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GRADING SYSTEM
CELL BIOLOGY: 1.A long exam will be given after each topic,
with a 60% cut-off for the passing grade.
AN INTRODUCTION 2.A 3-page summary of a research article
related to each topic will be required. The
paper will discuss and critique the most
recent publications (2017 up) regarding
the topic.
Department of Natural Sciences 3.Prelim, and Midterm exams will cover only
University of St. La Salle the last topic covered for the period.
Bacolod City 4.The Lab component of this course will be
covered during the Endterm period.

1. Introduction to Cells
2. Chemical Foundations - Biochemistry CELL and WEB RESOURCES
3. Methods of Studying Cells
a. Investigating Cells MOLECULAR British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB), an -e-learning site at
http://www.bscb.org/?url=softcell/index
b. Investigating Proteins
c. Investigating Nucleic Acids
BIOLOGY: The Bio Web at http://www.cellbiol.com/
4. Genetic Mechanisms COURSE BMC Cell Biology, an online journal at
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmccellbiol
a. DNA and Chromosomes
b. Anatomy of the Gene
OUTLINE Cell and Molecular Biology Online at http://www.cellbio.com/
Inside the Cell, at http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/insidethecell/
c. Replication, Transcription, Translation
Journal of Cell Biology (JCB) , an online journal published by the
d. Regulating Gene Expression
Rockefeller University Press at http://jcb.rupress.org/
e. Genetic Techniques and Genomics
Journal of Cell Science, an online journal at http://jcs.biologists.org/
f. Molecular Basis of Inheritance - Genetics
Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC), an online journal published by the
5. Cell Signaling
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) at http://www.molbiolcell.org/
6. Cell Membranes and Cell Architecture
Molecular Biology of the Cell (MCB), an online journal published by the
a. Plasma Membrane and Transport
American Society for Microbiology at http://mcb.asm.org/
b. Organelles - Histology
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), access to
c. Cytoskeleton
biomedical and genomic information at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
7. Energetics – Biochemistry
Nature Cell Biology, an online journal published by Nature Publishing Group
8. Cellular Traffic
at http://www.nature.com/ncb/index.html
9. Cell Birth, Lineage and Death
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, an online journal published by
10. Molecular Basis of Cancer
Nature Publishing Group at http://www.nature.com/nrm/index.html
11. Plant Morphogenesis

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1. All living organisms are constructed from cells.

Cell and
molecular
Biology in a
nutshell…
Basic Cell Concepts:
Characteristics, Molecules,
Functions

Topic Outline: Basic Cell Concepts 2. All cells are prokaryotic or eukaryotic
1. All living organisms are constructed from cells.
2. All cells are prokaryotic or eukaryotic.
3. All organisms from simple bacteria to complex mammals probably evolved
from a common, single-celled progenitor.
4. We develop from a single cell.
5. Small molecules are linked into macromolecules and carry energy,
transmit signals, etc.
6. Proteins give cells structure and perform most cellular tasks
7. Nucleic acids carry coded information for making proteins at the right time
and place.
8. The genome is packaged into chromosomes and replicated during cell
division.
9. Mutations may be good, bad, or indifferent.
10. Cells build and degrade numerous molecules and structures.
11. Cells can be powered by a variety of free energy sources.
12. Animal cells produce their own external environment and glues.
13. Cells change shape and move.
14. Cells sense and send Information.
15. Cells regulate their gene expression to meet changing needs.
16. Cells grow and divide.
17. Cells die from aggravated assault or an internal program
18. Metabolic proteins, the genetic code, and organelle structures are nearly
universal.

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General Structure Of The Cell

1.Shape – depends upon:
 Functional adaptations
 Surface tension & viscosity of the protoplasm,
e.g., leukocytes in circulating blood are
spherical but emit pseudopods and become
irregular in shape extravascularly.
 Mechanical action exerted by adjoining cells
 Rigidity of the cell membrane
 Presence of cytoplasmic microtubules
2.Size – variations are due to:
 adaptations to perform a specific function
 withstand mechanical stresses & pressures
 environmental and genetic factors

Cell compartmentalization
Despite the
morphological
and functional
variety of cells
from different
tissue types and
different
organisms, all
eukaryotic cells
share important
similarities in
their fundamental
compartments,
referred to
as organelles.

