GENERAL BIOLOGY 1

Chapter 1: The Cell 

cork.
1665-1676 – Marcello Malpighi and Nehemiah
Grew conducted separated investigations on plant
History of Cell cell. They determined the presence of organelles
 In 1665, British scientist Robert Hooke examined within its cells.
a piece of cork and found a little structure in it  1670-1683 – Anton van Leeuwenhoek upgraded
which he compared to cellulae. Janssen’s microscope and produced his lens. With
 He named these structures “cells”. Later it was this invention, he discovered mobile organelles in
discovered that the cell he had found in the cork many subjects, which he called animalcules.
were actually outer walls of former plant cell.  1831 – Robert a series of discoveries about cell
 In the late 1600’s, Dutch scientist Anton van organelles and ultimately discovered the nucleus.
Leeuwenhoek examined different subjects, using a This became a major breakthrough in the history
refined microscope that that of Hooke. of biology.
 Leeuwenhoek found moving protist and sperm,  1838 – Matthias Schleiden microscopically
which he collectively termed ‘animalcules” examine plants and recognized that plants parts
from cells. In his writings in Contribution in
Cell Theory: Definition Phytogenesis, he proposed that the different
 Developed in the mid-1800’s as a result of various structures of a plant are all composed of cells.
discoveries about cells, it is one of the basic  1839 – Theodore Schwann declared that animals
principles of biology. are likewise composed of cells. This put an end to
1. The cell is the basic unit of life; the diabetes – whether or not plants and animals
2. All living organisms are composed of cell; and are different in structural origin and composition.
3. New cells are created from pre-existing cell  1840 – Albert von Roelliker stated that sperm and
First Postulate: Cell is the basic unit of life egg are composed of cells and that all humans are
 In order that an organism may be considered configured from cells.
living, it must have cell.  1849 – Louis Pasteur was developing
 One proof that an organism is alive just by looking fermentation, a process to kill bacteria, he proved
at its cell is the movement of the organelles inside that bacteria are able to multiply and that bacterial
it. cells come from other bacterial cells.
 In the cork that Hooke examined, the protoplasm  1858 – Rudolf Virchow declared, “Omnis cellula e
of the cell had already dissipated, indicating the cellula” which meant that cells come form pre-
cell’s death. existing cells. With this conclusion, the cell theory
 When Leeuwenhoek observed his teeth scrapings, was completed.
he found animalcules shooting and spinning inside
the cell. Astrobiology
Second Postulate: All living organisms are  Our space exploration has been continually
composed of cell searching for life in outer space. On the space
 In 1838, German botanist Matthias Jacob probes sent to other planets (especially Mars),
Schleiden established that the small compartments these are equipped to look after life. However,
in his plant specimens are cells. very high resolutions are still not possible on-site.
 In 1839, a German zoologist named Theodore
Schwann after doing microscopic studies of Cell Structures and Functions
animal cells, instituted that all animals are also Major Parts of the Cell:
composed of cells. Plasma Outer covering that separates the
Third Postulate: New Cells are created form pre- Membrane cell’s interior from its surrounding
existing cells environment.
 German scientist Rudolf Virchow introduced the Cytoplasm Consisting of a jelly-like cytosol
third tenet of the cell theory: Omnis cellula e within the cell in which other cellular
cellula which means “Cell com form pre-existing components are found.
cell”. Nucleus Serves as the brain of the cell’s
activity.
Development of Cell Theory
 1590 - Zacharias Janssen invented a primitive Plasma Membrane
microscope with the help of his father Hans.  It encloses and safeguards its organelles from
 1663-1665 - Robert Hooke viewed a thin slice of possible harm that foreign materials can inflict on
GENERAL BIOLOGY 1
them. components.
 It also controls the exchange of essential  Nucleus serves as the site of ribosomes synthesis.
components and obtains chemical messages from  Nucleus holds chromosomes which carry tightly
other cells. wrapped and coined DNA.
Fluid  The plasma membrane is a mosaic
Mosaic of components primarily, The organelles: Endomembrane System
Model phospholipids, cholesterol, and  The endomembrane system is a group of
proteins that move freely and membranes and organelles in eukaryotic cells that
fluidly in the plane of the works together to modify, package, and transport
