CELL—STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

Cell:
Cells are the basic structural and functional units of life.
A cell is the smallest constituent of our body which is capable of independent existence
It performs all the activities important for life. All basic chemical and physiological functions like repairing,
growth, excretion movement, immunity, communication, and digestion - are happen inside of cells.
A group of cells that are specialised to perform a similar function make up a tissue.
Cells may be compared to bricks. Bricks are assembled to make a building.
Similarly, cells are assembled to make the body of every organism.

Cells are very minute and can be observed only with the help of a microscope.
Discovery of the Cell:
➢ In 1665, the English scientist Robert Hooke observed slices of cork which is part of bark of the tress, under a
crude microscope. He noticed partitioned boxes or compartments in the cork slice.
➢ These boxes looked like a honeycomb. He also noticed that these boxes were separated from the other by a wall or
partition.
➢ Hooke named them ‘cell’ for each box , derived from the Latin word “cellula” which means “a little room”.
➢ Hooke observed as boxes or cells in the cork were actually dead cells..

A.V.Leeuwenhoek, in 1674, discovered the minute living forms such as bacteria and single celled animals
(protozoa) in a drop of pond water.
Scientists could study cells of living organisms only when improved microscopes with high magnification were
invented 150 years after the Hooke first observed the cells.
In 1831, Robert Brown discovered the nucleus in the cell.
Cell Theory
In 1830s, two German scientists called Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann ( 1838) proposed the Cell Theory and it
was modified by Rudolf Virchow in 1858.
It states that:
 1. All living organisms are made of cells.
2. Cells are basic structural or functional units of living organisms.
3. All cells are born out of pre-existing cells through cell division.( “omnis cellula e cellula”)
These postulates of the cell theory form the basic principles of biology.
➢ Cells are complex in nature and are present in various numbers, shapes and sizes in our body.
➢ They perform several functions that help an organism to sustain its life.
➢ Scientists use special dyes or stains (example—methylene blue and safranine) to colour the cells and then observe
them using a microscope.
According to the number of cells, organisms are broadly classified into two groups—unicellular and multicellular.
Unicellular organisms
▪ Organisms made up of a single cell are called unicellular organisms.
▪ Microscopic
▪ The single cell performs all the functions needed for sustaining life such as growth, movement, digestion,
excretion, respiration and reproduction.
▪ division of labor in unicellular organisms are cell organelle level
▪ Amoeba, Paramecium and bacteria are some examples of unicellular organisms.

Multicellular organisms
▪ The organisms that are made up of many cells are called multicellular organisms.
▪ usually macroscopic
▪ Different cells present in the body are dedicated to perform different functions.
▪ division of labor in multi cellular organism is organ level.
▪ Eg: Plants, animals, insects and human beings

➢ Multicellular organisms with billions of cells also start their life as a single cell. The fertilised egg (which is a
single cell) multiplies to form more cells as the organism develops.
➢ The egg of a hen represents a single cell and is big enough to be seen by the unaided eye
Variation in Cells
Shape
According to the functions they perform, cells assume to have different shapes.
➢ For example, nerve cells help in carrying messages in the body. These cells are long and have a branched head.
Nerve cells are the longest cells in our body— their length can be more than a metre.
➢ Muscle cells are cylindrical or spindle-shaped as they involved in movement.
➢ The white blood cells present in our blood can change their shape. This helps them to kill germs by engulfing
them.
➢ Amoeba can also change its shape with the help of projections on its body, known as pseudopodia. The
pseudopodia (singular: pseudopodium) help the Amoeba to capture its food and move from one place to another.

Size
➢ Different kinds of cells vary greatly in size.
➢ Mycoplasma gallisepticum (0.0001mm or 0.1µ), smallest cell in the world
➢ The unfertilised egg of an ostrich, the largest known cell of a living animal - 2.25 kg; 15 cm long and 13 cm wide.
➢ Red Blood Cells (RBCs) are the smallest cells present in the human body. (Sperm cell in male body)
➢ World’s largest single-celled organism is an aquatic alga, Caulerpa taxifolia. It can grow to a length of six to
twelve inches.