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3. All organisms from simple

bacteria to complex
4. We develop from a single cell
mammals probably evolved  Fertilization of an egg by a sperm cell
from a common, single-
yields a zygote, a cell about 200 μm
celled progenitor.
in diameter.
DNA and protein sequences
were examined for assigning  A zygote houses all the necessary
relationships, which agree instructions for building the human
with fossil records. Although body with 100 trillion (1014) cells.
prokaryotes, Archaea are
more similar to eukaryotes
 It generates hundreds of different
than to Eubacteria, e.g., kinds of cells that differ in contents,
archaean and eukaryotic shape, size, color, mobility, and
genomes encode surface composition.
homologous histone
proteins, which associate  Genes and signals control cell
with DNA; bacteria lack diversification
histones. RNA and protein  Our current knowledge lead to stem
components of Archaean
ribosomes are more like
cell, cloning, and related techniques
those in eukaryotes than that offer exciting possibilities but
those in bacteria. raise some concerns

MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION Intragenic mutation: 5. Small molecules are linked into macromolecules
an existing gene can be and carry energy, transmit signals, etc.
modified by mutations
in its DNA sequence.
Gene duplication:
an existing gene can be Monomers to polymers
duplicated so as to
create a pair of closely
related genes within a
single cell.
Segment shuffling:
two or more existing
genes can be broken Neurotransmitters
and rejoined to make a
hybrid gene consisting Hor-
of DNA segments that mones
originally belonged to
separate genes.
Horizontal transfer:
a piece of DNA can be
transferred from the
genome of one cell to Adenosine triphoshate (ATP)
that of another.

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6. Proteins give cells structure and perform most

cellular tasks 8. The genome is packaged into chromosomes and
replicated during cell division.
 Each protein has a defined 3D conformation that is
stabilized by numerous chemical interactions.
 Proteins below include enzymes, an antibody, a
hormone, and the blood’s oxygen carrier. Models of a
DNA segment and the lipid bilayer that forms cellular
membranes demonstrate the relative width of these
structures compared with typical proteins.

A normal human has 23 pairs of morphologically distinct chromosomes; one

member of each pair is inherited from the mother and the other member from
the father. Chromosomes from the preparation on the left are arranged in pairs
in descending order of size, an array called a karyotype. The presence of X
and Y chromosomes identifies the sex of the individual as male.

7. Nucleic acids carry coded information for making 9. Mutations May Be Good, Bad, or Indifferent
proteins at the right time and place.  Mutations are mistakes that occasionally occur
Step 1 : Transcription factors bind to the spontaneously during DNA replication, causing
regulatory regions of the specific genes changes in the sequence of nucleotides. Such
they control and activate them.
Step 2 : Following assembly of a changes can arise from radiation, chemical poisons
multiprotein initiation complex bound to (e.g., cigarette smoke, alcohol).
the DNA, RNA polymerase begins  Mutations come in various forms: a simple swap of
transcription of an activated gene at a
specific location, the start site. The one nucleotide for another; the deletion, insertion, or
polymerase moves along the DNA inversion of one to millions of nucleotides in the DNA
linking nucleotides into a single- of one chromosome; and translocation of a stretch of
stranded pre-mRNA transcript using
one of the DNA strands as a template. DNA from one chromosome to another.
Step 3: The transcript is processed to  “Indifferent” mutations in nonfunctional DNA have
remove noncoding sequences.
Step 4: In a eukaryotic cell, the mature
been a major player in evolution, leading to creation
messenger RNA (mRNA) moves to the of new genes or new regulatory sequences for
cytoplasm, where it is bound by controlling already existing genes. Some of our own
ribosomes that read its sequence and
assemble a protein by chemically linking
copies of genomes are genetic residues of
amino acids into a linear chain. infections acquired by our ancestors.

