CELL THEORY

LIVING ORGANISMS ARE COMPOSED OF CELLS

- Main part of cell theory:
1) Cells are the basic unit of structure in all living things (smallest unit of life)
2) All living organisms are composed of cells.
3) New cells are formed from pre-existing cells.
4) New: all cells contain hereditary information (DNA) which is passed on from cell to cell during cell
division

The internal structure of living organisms is very intricate and is built up from very small individual parts.
From the 17th century onwards biologists examined tissues from both plants and animals using microscopes.
Although there was much variation, certain features were seen again and again.
A theory was developed to explain the basic features of structure – the cell theory. This states that cells are
the fundamental building blocks of all living organisms. The smallest organisms are unicellular, they consist
of just one cell. Larger organisms are multicellular, they are composed of many cells.

Cells common features:

- Every living cell is surrounded by a membrane, which separates the cell contents from everything else
outside.
- Cells contain genetic material which stores all of the instructions needed for the cell’s activities.
- Many of these activities are chemical reactions, catalysed by enzymes produced inside the cell.
- Cells have their own energy release system that powers all of the cell’s activities.
So, cells can be thought of as the smallest living structures – nothing smaller can survive.

Exception to cell structure:

- Striated muscle composed of fused cells that are multinucleated
- Giant algae unicellular organisms that are very large in size (~7 cm)
- Aseptate hyphae lack partitioning and have a continuous cytoplasm

UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS
Some organisms consist of only one cell, that has to carry out all the functions of life. Because of this the
structure of unicellular organisms is more complex than most cells in multicellular organisms.
Unicellular organisms carry out at least seven functions of life:
- Nutrition – obtaining food, to provide energy and the materials needed for growth.
- Metabolism – chemical reactions inside the cell, including cell respiration to release energy.
- Growth – an irreversible increase in size.
- Response – the ability to react to changes in the environment.
- Excretion – getting rid of the waste products of metabolism.
- Homeostasis – keeping conditions inside the organism within tolerable limits.
- Reproduction – producing offspring either sexually or asexually
Many unicellular organisms also have a method of movement.

LIMITATION ON CELL SIZE

The surface area to volume ratio of a cell is very important. In the cytoplasm of cells, large numbers of
chemical reactions take place. These reactions are known collectively as the metabolism of the cell. The rate
of these reactions is proportional to the volume of the cell.

Cells need to exchange materials with the environment in order to produce the chemical energy required for
survival (via metabolism)
- The rate of metabolism is a function of a cell’s mass / volume
- The rate of material exchange is a function of a cell’s surface area
As a cell grows, volume (units3) increases faster than surface area (units2)
- If metabolic requirements exceed material exchange, a cell will die
- Hence, cells must stay small or increase their SA:Vol ratio to survive

MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS
Some unicellular organisms live together in colonies (ex Volvox aureus, alga). Although the cells are
cooperating, they are not fused to form a single cell mass and so are not a single organism.
Organisms consisting of a single mass of cells, fused together, are multicellular. One of the most intensively
researched multicellular organisms is a worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. The adult body is about one millimetre long and it is
made up of exactly 959 cells.

The cells in multicellular organisms can be regarded as cooperative groups, without any cells in the group
acting as a leader or supervisor. Individual cells in a group can organize themselves and interact with each
other to form a living organism with distinctive overall properties. The characteristics of the whole organism,
including the fact that it is alive, are known as emergent properties. (not present in its individual component
cells)
Emergent properties arise from the interaction of the component parts of a complex structure.

CELL DIFFERENTATION IN MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS

In multicellular organisms different cells perform different functions. This is sometimes called division of
labour. In simple terms, a function is a job or a role. Often a group of cells specialize in the same way to
perform the same function. They are called a tissue.
By becoming specialized, the cells in a tissue can carry out their role more efficiently than if they had many
different roles. They can develop the ideal structure, with the enzymes needed to carry out all of the
chemical reactions associated with the function. The development of cells in different ways to carry out
specific functions is called differentiation.

