The Cell

The basics of cell biology

Cells are the smallest functional unit of all living organisms.

Some organisms only have one cell and are said to be unicellular.

Many multicellular organisms, such as humans, are made of billions of cells.

These cells are not all identical but have become differentiated or specialised to allow them to perform different
functions. For instance, blood cells are completely different to nerve cells and have a completely different function.

All cells arise from other cells by a process of division – either mitosis or meiosis. These shall be covered in more
detail at a later stage.

In multicellular organisms groups of similar cells will combine to form a tissue. e.g. muscle.

Often, a number of different tissues will combine to form an organ e.g. the heart which contains muscle, cartilage
and epidermal tissue to name a few.

Organs can combine to form an organ system. e.g. the blood system made up of the heart, capillaries, veins and
arteries.

Finally the organ systems combine to form the organism.

What we have said here applies to plants as well as animals:-so leaves, stems, roots and flowers are all organs.

The basics of cell structure

All living cells are surrounded by a cell membrane and may contain a nucleus. In plant cells there will also be a
cell wall.

In addition there will also be a number of organelles, including plastids, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, and others.
The function of these will be discussed later.

The living part of a cell is known as its protoplasm . The protoplasm may be subdivided into the cytoplasm and
the nucleus.

All living cells can be divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of a nucleus.

- Prokaryotic cells lack a nucleus, e.g. bacteria. They do, however, still have nuclear material (DNA)
but it is not surrounded by a membrane. It is known as the nucleoid.
- Eukaryotic cells have a true nucleus e.g. all other living organisms including plants and animals.

For the rest of this chapter we shall only be considering eukaryotic cells.
Plant cells and animal cells have many similarities but there are also some important differences.

ANATOMY OF AN ANIMAL CELL

Study the diagrams of plant and animal cells and find four differences. Use the table below to tabulate these
differences.

PLANT CELL ANIMAL CELL

CELLULAR STRUCTURES

Cell Wall

Cell walls are found in plants, fungi, bacteria and some protists. They may differ in structure from one group to
another. Here we shall only consider the cell walls of plant cells.

Cell walls are non-living and are therefore NOT part of the cytoplasm.

Structure

- Made of long strands

- of cellulose
- This makes it rigid.
- There are large pores so it is permeable (allows all dissolved substances to pass freely through).
- Found on the outside of the cell membrane.
- Strands of cytoplasm, called plasmodesmata extend through the cell wall to connect adjacent cells.

Function

- Form an outer protective layer.

- Its rigidity gives support to the plant as a whole. (particularly the thick cell walls of xylem vessels)
- Gives the cells a definite/characteristic shape.

Cell membrane
This is a thin, living layer that surrounds all cells.

Function

- Forms the outer layer of the protoplasm of the cell.

- Acts as a barrier against pathogens.
- Controls which substances enter or leave the cell.
- In eukaryotic organisms it surrounds most organelles and separates their contents from the rest of the
cytoplasm.
Structure

Most scientists agree that the fluid-mosaic model best describes the structure of a membrane. According to this
model:-

- It is very thin (5-10nm)(there are a 1000 000nm in one metre)

- Most of the membrane is made of a double layer of phospholipids.
- Protein molecules are associated with this bi-layer, some extend right though, some only go part of the
way through.
- There are tiny pores (1nm).
- This makes the membrane semi-permeable i.e some molecules such as water can pass through but most
dissolved substances cannot. (semi-permeable membranes are sometimes described as “differentially
permeable”.
- The proteins create the pores and are involved in the active transport of substances in and out of the
cell. A simple diagram illustrating the fluid mosaic model

Movement across membranes

Diffusion

- This is the passive movement of dissolved substances from an area of high concentration to an area of
low concentration (i.e. down a concentration gradient)
- It is caused by the natural kinetic energy of the molecules and does not require any energy expenditure
by the cell.
- Examples of where diffusion is important includes the movement of O2 and CO2 across the membranes
of the lungs, and the movement of glucose and amino acids into the blood at the intestine.

Osmosis

- This is the passive movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of high
water potential to an area of low water potential down a water potential gradient in an attempt to
obtain an equilibrium.
- Roots collect water from the soil by osmosis.
- Water moving into cells by osmosis keeps them turgid or firm.

Active transport

- Sometimes substances have to be transported against the concentration gradient, these need to be
actively transported across the cell membrane.
- This requires energy in the form of ATP.
- The membrane/channel proteins are responsible for this.
- An example of where active transport is important is the collection of glucose in the kidney where it has
to be pumped against the concentration gradient.
Mitochondria
- These are found in both plant and animal cells.
- They are the site of cellular respiration.

Structure

- They are rod shaped

- About 1.5 micrometers long. (One micrometer is 1000 nanometers)
- Surrounded by a double membrane
- The inner membrane has projections/folds called cristae.
- They have their own DNA, RNA and ribosomes and can therefore make their own proteins.
- The fluid content is known as the matrix.

ribosomes

A Mitochondrion
Plastids

There are three types: - chloroplasts

leucoplasts

chromoplasts

Chloroplasts

- These occur in plant cells and some protists (algae and diatoms)
- They are the site of photosynthesis.