Caulerpa Taxifolia Ostrich egg

Illustration: Cells consist of many organelles, yet we do not call any of these organelles as structural and functional unit
of living organisms. Explain.
Answer:
Organelles cannot function outside the cell as an independent unit. They can perform their functions only when they are
within the living cells.
Illustration: What do you mean by unicellular and multicellular organisms?
Answer:
Organisms which consists of only one cell are called unicellular organisms while the organisms made up of more than
one cell are called multicellular organisms.
PARTS OF A CELL
Despite so much variation in their form and structure, all cells have the similar basic structural plan. Cell membrane,
nucleus and cytoplasm are the common features of cell.
Cell Membrane

❖ It is the outermost covering of the cell that separates the content of the cell from its external environment
and holds the cell together
❖ It is composed of bilayer of lipid and protein (Fluid mosaic model).
❖ It is very flexible membrane.
❖ The flexibility of cell membrane enables the cells to engulf food, is called endocytosis and to ejects solid is
called exocytosis.
Amoeba acquires food through endocytosis (Phagocytosis) and excretion of waste through
exocytosis.

❖ It is porous and semi-permeable in nature.

❖ Plasma membrane is known as selectively permeable membrane because it allows the entry and exit of
some materials in and out of the cell, but prevents movement of some other materials.
❖ The movement of substances occurs by diffusion, osmosis.
❖ It also gives shape to the cell.
Cell Wall
 It is an additional wall outside the cell membrane.
 It is present in plant cells, fungi and bacteria and absent in animal cells.
 gives shape, offers protection and provides rigidity to the plant cell.
 Cell walls are made of a natural component called cellulose.
 It is permeable to most of the substances – freely permeable
Cell wall Cell membrane

(i) It is present in only plant (i) It is present in both plant and

cells. animal cells.

(ii) It is rigid, thick structure. (ii) It is delicate, thin structure.

(iii) It is completely permeable (iii) It is selectively permeable to

to ordinary molecules. molecules.

(iv) It is metabolically inactive (iv) It is metabolically active and

and nonliving. living
Procedure for observing onion cell under microscope:
➢ Take a small piece from an onion bulb.
➢ Peel off the epidermis (skin) from the inner layer of onion with the help of forceps.
➢ Transfer the layer immediately in a watch glass containing water to prevent it from getting folded or getting dry.
➢ Take a glass slide; put a drop of water on it.
➢ Transfer a small piece of the peel from watch glass to the slide with the help of a brush.
➢ Put a drop of safranin solution on it and put cover slip on it with the help of a needle.
➢ Observe under microscope.
➢ Observation: Darkly stained rounded spots are nucleus and lightly stained area is cytoplasm.

To observe the basic components of an animal cell:

✓ Scrape the inside of your cheek lightly with a clean toothpick.
✓ Place it in a drop of water on a glass slide.
✓ Add a drop of iodine solution or methylene blue solution and place a coverslip on it.
✓ Place the slide under the microscope.

Cytoplasm
Most part of the cell consists of the cytoplasm.

▪ It is the jelly-like fluid matrix (other than nucleus) inside the cell.
▪ The nucleus and cytoplasm is together called as protoplasm.
▪ Cytosol is the semifluid part of the cell cytoplasm which is embedded in between cell organelles.
▪ Cytoskeleton is a network of protein fibres present in the cytoplasm which provides a supporting framework for the
organelles.
▪ The cellular components present in cytoplasm other than nucleus are called cell organelles. Each cell organelle has
a specific role to play. The cell organelles include mitochondria, ribosomes, plastids, Golgi bodies and others.
▪ All metabolic activities take place within the cytoplasm and it is responsible for storing and releasing energy.
▪ Transport nutrients into the cell and also to transport toxic substances out of the cell.

Nucleus

❖ A dark colored, spherical or oval, dot-like structure near the center of a cell.
❖ It acts like the control centre of the cell.
❖ Nucleus is covered by double membrane called nuclear membrane; has nuclear pores which allow the transfer
of material from inside the nucleus to its outside( cytoplasm)
❖ It contains a thick, jelly-like substance called nucleoplasm.
❖ A small spherical structure is present inside the nucleus, called nucleolus. It plays an important role in protein
synthesis as they makes ribosomes
  Nucleus contains Chromatin materials, the entangled mass of thread like structures which will get condensed
to form chromosomes during cell division.
 Chromosomes, visible as rod shaped structures only when the cell is about to divide which are important for
the functioning of a cell.
 A chromosome is made up of two strands which are identical to each other and these are called Chromatids.