GENE EXPRESSION AND CELL DIFFERENTATION

There are many different cell types in a multicellular organism but they all have the same set of genes. The
220 cell types in the human body have the same set of genes, despite large differences in their structure and
activities.
Cells do not just have genes with the instructions that they need, they have genes needed to specialize in
every possible way. There are approximately 25,000 genes in the human genome, and these genes are all
present in a body cell. However, in most cell types less than half of the genes will ever be needed or used.
When a gene is being used in a cell, we say that the gene is being expressed (the gene is switched on and the
information in it is used to make a protein or other gene product).
The development of a cell involves switching on particular genes and expressing them. Cell differentiation
happens because a different sequence of genes is expressed in different cell types. The control of gene
expression is therefore the key to development.
STEM CELLS
In the 19th century, the name stem cell was given to the zygote and the cells of the early embryo, meaning
that all the tissues of the adult stem from them.
Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have two key properties

- Self-renewal can divide again and again to produce copious quantities of new cells. They are therefore
useful for the growth of tissues or the replacement of cells that have been lost or damaged.
- Potency are not fully differentiated. They can differentiate in different ways, to produce different cell
types.
Therapeutic uses of stem cells are potentially very useful: produce regenerated tissue, could provide a means of healing diseases
such as type 1 diabetes where a particular cell type has been lost or is malfunctioning, might even be used in the future to grow whole
replacement organs.

Non-therapeutic uses for embryonic stem cells: produce large quantities of striated muscle fibres, or meat, for human consumption.

During embryo development the cells commit themselves to a pattern of differentiation. Eventually each cell
becomes committed to develop into one specific cell type. Once committed, a cell may still be able to divide,
but all of these cells will differentiate in the same way and they are no longer stem cells.
Small numbers of cells remain as stem cells, however, and they are still present in the adult body. They give
some human tissues considerable powers of regeneration and repair.
THE RESOLUTION OF ELECTRON MICROSCOPES
Making the separate parts of an object distinguishable by eye is called resolution.
The maximum resolution of a light microscope is 0.2 μm. The maximum magnification with light
microscopes is usually × 400.
Light microscopes use lenses to bend light Electron microscopes use electromagnets to focus
- Can view living specimens in natural electrons
colour - Can only view dead specimens in monochrome
- Have lower magnification and resolution - Have higher magnification and resolution
- Can show cross-sections or surface renderings

PROKARIOTIC CELL STRUCTURE

All organisms can be divided into two groups according to their cell structure. Eukaryotes have a
compartment within the cell that contains the chromosomes. It is called the nucleus and is bounded by a
nuclear envelope consisting of a double layer of membrane. Prokaryotes do not have a nucleus.
Prokaryotes were the first organisms to evolve on Earth and they still have the simplest cell structure. They
are mostly small in size and are found almost everywhere.
All cells have a cell membrane, but some cells, including prokaryotes, also have a cell wall outside the cell
membrane. This is a much thicker and stronger structure than the membrane. It protects the cell, maintains its
shape and prevents it from bursting. In prokaryotes the cell wall contains peptidoglycan. It is often referred
to as being extracellular.
As no nucleus is present in a prokaryotic cell its interior is entirely filled with cytoplasm. The cytoplasm is
not divided into compartments by membranes, it is one uninterrupted chamber. The structure is therefore
simpler than in eukaryotic cells.
Organelles are present in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that are analogous to the organs of multi-cellular
organisms in that they are distinct structures with specialized functions. Prokaryotes do not have cytoplasmic
organelles apart from ribosomes. Their size, measured in Svedberg units is 70S, smaller than those of
eukaryotes.
Part of the cytoplasm appears lighter than the rest in many electron micrographs. This region contains the
DNA of the cell, usually in the form of one circular DNA molecule. The DNA is not associated with
proteins, which explains the lighter appearance compared with other parts of the cytoplasm that contain
enzymes and ribosomes. This lighter area of the cell is called the nucleoid, it contains DNA but is not a true
nucleus.
CELL DIVISION IN PROKARIOTES
Cell division in prokaryotic cells is called binary fission and it is used for asexual reproduction. The single
circular chromosome is replicated and the two copies of the chromosome move to opposite ends of the cell.
Division of the cytoplasm of the cell quickly follows. Each of the daughter cells contains one copy of the
chromosome so they are genetically identical.
Process:

- The circular DNA is copied

- The DNA loops attach to the membrane
- The cell elongates, separating the loops
- Cytokinesis occurs to form two cells

EUKARIOTIC CELL STRUCTURE

Eukaryotic cells have a much more complicated internal structure than prokaryotic cells. Whereas the
cytoplasm of a prokaryotic cell is one undivided space, eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized. The
partitions are single or double membranes.
The most important of these compartments is the nucleus, it contains the cell’s chromosomes. The
compartments in the cytoplasm are known as organelles, each of it has a distinctive structure and function.