Structure

- Disc shaped
- 4 to 10 micrometers long
- Surrounded by a double membrane
- Contain plate-like membranes called lamellae
- These are stacked together to form grana
- The lamellae contain the chlorophyll.
- The fluid between the grana is known as the stroma.
- Excess glucose, created by photosynthesis, is stored as starch granules within the chloroplast.
 A Chloroplast

Leucoplasts

- These colourless plastids store food in the form of starch.

Chromoplasts

- Contain red, orange or yellow pigments (usually carotenes or xanthophylls)

- They give colour to flowers, fruits and some leaves.

Endoplasmic Reticulum

- This is found in both plant and animal cells.

- It is a series of membrane covered tubes that extend throughout the cell.
- It often has ribosomes associated with it. (It is then known as rough endoplasmic reticulum)
- Without ribosomes it is known a smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
- It is thought to allow communication/transport within the cell.
- It usually connects to or originates from the nucleus.
Golgi apparatus

- They appear to have a secretory function.

- Once proteins are produced they are packaged into vesicles here for transport to their required
destination. e.g. enzymes which might otherwise digest the cell which produced them can be safely
released into the intestine to digest food.

A GOLGI BODY.

Vacuoles

- Plant cells usually have a single large vacuole while animal cells may have a number of smaller
vacuoles.

Plant vacuoles

- They are fluid filled and surrounded by a single membrane which is known as the tonoplast..
- In plants the fluid inside is known as cell sap.
- When full, the fluid creates pressure or turgor within the cell. This makes the cell firm and the plant as
a whole becomes firm. When the cells loose turgidity the plant as a whole wilts.
- The cell sap is largely water but will have dissolved substances such as glucose, salt and sometimes
pigments which give colour to the plant.

Lysosomes and food vacuoles

- Lysosomes are small vacuoles which contain digestive enzymes.

- In organisms such as Amoeba lysosomes fuse with food vacuoles in which a food particle has been
entrapped. The enzymes digest the food particle and the products of digestion are absorbed into the
cell.

Ribosomes

- These tiny structures may be found throughout the cytoplasm but are often located on the
endoplasmic reticulum.
- They are comprised of rRNA (ribosomal RNA).
- They are the site of protein synthesis.

Centrosomes

- Made of microtubules
- In animal cells they contain the centrioles.
- The centrioles are positioned at the poles during cell division. (this will make sense once we have studied
mitosis in the next chapter.)
The Nucleus

Structure

- Surrounded by a double nuclear membrane.

- There are relatively large holes in the membrane known as nuclear pores
- It is filled with nucleoplasm or nuclear sap.
- Within the nucleoplasm is the chromatin network which is made of chromosomes.
- The chromosomes are made of DNA.
- A dark area, known as the nucleolus is made of RNA.

Functions

- It controls the activities of the cell. This is done by producing particular proteins such as enzymes.
- The DNA carries the hereditary characteristics for the organism.

REVISION EXERCISE.
1 Give the correct biological term for each of the following descriptions.

1.1 The process by which cells specialise to enable them to perform a particular function..............................

1.2 Comprised of one cell. ....................................................

1.3 That part of the protoplasm that excludes the cytoplasm. .....................................................

1.4 Cells which have a proper nucleus. .....................................................

1.5 Strands of cytoplasm which connect a plant cell to its neighbour. .....................................................

1.6 The movement of water from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.

.....................................................

1.7 The fluid contents of a mitochondrion. .....................................................

1.8 The fluid contents of a chloroplast. .....................................................

1.9 Small structures which control protein synthesis. .....................................................

1.10 Site with the highest concentration of RNA in a cell. .....................................................

(10)
2 Study the following electron micrographs of various cellular organelles and answer the questions that
follow.

A B
1 G
2

C D

E F

3
6
4

2.1 Name the organelles/structures at: -

A ................................................. B ................................................................

C ................................................... D ...................................................................

E .......................................................... F .....................................................................

G ........................................................ (7)
2.2 Give the main function of each organelle/structure:-

A ..................................................................................................................................................................................

B ..................................................................................................................................................................................

C ..................................................................................................................................................................................

D .....................................................................................................................................................................................

E ....................................................................................................................................................................................

F ..................................................................................................................................................................................

G ................................................................................................................................................................................... (7)

2.3 Name and describe the structure at “5”. ...........................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................................................3)

2.4 Name and describe the structure at “1”. ..........................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................................................. (3)

2.5 Name and give the function of the structure at “3” ............................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................................................. (2)

2.6 Is the cell at “B” a plant cell or an animal cell? Give three visible reasons for your answer.

...................................................................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................................................... (4)

3 Draw and label a simple diagram illustrating the fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane. (5)