7.9d

0.5 μm

Nuclear lamina (TEM)

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 In the nucleus, DNA is organized into discrete units
called chromosomes
 Each chromosome contains one DNA molecule
associated with proteins, called chromatin
 Chromatin condenses to form discrete
chromosomes as a cell prepares to divide
 The nucleolus is located within the nucleus and is
the site of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis

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Ribosomes: Protein Factories

 Ribosomes are complexes made of ribosomal RNA

and protein
 Ribosomes carry out protein synthesis in two
locations:
 In the cytosol (free ribosomes)
 On the outside of the endoplasmic reticulum or the
nuclear envelope (bound ribosomes)

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Figure 7.10

0.25 μm Free ribosomes in cytosol

Ribosomes
ER Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

Ribosomes
bound to ER

TEM showing ER
and ribosomes
Large
subunit
Small
subunit
Diagram of Computer model
a ribosome of a ribosome

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 ENDOMEMBRANE SYSTEM

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Concept 7.4: The endomembrane system
regulates protein traffic and performs metabolic
functions in the cell
 The endomembrane system consists of
 Nuclear envelope
 Endoplasmic reticulum
 Golgi apparatus
 Lysosomes
 Vacuoles
 Plasma membrane
 These components are either continuous or
connected via transfer by vesicles
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The Endoplasmic Reticulum: Biosynthetic
Factory
 The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) accounts for
more than half of the total membrane in many
eukaryotic cells
 The ER membrane is continuous with the nuclear
envelope
 There are two distinct regions of ER:
 Smooth ER, which lacks ribosomes
 Rough ER, whose surface is studded with ribosomes

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Figure 7.11

Smooth ER

Rough ER Nuclear
envelope
Smooth ER Rough ER 0.2 μm

ER lumen
Cisternae
Ribosomes Transitional
ER
Transport vesicle

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Video: ER and Mitochondria in Leaf Cells

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Video: Staining of Endoplasmic Reticulum

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Functions of Smooth ER

 The smooth ER
 Synthesizes lipids
 Metabolizes carbohydrates
 Detoxifies drugs and poisons
 Stores calcium ions

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Functions of Rough ER

 The rough ER
 Has bound ribosomes, which secrete glycoproteins
(proteins covalently bonded to carbohydrates)
 Distributes transport vesicles, secretory proteins
surrounded by membranes
 Is a membrane factory for the cell

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The Golgi Apparatus: Shipping and
Receiving Center
 The Golgi apparatus consists of flattened
membranous sacs called cisternae
 The Golgi apparatus
 Modifies products of the ER
 Manufactures certain macromolecules
 Sorts and packages materials into transport vesicles

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Figure 7.12

Golgi
apparatus

cis face
(“receiving” side of 0.1 μm
Golgi apparatus) Cisternae

trans face
(“shipping” side of TEM of Golgi apparatus
Golgi apparatus)
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Video: Golgi Complex in 3-D

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Lysosomes: Digestive Compartments

 A lysosome is a membranous sac of hydrolytic

enzymes that can digest macromolecules
 Lysosomal enzymes work best in the acidic
environment inside the lysosome
 Hydrolytic enzymes and lysosomal membranes are
made by rough ER and then transferred to the Golgi
apparatus for further processing

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 Some types of cell can engulf another cell by
phagocytosis; this forms a food vacuole
 A lysosome fuses with the food vacuole and digests
the molecules
 Lysosomes also use enzymes to recycle the
cell’s own organelles and macromolecules,
a process called autophagy

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Figure 7.13

Vesicle containing
Nucleus 1 μm two damaged
1 μm
organelles

Mitochondrion
fragment

Peroxisome
fragment

Lysosome
Digestive Lysosome
enzymes Lysosome

Plasma Peroxisome
membrane Digestion
Food Mitochondrion Digestion
vacuole Vesicle
(a) Phagocytosis (b) Autophagy

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Figure 7.13b
Vesicle containing two 1 μm
damaged organelles

Mitochondrion
fragment

Peroxisome
fragment

Lysosome

Peroxisome

Mitochondrion Digestion
Vesicle

(b) Autophagy
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Animation: Lysosome Formation

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Video: Phagocytosis in Action

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Vacuoles: Diverse Maintenance Compartments

 Vacuoles are large vesicles derived from the ER

and Golgi apparatus
 Vacuoles perform a variety of functions in different
kinds of cells

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 Food vacuoles are formed by phagocytosis
 Contractile vacuoles, found in many freshwater
protists, pump excess water out of cells
 Central vacuoles, found in many mature plant cells,
hold organic compounds and water

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Figure 7.14

Central vacuole

Cytosol

Central
Nucleus vacuole

Cell wall

Chloroplast

5 μm

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The Endomembrane System: A Review

 The endomembrane system is a complex and

dynamic player in the cell’s compartmental
organization

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Figure 7.15

Nucleus
Nuclear
envelope

Rough ER
Smooth ER
cis Golgi

Plasma
membrane
trans Golgi

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Video: ER to Golgi Traffic

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Video: Secretion from the Golgi

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