There are several advantages in being compartmentalized:

- Enzymes and substrates for a particular process can be much more concentrated than if they were spread
throughout the cytoplasm.
- Substances that could cause damage to the cell can be kept inside the membrane of an organelle. For
example, the digestive enzymes of a lysosome could digest and kill a cell, if they were not safely stored
inside the lysosome membrane.
- Conditions such as pH can be maintained at an ideal level for a particular process, which may be
different to the levels needed for other processes in a cell.
- Organelles with their contents can be moved around within the cell
PHOSPHOLIPID BILAYERS
Hydrophilic substances are attracted to water.
Hydrophobic substances are not attracted to water.
Amphipathic substances that have a part hydrophilic an a part hydrophobic. (es phospholipid)
The hydrophilic part of a phospholipid is the phosphate group. The hydrophobic part consists of two
hydrocarbon chains.
The two parts of the molecule are often called phosphate heads and hydrocarbon tails. When phospholipids
are mixed with water the phosphate heads are attracted to the water but the hydrocarbon tails are attracted to
each other, but not to water. Because of this the phospholipids become arranged into double layers, with the
hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails facing inwards towards each other and the hydrophilic heads facing the water
on either side. These double layers are called phospholipid bilayers. They are stable structures and they
form the basis of all cell membranes.

MEMBRANE PROTEINS
Cell membranes have a wide range of functions. The primary function is to form a barrier through which
ions and hydrophilic molecules cannot easily pass. This is carried out by the phospholipid bilayer. Almost all
other functions are carried out by proteins in the membrane. Because of these varied functions, membrane
proteins are very diverse in structure and in their position in the membrane.
They can be divided into two groups:

- Integral proteins are hydrophobic on at least part of their surface and they are therefore embedded in the
hydrocarbon chains in the centre of the membrane. Many integral proteins are transmembrane - they
extend across the membrane, with hydrophilic parts projecting through the regions of phosphate heads on
either side.
- Peripheral proteins are hydrophilic on their surface, so are not embedded in the membrane.

Membranes all have an inner face and an outer face and membrane proteins are orientated so that they can
carry out their function correctly.
The protein content of membranes is very variable, because the function of membranes varies. The more
active a membrane, the higher is its protein content. Membranes in the myelin sheath around nerve fibres just
act as insulators and have a protein content of only 18%. The protein content of most plasma membranes on
the outside of the cell is about 50%. The highest protein contents are in the membranes of chloroplasts and
mitochondria, which are active in photosynthesis and respiration.

CHOLESTEROL IN MEMBRANES
The two main components of cell membranes are phospholipids and proteins. Animal cell membranes also
contain cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a type of lipid, it belongs to a group of substances called steroids. Most of a cholesterol
molecule is hydrophobic so it is attracted to the hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails in the centre of the
membrane, but one end of the cholesterol molecule has a hydroxyl (OH) group which is hydrophilic. This is
attracted to the phosphate heads on the periphery of the membrane. Cholesterol molecules are therefore
positioned between phospholipids in the membrane.
ENDOCYTOSIS (is a cellular process in which substances are brought into the cell)
A vesicle is a small sac of membrane with a droplet of fluid inside. Vesicles are spherical and are normally
present in eukaryotic cells. They are a very dynamic feature of cells. They are constructed, moved around
and then deconstructed. This can happen because of the fluidity of membranes, which allows structures
surrounded by a membrane to change shape and move.
To form a vesicle, a small region of a membrane is pulled from the rest of the membrane and is pinched off.
Proteins in the membrane carry out this process, using energy from ATP.
Vesicles can be formed by pinching off a small piece of the plasma membrane of cells. The vesicle is formed
on the inside of the plasma membrane. It contains material that was outside the cell, so this is a method of
taking materials into the cell. It is called endocytosis.
Vesicles taken in by endocytosis contain water and solutes from outside the cell but they also often contain
larger molecules needed by the cell that cannot pass across the plasma membrane.

