Cell - The Unit of Life

Cell : The Unit of Life
Cell
 It is the basic structural and functional unit of life.
Discoveries
 Anton Von Leeuwenhoek saw and described a live cell.
 Robert Brown discovered nucleus.
 The name chromatin was given by Fleming.
 Schleiden and Schwann formulated the cell theory.
 Rudolf Virchow gave the concept Omnis cellula-e cellula i.e., all cells arise from pre-
existing cells.
 According to present day cell theory:
o All living organisms are made up of cells.

o All cells arise from pre-existing cells.
Prokaryotic cell
 It includes bacteria, blue-green algae, mycoplasma, and PPLO.

 Nuclear region is poorly defined. Nuclear material is naked.
 They lack membrane-
bound cell organelles such as plastids, mitochondrion, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.
 Along with genomic DNA, they also have smaller circular DNA called plasmids.
 Mesosome, a specialised membranous structure formed by infolding of cell membrane, is c
haracteristic feature of prokaryotic cell. It helps in cell wall formation, increasing the surfac
e area of the plasma membrane, DNA replication, respiration, secretion, etc.
 Based on the differences in the staining procedure of cell membrane, bacteria is divided int
o two types:
o Gram positive which take up gram stain

o Gram negative which do not take up gram strain
 The outermost covering of bacterial cell is known as cell envelope. It is composed of three l
ayers – outer glycocalyx, middle cell wall, and innermost cell membrane.
 Prokaryotic cell contains non-membrane bound organelle called ribosome.
 Ribosome in prokaryotes is 70S, which is made up of two subunits – 50S and 30S.
 Eukaryotic cells
o It includes all protists, plants, animals, and fungi.

o In all eukaryotic cells, nuclear region is well-
defined and is surrounded by nuclear membrane.
o They have membrane-
bound cell organelles such as mitochondrion, plastids, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.
 Cell membrane
o Cell membrane is made up of protein and lipid bilayer.

o Fluid mosaic model of cell membrane was proposed by Singer and Nicolson.
o According to this model, the fluid nature of lipid bilayer enables the lateral movement of pr
oteins.
o Plasma membrane is selectively permeable that regulates entry and exit of substances in an
d out of cell.
o Movement of molecules across membrane without requirement of energy is passive trans
port.
o Movement of water molecules from a region of higher concentration to lower concentratio
n through a selectively permeable membrane is known as osmosis.
o Movement of ions or molecules from lower to higher concentration across a semi-
permeable membrane with an expenditure of energy is known as active transport.
 Cell wall
o It is the outermost rigid structure present in the plant cell.

o The cell wall of algae is made up of cellulose, galactans, mannans and minerals like calcium
carbonate while the cell wall of plant is made up cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, and prote
ins.
o Middle lamella is made of calcium pectate and serves the function of holding different cells.
o Plasmodesmata are perforations in the middle lamella and cell wall which connect the cyto
plasm of neighbouring cells.
Endomembrane System
 The functions of certain organelles are interconnected. Such interconnected organelles toge
ther are known as endomembrane system. For example, the function of endoplasmic retic
ulum, golgi complex, lysosome, and vacuoles are interconnected.
o Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
They are of two types:

o Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) is important for synthesis and packaging of protein
s.
o Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) acts as storage organelle. It also helps in lipid (fat)
synthesis.
o Golgi apparatus
o It is made up of parallel arranged membrane-bound vesicles called cisternae.

o It helps in storage, modification, and packaging of products in vesicles.
o It helps in formation of glycoproteins and glycolipids.
o Lysosomes
o It is a membrane-bound structure that holds variety of enzymes.

o It is rich in all types of hydrolytic enzymes, which are active at acidic pH
o It is involved in digestion of carbohydrate, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.
o Vacuoles
o These are the storage sacs found in both plant and animal cells.
o The outermost layer of vacuole is known as tonoplast.
o Tonoplast helps in transport of substances into the vacuole against concentration gradient.
o Ribosomes
o First observed by George Palade

o These are non-membranous organelles found in both plant and animal cells.
o These are composed of RNA and proteins.
o Ribosomes in eukaryotes are 80S whose two subunits are 60S and 40S.
Mitochondria
 It is a double membrane-bound structure.