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10.Cells build and degrade numerous molecules and 11.Cells can be powered by a
structures. variety of free energy sources
 Organotrophic - animals, fungi,
and the bacteria that live in the
human gut, get it by feeding on
other living things or the
organic chemicals they
produce. These organisms
could not exist without primary
energy converters:
 Phototrophic - those that
harvest the energy of sunlight
Living organisms at a hot
 Lithotrophic - those that hydrothermal vent
At temperatures up to about 150°C,
capture their energy from lithotrophic species of bacteria live,
ATP is formed from ADP and inorganic phosphate (Pi) by energy-rich systems of fuelled by geochemical energy. A
little further away are the giant (2-m)
photosynthesis in plants and by the breakdown of sugars and
fats in most cells. The energy released by the splitting
inorganic chemicals in the tube worms, which live in symbiosis
with huge numbers of symbiotic
(hydrolysis) of Pi from ATP drives many cellular processes. environment sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.

12.Animal cells produce their own external

environment and glues.
Animal cells produce and secrete an extracellular matrix that
cushions, lubricates, and glue cells together for exchanging
small molecules including nutrients and signals, and
facilitating coordinated functioning of the cells. The cells of
higher plants contain relatively few such molecules.

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15. Cells regulate their gene expression to meet changing needs.

13.Cells change shape and move.
 Three types of protein filaments, organized into networks and  Cells often respond to
changing circumstances and
bundles, form the cytoskeleton within animal cells. to signals from other cells by
 The cytoskeleton prevents the plasma membrane of animal altering the amount or types
cells from relaxing into a sphere; it also functions in cell of proteins they contain.
locomotion and the intracellular transport of vesicles,  Gene expression is
chromosomes, and macromolecules . commonly controlled to
produce a particular mRNA
 The cytoskeleton can be linked through the cell surface to the
only when the encoded
extracellular matrix or to other cells, helping to form tissues. protein is needed, thus
minimizing wasted energy.
 Transcriptional activators,
repressors and other
mechanisms for controlling
gene expression determine
whether such could occur
only in part of the brain, only
during evening hours, only
A cultured fibroblast in a fluorescence microscope reveals the location of during a certain stage of
filaments bound to a particular dye-antibody preparation. All three fiber development, only after a
systems contribute to the shape and movements of cells. large meal, etc.

14.Cells Sense and Send Information Binding of a hormone

or other signaling 16.Cells Grow and Divide
molecule to its
specific receptors
can trigger an
intracellular pathway
that increases or
decreases the
activity of a
preexisting protein.
The hormone-
receptor complexes
activate transcription
of specific target
genes. Many signals
that bind to receptors
on the cell surface During growth, eukaryotic cells In animals, meiosis of diploid
also act, by more continually progress through precursor cells forms gametes.
complex pathways, to the four stages of the cell cycle, The male parent produces two
modulate gene generating new daughter cells. types of sperm and
expression. determines the sex of the zygote.

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17.Cells die from aggravated assault or an internal

program
Left, normal WBC.
Right, cell undergoing
programmed cell
death (apoptosis),
form numerous
surface blebs that
eventually are
released. The cell is
dying because it lacks
certain growth
signals.

Apoptosis is important to eliminate virus-infected cells,

remove cells where they are not needed (like the webbing that
disappears as fingers develop), and to destroy immune system
cells that would react with our own bodies.

18.Metabolic proteins, the

genetic code, and
organelle structures
are nearly universal.
(a) Hox genes serve to direct
formation of the right structures in
the right places. (b) Development
of the large compound eyes in fruit
flies requires a gene called
eyeless. (c) Flies with inactivated
eyeless genes lack eyes. (d)
Normal human eyes require Pax6,
that corresponds to eyeless. (e)
People lacking adequate Pax6
function have the genetic disease
aniridia, a lack of irises in the eyes.
Pax6 and eyeless encode highly
related proteins that regulate the
activities of other genes, and are
descended from the same
ancestral gene.