Lecture 4: Cell Structure and

Function, Part One

BIO1101
Biology Department
College of Science
IMSIU

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Figure 7.1b

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 Concept 7.1: Biologists use microscopes
and biochemistry to study cells

• Cells are usually too small to be seen by the

naked eye.

• It is helpful to understand how cells are

studied.

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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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Figure 7.2

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Figure 7.3

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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

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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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 • Metabolic requirements set upper limits on the size
of cells.

• The plasma membrane is a selective barrier that

allows sufficient passage of oxygen, nutrients, and
waste to service the volume of every cell.

• 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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Figure 7.6

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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 cell’s compartments provide different local

environments so that incompatible processes can
occur in a single cell.

• 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 7.8

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BioFlix® Animation: Tour of an Animal Cell

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BioFlix® Animation: Tour of a Plant Cell

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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 7.9

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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 side of the envelope is lined by the

nuclear lamina, which is composed of proteins and
maintains the shape of the nucleus.

• There is evidence for a nuclear matrix, a framework

of protein fibers throughout the interior of the
nucleus.
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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, located within the nucleus, 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 build proteins 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

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 Concept 7.4: The endomembrane system
regulates protein traffic and performs metabolic
functions
• 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

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 Functions of Smooth ER

• The smooth ER

– Synthesizes lipids

– 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

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BioFlix® Animation: Endomembrane System

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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.
• Some lysosomes probably arise by budding from
the trans face of the Golgi apparatus.

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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 contents.

• Lysosomes also use enzymes to recycle the

cell’s own organelles and macromolecules,
a process called autophagy.

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Figure 7.13

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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, contain a solution called sap.

• It is the plant cell’s main repository of inorganic

ions, including potassium and chloride.

• The central vacuole plays a major role in the growth

of plant cells.
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Figure 7.14

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BioFlix® Animation: Tour of a Plant Cell

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