membrane lipids and proteins.
Components of Plasma Membrane  This system is made up of organelles that are
1. Phospholipids communally linked by structure specific to each of
It is a lipid made of glycerol, two fatty acid tails, and a them.
phosphate-linked head group. Biological membranes  These organelles are:
usually involve two layers of phospholipids with their 1. Endoplasmic Reticulum
tails pointing inward, an arrangement called a 2. Ribosomes
phospholipid bilayer. 3. Vacuoles
2. Cholesterol 4. Golgi Apparatus
It is another lipid composed of four fused carbon rings, 5. Lysosomes
is found alongside phospholipids in the core of the 6. Peroxisomes
membrane. 7. Centrosomes
3. Proteins
Proteins help move large molecules or aid in cell Endoplasmic Reticulum
recognition
 The Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) is a series of
Peripheral proteins are attached on the surface (inner
interconnected membranous sacs and tubules that
or outer)
collectively modifies proteins and synthesized
Integral proteins are imbedded completely through the
lipids.
membrane.
 These two functions are performed in separate
areas of ER; the rough endoplasmic reticulum and
Cytoplasm smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
 It is the entire region of a cell between plasma  The hallow portion of ER tubules is called lumen
membrane and nuclear envelope. or cisternal space.
 It is composed primarily of water, proteins and  The membrane of the ER, which is a phospholipid
salts. bilayer embedded with proteins, is continuous with
 In the cytoplasm, the organelles are suspended in a nuclear envelope.
gel-like solution called cytosol, which is composed Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
of both organic and inorganic compounds.  It has ribosomes on its surface.
 Cytosol accounts for about 70% of cellular  It makes membrane proteins and proteins for
content. It contains a rich supply of export out of cell.
macromolecules and smaller organic molecules.
 Proteins are made by ribosomes on ER surface.
 The cytoplasm also contains enzymes that break
 They are then threaded into the interior of the
down waste and enable metabolic reactions.
Rough ER to be modified and transported.
 It allows for cellular expansion and growth.
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
 Together with cytoskeleton, cytoplasm determines
 It incorporates proteins into cisternae and
cell shape and accommodates movements for
transports synthesized proteins across the
some cell types.
cytoplasm, thereby allowing the synthesis of fatty
acids and phospholipids.
Nucleus  It is abundant in liver cell, where it detoxifies
 Discovered by Robert Brown in 1833. hydrophobic chemicals. This makes them water-
 It is the most viral part of the cell and dubbed as soluble for excretion.
the “control center”
 It directs all of the cell’s activities and determines Ribosomes
how a cell should appear and function.  Ribosomes are involved in providing a frame for
 A double layer of nuclear membrane encloses the proteins synthesis; hence they are site of protein
nucleus to keep it distinct from other cellular
GENERAL BIOLOGY 1
production.
 They are present in both prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells.
 Developing muscle cells, skin and hair cells
contain large numbers of free ribosomes.

Vacuoles
 A vacuole is a fluid-filled vesicles enclosed by a
membrane.
 It has a selectively membrane freely allowing
water passage but retaining smaller molecules
within it and stores chemical within the cell.
 Vacuole ability to break down large molecules
makes it comparable with lysosomes in animal
cells. Likewise, both organelles thrive in acidic
environment.

Lysosomes
 The lysosomes serve as digestion slots for cellular
materials that are due for expiration or are no
longer useful.
 It is the cell’s reprocessing area, where it hacks
chemical bonds of any foreign substance it comes
contact with, in order to recycle with the raw
material.
 It is dubbed as the cell’s “suicide bags”
 These organelles are capable for self-destruction in
order to save the rest of the other organelles from
being poisoned.
 This happens through autophagy, or the natural
process of organelle destruction.
 Cells take in food by phagocytosis.
 Lysosomes digest the food & get rid of wastes.

Peroxisomes
 It is a small, round organelles enclosed by single
membrane, somehow resembles that of a
lysosome.
 It is responsible for self-damage and mostly
disintegrate proteins, accommodate the breakdown
of fatty acids and detoxify many poisons that enter
the body.
 It also shields the cell from serious damage caused
reactive oxygen species (ROS) molecules.