VESICLE MOVEMENTS IN CELLS

Vesicles can be used to move materials around inside cells. In some cases it is the contents of the vesicle that
need to be moved. In other cases it is proteins in the membrane of the vesicle that are the reason for vesicle
movement.
An example of moving the vesicle contents occurs in secretory cells. Protein is synthesized by ribosomes on the rough endoplasmic
reticulum (rER) and accumulates inside the rER. Vesicles containing the proteins bud off the rER and carry them to the Golgi
apparatus. The vesicles fuse with the Golgi apparatus, which processes the protein into its final form. When this has been done,
vesicles bud off the Golgi apparatus and move to the plasma membrane, where the protein is secreted.

In a growing cell, the area of the plasma membrane needs to increase. Phospholipids are synthesized next to
the rER and become inserted into the rER membrane. Ribosomes on the rER synthesize membrane proteins
which also become inserted into the membrane. Vesicles bud off the rER and move to the plasma membrane.
They fuse with it, each increasing the area of the plasma membrane by a very small amount. This method can
also be used to increase the size of organelles in the cytoplasm such as lysosomes and mitochondria.

EXOCYTOSIS ( is the fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane)

Vesicles can be used to release materials from cells. If a vesicle fuses with the plasma membrane, the
contents are then outside the membrane and therefore outside the cell. This process is called exocytosis. It
can also be used to expel waste products or unwanted materials.
Digestive enzymes are released from gland cells by exocytosis. The polypeptides in the enzymes are synthesized by the rER,
processed in the Golgi apparatus and then carried to the membrane in vesicles for exocytosis. In this case the release is referred to as
secretion, because a useful substance is being released, not a waste product.

FOUR METHOD TO MOVE PARTICLES ACROSS THE MEMBRANE:

SIMPLE DIFFUSION high -> low
Diffusion is the spreading out of particles in liquids and gases that happens because the particles are in
continuous random motion. There is a net movement from the higher to the lower concentration, a movement
down the concentration gradient. Living organisms do not have to use energy to make diffusion occur so it is
a passive process.
Simple diffusion across membranes involves particles passing between the phospholipids in the membrane,
small/lipophilic molecules). It can only happen if the phospholipid bilayer is permeable to the particles. Non-
polar particles such as oxygen can diffuse through easily.
The centre of membranes is hydrophobic, so ions with positive or negative charges cannot easily pass
through. Polar molecules, which have partial positive and negative charges over their surface, can diffuse at low rates between the
phospholipids of the membrane. Small polar particles such as urea or ethanol pass through more easily than large particles.

FACILITATED DIFFUSION high -> low

Ions and other particles can pass into or out of cells if there are channels for them through the plasma
membrane. These channels are holes with a very narrow diameter. The walls of the channel consist of
protein. The diameter and chemical properties of the channel ensure that only one type of particle passes
through.
Because these channels help particles to pass through the membrane, from a higher concentration to a lower
concentration, the process is called facilitated diffusion. Cells can control which types of channel are
synthesized and placed in the plasma membrane and in this way they can control which substances diffuse in
and out.

OSMOSIS
Water is able to move in and out of most cells freely. This net movement is osmosis.
Osmosis is due to differences in the concentration of substances dissolved in water (solutes). Substances
dissolve by forming intermolecular bonds with water molecules. These bonds restrict the movement of the
water molecules. Regions with a higher solute concentration therefore have a lower concentration of water
molecules free to move than regions with a lower solute concentration. Because of this there is a net
movement of water from regions of lower solute concentration to regions with higher solute concentration.
This movement is passive because no energy has to be expended directly to make it occur.
Osmosis can happen in all cells because water molecules are small enough to pass though the phospholipid
bilayer. Some cells have water channels called aquaporins, which greatly increase membrane permeability to
water. The channel in an aquaporin is only slightly wider than water molecules, which therefore pass through
in single file. Positive charges at this point in the channel prevent protons (H+) from passing through.
OSMOLARITY
Osmolarity is a measure of solute concentration. Solutions can be measured as:

