Bio1151
Chapter
6
A Tour of the Cell
All
organisms
are made of
, which are either
or
.
A cell and its skeleton viewed by fluorescence microscopy.
Cells are generally
microscopic,
which enables them to have a high
area to
ratio,
to facilitate the exchange of materials into and out of the cell.
Most cells are too small to see with the naked eye.
The surface area to volume ratio of an object decreases when its size increases.
All
cells
are bounded by a
membrane, and contain
,
, and a
semifluid
substance called the
.
1
cells have membrane-bound
and can be grouped into 2 main types:
animal
cells and
plant
cells.
The
contains most of the
material in the cell, and is bounded by a nuclear
with many
nuclear
.
The nucleus and its envelope. In the nucleus are chromatin (DNA and proteins), and one or more nucleoli (singular, nucleolus), which synthesize ribosomes. The double membrane of the nuclear envelope is perforated with nuclear pores and lined by the nuclear lamina made of protein filaments.
carry
out
synthesis.
Ribosomes. This electron micrograph of part of a pancreas cell shows many ribosomes, both free (in the cytosol) and bound (to the ER). Ribosomes are composed of two subunits each made of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and protein.
The
endoplasmic
(ER) is continuous with the nuclear
.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A membranous system called cisternae, enclosing a compartment called the lumen, the ER is continuous with the nuclear envelope. Rough ER, which is studded on its outer surface with ribosomes, can be distinguished from smooth ER. Transport vesicles bud off and travel to the Golgi apparatus and other destinations.
ER, which contains
, produces
and
.
ER lacks ribosomes and are involved in
synthesis.
The
apparatus
is the cell's "Shipping and Receiving Center".
The Golgi apparatus consists of stacks of flattened sacs, or cisternae. They receive and process the transport vesicles produced in the ER to be delivered to other parts of the cell.
The
contains enzymes to carry out intracellular digestion by
(cell
eating
), and breaks down damaged organelles by
(self
eating
).
Phagocytosis. Lysosomes digest (hydrolyze) materials taken into the cell and recycle intracellular materials. Top: a macrophage can ingest bacteria and viruses and destroy them using lysosomes. Bottom: a lysosome can fuse with a food vacuole during phagocytosis.
Autophagy. Top: a lysosome engulfs 2 disabled organelles, a mitochondrion and a peroxisome. Bottom: a lysosome fuses with a vesicle containing a damaged mitochondrion.
The membrane-bound
organelles
involved in cellular transport form the
system.
The Endomembrane System.
Plant cells contain a large
central
, which stores organic compounds and water.
The central vacuole, surrounded by a membrane called the tonoplast, holds organic compounds and water in plant cells. It is usually the largest organelle seen under the light microscope.
are
the cell's "power plant" and perform
cellular
.
The mitochondrion, site of cellular (aerobic) respiration. A mitochondrion has a double membrane: an outer membrane and an inner membrane folded into cristae enclosing a lumen called the matrix which contains circular DNA and ribosomes.
At the cell level, energy from sunlight is stored in organic compounds by photosynthesis in chloroplasts. A byproduct of this process is oxygen. The organic compounds and oxygen are used by mitochondria to produce ATP for work in a process called cellular respiration. Byproducts of respiration are water and carbon dioxide, which are used as raw material for photosynthesis. Heat is released into the environment in this cycle.
perform
in
leaves
and other green organs of
and in
.
A chloroplast has a double membrane: the inner membrane encloses a compartment containing the fluid stroma as well as ribosomes and DNA. A third membrane called thylakoids contains the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll and is stacked to form structures called grana (singular, granum).
The
is a network of
fibers
which provides
for the cell, and enables
.
The cytoskeleton. This TEM shows the thicker, hollow microtubules and the thinner, solid microfilaments.
help maintain cell
, and guide the
movement
of cell components.
Microtubules from fibroblast cells. Microtubules are made of tubulin subunits and help maintain cell shape and guide the movement of cell components. The centrosome in amimal cells is a "microtubule-organizing center" and contains a pair of centrioles.
and
use
microtubules for
motion
in some
cells.
Cilia have a back-and-forth motion that moves the cell in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the cilium. A dense nap of cilia, beating at a rate of about 40 to 60 strokes a second, covers this Colpidium, a freshwater protozoan. Videos: protists humans
A flagellum usually undulates, its snakelike motion driving a cell in the same direction as the axis of the flagellum. Propulsion of a human sperm cell is an example of flagellate locomotion. Videos: protists sperm
Ultrastructure of a eukaryotic flagellum or cilium. Both cilia and flagella have a "9 + 2" arrangement of microtubules arising from a basal body of 9 triplets. The 9 doublets have attached motor proteins, the dynein arms.
called
and
are protein filaments that function in cellular motility, such as the contraction in
fibers.
Microfilaments from fibroblast cells. Microfilaments are made of actin and myosin subunits that slide past each other to cause contraction.
Contraction of actin and myosin
, together with sol-gel
reversals,
also result in
crawling of a cell through the movements of
.
Amoeboid movement. The cytoplasm can fluctuate between a fluid state called sol, or endoplasm, and a stiffer state called gel, or ectoplasm. Interaction of actin filaments with myosin near the cell's trailing end (right) squeezes the fluid forward (left) into the psudopodium.
Cytoplasmic
in
cells also involve microfilaments to circulate nutrients among organelles.
Cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. A layer of cytoplasm cycles around the cell, moving over a carpet of parallel actin filaments. Myosin motors attached to organelles in the fluid cytosol drive the streaming by interacting with the actin.
Review:
Animal Cell Structure and Function.
Cell types.
Review:
Plant Cell Structure and Function.
Differences.