The chromosomes contain information for inheritance of features from parents to next generations in the form of DNA(
Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid ) and protein molecules.

➢ DNA: Contain the information necessary for constructing and organizing cell. It has a double helical
structure.
In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick derived the three-dimensional helical
model of the DNA
o The functional segments of DNA are called genes which are the carriers of genetic information.
o Genes are units of inheritance (that is, they help in transmitting characters from parents to
offsprings). We resemble our parents in various aspects because we have inherited some
characteristics from them. This happens due to different combination of genes that we inherit.
o DNA is present as the part of chromatin material in a non-dividing cell.
DNA + Proteins chromatin chromosomes

❖ Every species on the Earth has a fixed number of chromosomes in its cells. For example, there are 23
pairs of chromosomes in each cell of the human body, while a bacterial cell has only one single
chromosome.
❖ The largest number of chromosomes are found in a fern called Ophioglossum reticulatum. It has 1,260
chromosomes.
Functions
 ✓ Plays an important role during cell division.
✓ Controls all the functions of the cell.
✓ Carries the genetic content of the cell.

❖ 2 types of cells based on the nature of nucleus

1. Prokaryotes:
o Organisms whose cells lack a membrane bound nucleus.
o Nuclear region is poorly defined due to the absence of a nuclear membrane.
o Have undefined nuclear region containing only single circular highly coiled chromosome -Nucleoid
o Lack membrane bound cytoplasmic organelles, only ribosomes present.
o E. g: Bacteria, blue green algae
2. Eukaryotes:
o The organisms which have a well-defined nucleus, i.e. nuclear membrane bound nucleus.
o They possess membrane bound cytoplasmic organelles.
o E. g: protozoa, all higher animals and plants.

Illustration : What are the main functional regions of a cell? Explain.

Answer:
Main functional regions of a cell are:
• Plasma membrane: This is the membrane which makes the outer boundary of the cells. It is very thin, delicate and
selectively permeable.
• Cytoplasm: Cytoplasm is viscous, transparent jelly-like substance of the cell. It contains cell organelles.
• Nucleus: Nucleus controls the working of the cell. It is a dense oval body lying in the protoplasm of the cell.
Illustration : Define nucleus and state its major parts.
Answer:
Nucleus is a dense round body found in the centre of an animal cell and mostly on the periphery of the plant cell. The
nucleus controls all the activities in the cell like digesting movement of substances within the cell. Nucleus also controls
the process of cell division. This is the reason nucleus is also known as the ‘brain of the cell’.
Nucleus consists of four major parts. They are:
• Nuclear membrane
• Nucleoplasm
• Nucleolus
• Chromatin
Illustration: Why plant cells need cell walls?
Answer:
As plants cannot move, they need protection against variations in temperature, high wind speed, atmospheric moisture,
etc.
Cell Organelles
A cell performs certain life-supporting activities because of the presence of various components or organelles. These
organelles perform their respective functions and show division of labour.

Mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion)

➢ Tiny, oval or kidney-shaped organelles found in both animal and plant cells.
➢ It oxidise the digested food in our body to produce energy.
➢ Bound by a double membrane.
➢ Its inner membrane is projected into numerous finger-like structures; called cristae.
➢ These deep folding are creating a large surface area for ATP generating chemical reaction i.e. cellular respiration.
➢ After cellular respiration, energy is stored in the form of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate); in mitochondria – so
called power house of the cell

Ribosomes
 ➢ are tiny structures found either attached to the surface of endoplasmic reticulum or scattered in the cytoplasm.
➢ They are associated with protein synthesis.
➢ They do not have a membrane around them, unlike other organelles.
➢ Ribosomes present in Prokaryotes is 70S and in eukaryotes is 80S

Endoplasmic reticulum
➢ Is a network of membranous tubes that connect the cell membrane with the nuclear membrane.
➢ The endoplasmic reticulum helps in transportation of substances between the cytoplasm and nucleus and
various regions of cytoplasm.
➢ They can be sites for the synthesis of proteins and lipids.
Two kinds of endoplasmic reticulum, viz. smooth ER and rough ER.
a. Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (RER): It looks rough because Ribosomes are attached to its surface. They are the
sites of protein synthesis.
b. Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (SER): It looks smooth because Ribosomes are not attached to its surface.
o They are the sites of fat molecules and lipid synthesis.