- Hypertonic: High solute concentration (gains water)

- Hypotonic: Low solute concentration (loses water)
- Isotonic: Same solute concentration (no net flow)

ACTIVE TRASPORT
Cells sometimes take in substances, even though there is already a higher concentration inside than outside.
The substance is absorbed against the concentration gradient. Less commonly, cells sometimes pump
substances out, even though there is already a larger concentration outside. This type of movement across
membranes is not diffusion and energy is needed to carry it out. It is therefore called active transport. Most
active transport uses a substance called ATP as the energy supply for this process. Every cell produces its
own supply of ATP by cell respiration.
Active transport is carried out by globular proteins in membranes, usually called pump proteins. The
membranes of cells contain many different pump proteins allowing the cell to control the content of its
cytoplasm precisely.
The molecule or ion enters the pump protein and can reach as far as a central chamber. A conformational
change to the protein takes place using energy from ATP. After this, the ion or molecule can pass to the
opposite side of the membrane and the pump protein returns to its original conformation.
CELL DIVISION
Since the 1880s there has been a theory in biology that cells can only be produced by division of a pre-
existing cell. The evidence for this hypothesis is very strong and is discussed in the nature of science.
The implications of the hypothesis are remarkable. We can trace the origin of cells in the body back to the
first cell – the zygote that was the start of our lives, produced by the fusion of a sperm and an egg.
If we accept that humans evolved from pre-existing ancestral species, we can trace the origins of cells back
through hundreds of millions of years to the earliest cells on Earth. There is therefore a continuity of life
from its origins on Earth to the cells in our bodies today.
In 2010 there were reports that biologists had created the first artificial cell, but this cell was not entirely
new. The base sequence of the DNA of a bacterium (Mycoplasma mycoides) was synthesized artificially,
with a few deliberate changes. This DNA was transferred to pre-existing cells of a different type of
bacterium (Mycoplasma capricolum), which was effectively converted into Mycoplasma mycoides. This
process was therefore an extreme form of genetic modification and the creation of entirely new cells remains
an insuperable challenge at the moment.

ORIGIN OF THE FIRST CELL

If we trace back the ancestry of cells over billions of years, we must eventually reach the earliest cells to
have existed. These were the first living things on Earth. Unless cells arrived on Earth from somewhere else
in the universe, they must have arisen from non-living material. This can happen in a series of stages over
long periods of time. Living cells may have evolved over hundreds of millions of years. There are
hypotheses for how some of the main stages could have occurred:
1 Production of carbon compounds such as sugars and amino acids
Stanley Miller and Harold Urey passed steam through a mixture of methane, hydrogen and ammonia. The
mixture was thought to be representative of the atmosphere of the early Earth. Electrical discharges were
used to simulate lightning. They found that amino acids and other carbon compounds needed for life were
produced.
2 Assembly of carbon compounds into polymers
A possible site for the origin of the first carbon compounds is around deep-sea vents. These are cracks in the
Earth’s surface, characterized by gushing hot water carrying reduced inorganic chemicals such as iron
sulphide. These chemicals represent readily accessible supplies of energy, a source of energy for the
assembly of these carbon compounds into polymers.
3 Formation of membranes
If phospholipids or other amphipathic carbon compounds were among the first carbon compounds, they
would have naturally assembled into bilayers. Experiments have shown that these bilayers readily form
vesicles resembling the plasma membrane of a small cell. This would have allowed different internal
chemistry from that of the surroundings to develop.

4 Development of a mechanism for inheritance

Living organisms currently have genes made of DNA and use enzymes as catalysts. To replicate DNA and
be able to pass genes on to offspring, enzymes are needed. However, for enzymes to be made, genes are
needed. The solution to this conundrum may have been an earlier phase in evolution when RNA was the
genetic material. It can store information in the same way as DNA but it is both self-replicating and can itself
act as a catalyst.