 The inner membrane of mitochondria is deeply folded to form cristae.
 Cristae increase the surface area in the organelle.
 It is the site of cellular respiration and hence known as ‘power house of cell’.
 They have their own single circular DNA.
 They divide by fission.
o Plastids
It is the organelle present only in plant cell and euglenoids.

On the basis of pigments, plastids are divided into three types.
 Chloroplasts – contain chlorophyll

 Chromoplasts – contain carotenoid pigments such as carotene, xanthophylls etc.
 Leucoplasts – colourless plastids
They store nutrients and are called amyloplasts (when storing carbohydrate), elaioplasts (
when storing oils and fats), and aleuroplasts (when storing proteins).
o Chloroplasts
 It is a double membrane-bound structure.

 It is divided into stroma (site of dark reaction of photosynthesis) and grana (site of light re
action of photosynthesis).
 The individual flattened membranous sacs of grana are called thylakoids.
o Cytoskeleton
 They are filamentous proteinaceous structures.

 They give mechanical support and shape to cell.
o Cilia and flagella
 These are the outgrowths of the cell membrane.

 These emerge from basal body.
 They help in cell movement.
 Axonemal microtubules have 9+2 arrangement i.e., nine pairs of doublets of radially arrang
ed peripheral microtubules and a pair of centrally located microtubules.
o Centrosome and Centrioles
 Fibrils of these organelles are made up of protein tubulin.

 It helps in the formation of spindle apparatus in animal cells.
 It forms the basal body of cilia and flagella.
o Microbodies
 Microbodies are membrane bound minute vesicles. They are present in both animal and
plant cells. They contain various enzymes.
 Nucleus
o It controls all the cellular activities of cell.
o It consists of the following.
a. Nuclear membrane – It has perforations called nuclear pores.
b. Nucleoplasm
c. Nucleolus
o Nucleolus is the site of ribosomal RNA formation.
o Network of nucleoprotein fibres are called the chromatin.
o Chromatin contains DNA, histones (basic proteins), non-histone proteins, and RNA.
o Chromatin threads condense and organize to form chromosome.
o The primary constriction in the chromosome is called centromere.
 Based on the position of centromere, chromosomes are of four types:
o Metacentric: Centromere is located at the middle of chromosome.

o Sub-metacentric: Centromere is slightly away from the middle of chromosome.
o Acrocentric: Centromere is situated close to the end of chromosome.
o Telocentric: Centromere is located at the terminal end.
 A small chromosomal segment separated from the main body of the chromosome by a
secondary constriction is called satellite.
 Structure of DNA
o It has a double-helix structure, similar to ladder.
o It is made up of nucleotides.
o Nuclotides are made of sugar, phosphate groups and nitrogen bases
 Components of DNA
o Sugar
o Phosphate groups
o Nitrogen bases
 Genes
o It is a unit of DNA.
o Located on Chromosomes.
o Controls the development of one or more traits.
o It is the basis of Inheritrance.
o It can acquire mutation leading to variation.

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Cell : The Unit of Life

 It is the basic structural and functional unit of life.

 Anton Von Leeuwenhoek saw and described a live cell.

 Robert Brown discovered nucleus.

 The name chromatin was given by Fleming.

 Schleiden and Schwann formulated the cell theory.

 According to present day cell theory:

o All living organisms are made up of cells.

 It includes bacteria, blue-green algae, mycoplasma, and PPLO.

o Gram positive which take up gram stain

o It includes all protists, plants, animals, and fungi.

o Cell membrane is made up of protein and lipid bilayer.

o It is the outermost rigid structure present in the plant cell.

o Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)

They are of two types:

o It is made up of parallel arranged membrane-bound vesicles called cisternae.

o It is a membrane-bound structure that holds variety of enzymes.

o First observed by George Palade

 It is a double membrane-bound structure.

It is the organelle present only in plant cell and euglenoids.

 Chloroplasts – contain chlorophyll

 It is a double membrane-bound structure.

 They are filamentous proteinaceous structures.

o Cilia and flagella

 These are the outgrowths of the cell membrane.

o Centrosome and Centrioles

 Fibrils of these organelles are made up of protein tubulin.

 Based on the position of centromere, chromosomes are of four types:

o Metacentric: Centromere is located at the middle of chromosome.

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