Plastids
➢ disc-shaped structures present only in plant cells.
➢ They can be of three types—chloroplasts, chromoplasts and leucoplasts.
a) Chloroplasts: Plastids which contain green-coloured photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll). They are
also called the kitchen of a plant cell.
b) Chromoplasts: Plastids which contain non-green pigments like yellow or orange (carotene and
xanthophylls). Chromoplasts impart various colours to the plant parts.
c) Leucoplasts: colourless plastids that vary in shape. They store food material such as starch
(Amyloplasts), proteins (Aleuroplasts) and fats (Elaioplasts).
Golgi bodies
➢ discovered by Camillo Golgi, 1898 ; in nerve cells
➢ It is composed of many flat, membranous sac-like structures which are stacked one above another
➢ Is a system of membrane bound vesicles called cisterns
➢ found near the nucleus of most cells
➢ They are also known as secretory organelles as they secrete substances such as enzymes and proteins.
➢ In plant cells, several small Golgi complex which are not well-defined and scattered throughout the cytoplasm
are called dictyosomes.
✓ Golgi complex is responsible for packaging and dispatching of various substances coming from ER.

Vacuoles
➢ Are sac-like structures in the cell.
➢ In mature plant cells, they occupy most of the space (may occupy 50-90 % of the cell volume) within the cells
➢ Help to store food, water and wastes. Many substances like amino acids, sugars, organic acids and proteins are
stored in vacuoles.
➢ Helps to provide turgidity and rigidity to the cell as vacuoles are full of cell sap.
Turgidity: distended or swollen, especially due to high fluid content
➢ In animal cells, vacuoles are smaller and may be greater in number. They help in waste removal and digestion.

Centrioles and centrosomes

➢ Play an important role in cell division.
➢ These are only present in animal cells.

Lysosomes
➢ Are small and rounded sacs, filled with tissue-dissolving enzymes.
 ➢ Contain membrane-bound sacs with powerful digestive enzymes to digest the worn-out cell organelles and any
foreign materials.
➢ When the cell gets damaged, lysosomes may burst and the enzymes digest their own cell as they contain
hydrolytic enzymes, hence called as “Suicidal bags of a cell”.
➢ It recycles the cell’s own organic material with the help of enzymes, this process is called autophagy.

Comparison of Plant and Animal Cells

Both plant and animal cells have:
✓ Cell Membrane,
✓ Cytoplasm,
✓ Nucleus, and
✓ Nuclear Membrane.
But only plant cell, Bacterial and fungal cells have Cell Walls.
There are some other differences in plant and animal cells :
➢ Plants have larger vacuoles while animals have smaller vacuoles.
➢ Only plant cells have plastids. They help in manufacturing or storing food.
➢ Only animal cells have centrioles. Centrioles help in the division of cells.
 Animal cell

Plant cell
CELL DIVISION
A cell is very small when it is formed. On receiving nutrition, it grows and reaches a certain size, after which it divides to
form two cells.
Cell division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. Two types of cell division,
a) Mitosis is a process where a single cell divides into two identical daughter cells. In mitosis the daughter cells
have same number of chromosomes in parent cell.
b) Meiosis is the process where a single cell divides into four un-identical cells. Meiosis reduces the number of
chromosomes in the parent cell by half and produces four daughter cells which have half the number of
chromosomes in parent cell.
 ➢ The process of cell division is also responsible for healing the damaged or worn out cells in the body.
➢ Millions of cells die and are replaced by new cells every second in the human body. The life span cells can vary.
For example;
o WBC: 30 days
o RBC: 120 days
o Liver cells: 18 months
o Nerve cells:100 years
Illustration: What are cell organelles?
Answer:The tiny components present in the cytoplasm are called cell organelles.
Illustration: What is endoplasmic reticulum?
Answer:It is the system of complex folded network of membranous tubes which connects nuclear membrane with the
plasma membrane. They allow movement of substances within the cell.