ENDOSYMBIOSIS AND EUKARYOTIC CELLS

Eukaryotic cells are believed to have evolved from aerobic prokaryotes that were engulfed by endocytosis.
The engulfed cell remained undigested and contributed new functionality to the engulfing cell.
The theory of endosymbiosis helps to explain the evolution of eukaryotic cells. It states that mitochondria
were once free-living prokaryotic organisms that had developed the process of aerobic cell respiration.
Larger prokaryotes that could only respire anaerobically took them in by endocytosis. Instead of killing and
digesting the smaller prokaryotes they allowed them to continue to live in their cytoplasm. As long as the
smaller prokaryotes grew and divided as fast as the larger ones, they could persist indefinitely inside the
larger cells. According to the theory of endosymbiosis they have persisted over hundreds of millions of years
of evolution to become the mitochondria inside eukaryotic cells today.
The larger prokaryotes and the smaller aerobically respiring ones were in a symbiotic relationship in which
both of them benefited. This is known as a mutualistic relationship. The smaller cell would have been
supplied with food by the larger one. The smaller cell would have carried out aerobic respiration to supply
energy efficiently to the larger cell. Natural selection therefore favoured cells that had developed this
endosymbiotic relationship.
The endosymbiotic theory also explains the origin of chloroplasts. If a prokaryote that had developed
photosynthesis was taken in by a larger cell and was allowed to survive, grow and divide, it could have
developed into the chloroplasts of photosynthetic eukaryotes. Again, both of the organisms in the
endosymbiotic relationship would have benefited.

Although no longer capable of living independently, chloroplasts and mitochondria both have features that
suggest they evolved from independent prokaryotes:

- have their own genes, on a circular DNA molecule like that of prokaryotes.
- have their own 70S ribosomes of a size and shape typical of some prokaryotes.
- transcribe their DNA and use the mRNA to synthesize some of their own proteins.
- can only be produced by division of pre-existing mitochondria and chloroplasts.
THE ROLE OF MITOSIS
The nucleus of a eukaryotic cell can divide to form two genetically identical nuclei by a process called
mitosis. Mitosis allows the cell to divide into two daughter cells, each with one of the nuclei and therefore
genetically identical to the other.
Before mitosis can occur, all of the DNA in the nucleus must be replicated. This happens during interphase,
the period before mitosis. Each chromosome is converted from a single DNA molecule into two identical
DNA molecules, called chromatids. During mitosis, one of these chromatids passes to each daughter nucleus.
Mitosis is involved whenever cells with genetically identical nuclei are required in eukaryotes: during
embryonic development, growth, tissue repair and asexual reproduction.
Although mitosis is a continuous process, cytologists have divided the events into four phases: prophase,
metaphase, anaphase and telophase.

INTERPHASE (prepare for division)

The cell cycle is the sequence of events between one cell division and the next. It has two main phases:
interphase and cell division. Interphase is a very active phase in the life of a cell when many metabolic
reactions occur, like the DNA replication in the nucleus and protein synthesis in the cytoplasm.
During interphase the numbers of mitochondria in the cytoplasm increase. This is due to the growth and
division of mitochondria. In plant cells and algae the numbers of chloroplasts increase in the same way. They
also synthesize cellulose and use vesicles to add it to their cell walls.
Interphase consists of three phases, the G1 phase, S phase and G2 phase. In the S phase the cell replicates all
the genetic material in its nucleus, so that after mitosis both the new cells have a complete set of genes. Some
do not progress beyond G1, because they are never going to divide so do not need to prepare for mitosis.
They enter a phase called G0 which may be temporary or permanent.

PHASES OF MITOSIS
1 PROPHASE
The chromosomes become shorter and fatter by coiling; the DNA molecules in these chromosomes are in
fact immensely long. To become short enough they have to coil repeatedly. This is called supercoiling. The
nucleolus breaks down. Microtubules grow from structures called microtubule organizing centres (MTOC) to
form a spindle-shaped array that links the poles of the cell. At the end of prophase the nuclear membrane
breaks down.
2 METAPHASE
Microtubules continue to grow and attach to the centromeres on each chromosome. The two attachment
points on opposite sides of each centromere allow the chromatids of a chromosome to attach to microtubules
from different poles. The microtubules are all put under tension to test whether the attachment is correct.
This happens by shortening of the microtubules at the centromere. If the attachment is correct, the
chromosomes remain on the equator of the cell.

3 ANAPHASE
At the start of anaphase, each centromere divides, allowing the pairs of sister chromatids to separate. The
spindle microtubules pull them rapidly towards the poles of the cell. Mitosis produces two genetically
identical nuclei because sister chromatids are pulled to opposite poles. This is ensured by the way that the
spindle microtubules were attached in metaphase.
4 TELOPHASE
The chromatids have reached the poles and are now called chromosomes. At each pole the chromosomes are
pulled into a tight group near the MTOC and a nuclear membrane reforms around them. The chromosomes
uncoil and a nucleolus is formed. By this stage of mitosis the cell is usually already dividing and the two
daughter cells enter interphase again.

CYTOKINESIS
Cells can divide after mitosis when two genetically identical nuclei are present in a cell. The process of cell
division is called cytokinesis. It usually begins before mitosis has actually been completed and it happens in
a different way in plant and animal cells.
In animal cells the plasma membrane is pulled inwards around the equator of the cell to form a cleavage
furrow. This is accomplished using a ring of contractile protein immediately inside the plasma membrane at
the equator. The proteins are actin and myosin and are similar to proteins that cause contraction in muscle.
When the cleavage furrow reaches the centre, the cell is pinched apart into two daughter cells.
In plant cells vesicles are moved to the equator where they fuse to form tubular structures across the equator.
With the fusion of more vesicles these tubular structures merge to form two layers of membrane across the
whole of the equator, which develop into the plasma membranes of the two daughter cells and are connected
to the existing plasma membranes at the sides of the cell, completing the division of the cytoplasm.
The next stage in plants is for pectins and other substances to be brought in vesicles and deposited by
exocytosis between the two new membranes. This forms the middle lamella that will link the new cell walls.
Both of the daughter cells then bring cellulose to the equator and deposit it by exocytosis adjacent to the
middle lamella. As a result, each cell builds its own cell wall adjacent to the equator.

CYCLINS AND THE CONTROL OF THE CELL CYCLE

Each of the phases of the cell cycle involves many important tasks. A group of proteins called cyclins is used
to ensure that tasks are performed at the correct time and that the cell only moves on to the next stage of the
cycle when it is appropriate.
Cyclins bind to enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases. These kinases then become active and attach
phosphate groups to other proteins in the cell. The attachment of phosphate triggers the other proteins to
become active and carry out tasks specific to one of the phases of the cell cycle.
There are four main types of cyclin in human cells. Cyclins control the cell cycle and ensure that cells divide
when new cells are needed, but not at other times.

TUMOR FORMATION AND CANCER

Tumours are abnormal groups of cells that develop at any stage of life in any part of the body. In some cases
the cells adhere to each other and do not invade nearby tissues or move to other parts of the body. These
tumours are unlikely to cause much harm and are classified as benign. In other tumours the cells can become
detached and move elsewhere in the body and develop into secondary tumours. These tumours are malignant
and are very likely to be life-threatening.
Diseases due to malignant tumours are commonly known as cancer and have diverse causes. Chemicals and
agents that cause cancer are known as carcinogens, because carcinomas are malignant tumours. There are
various types of carcinogens including some viruses. All mutagens are carcinogenic, both chemical mutagens
and also high energy radiation such as X-rays and short-wave ultraviolet light. This is because mutagens are
agents that cause gene mutations and mutations can cause cancer.
Mutations are random changes to the base sequence of genes. Only few genes can become cancer-causing
after mutating, they are known as oncogenes. In a normal cell oncogenes are involved in the control of the
cell cycle and cell division. This is why mutations in them can result in uncontrolled cell division and
therefore tumour formation.
Several mutations must occur in the same cell for it to become a tumour cell. The chance of this happening is
extremely small, but because there are vast numbers of cells in the body, the total chance of tumour
formation during a lifetime is significant. When a tumour cell has been formed it divides repeatedly to form
two, then four, then eight cells and so on. This group of cells is called a primary tumour. Metastasis is the
movement of cells from a primary tumour to set up secondary tumours in other parts of the body.