CELLS

BYBY
 Introduction
• A cell is the smallest living unit of an organism.
• They are microscopic, as such, cannot be seen by the human eye.
• Because cells are so small, no one observed them until microscopes were
invented in the mid-seventeenth century.
• Robert Hooke first described cells in 1665, when he used a microscope he
had built to examine a thin slice of cork, a nonliving tissue found in the bark
of certain trees.
• Hooke observed a honeycomb of tiny, empty (because the cells were dead)
compartments.
• He called the compartments in the cork cellulae (Latin, “small rooms”), and
the term has come down to us as cells.
• The first living cells were observed a few years later by the Dutch naturalist
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who called the tiny organisms that he observed
“animalcules,” meaning little animals.
The Microscope
• A microscope is a scientific instrument used to magnify small objects or
organisms that are otherwise invisible or difficult to see with the naked eye.
• It works by using lenses to focus light or electrons, allowing researchers to
observe details at a microscopic level.
• Microscopes are essential tools in various fields of science such as biology,
medicine, materials science, and geology.
 Types of Microscopes

1. Compound light microscopy

• Uses visible light to illuminate
specimens.
• It can magnify an object up to 1000X.
2. Electron microscopy

• Unlike light microscopes, the electron

microscope forms an image with a beam of
electrons that can be made to travel in
wavelike patterns when accelerated to high
speeds.

• The degree of resolution allows

magnification to be extremely high—usually
between 5,000X and 1,000,000X.
3. Scanning probe microscopy

• Is a type of microscopy that forms

images of surfaces using a physical
probe that scans the specimen.

• This produces information that can

be assembled into images with
magnifications up to 100,000,000X
 The Cell theory
• In 1838, botanist Matthias Schleiden made a careful study of plant
tissues and developed the first statement of the cell theory.
• He stated that all plants “are aggregates of fully individualized,
independent, separate beings, namely the cells themselves.”
• In 1839, Theodor Schwann reported that all animal tissues also consist of
individual cells.
• Rudolph Virchow concluded that all cells came from pre-existing cells
(1855).
Statements of the cell theory
• The cell theory, in its modern form, includes the following three principles:
1. Cells are the basic units of structure and function in all living things.
2. All living things are made up of one or more cells.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells through cell division.
NB:
• The cell theory, however, has a number of limitations.
• The three statements that make up the cell theory may not be applicable all
the time.
Limitations of the cell theory
1. Cells are the basic units of structure and function in all living things
• This statement is not applicable to viruses.
• Viruses are have been placed between living and non-living, in that, they
cannot replicate on their own as living things should, but they can do so in
living cells.
• So if they were truly non-living, how would they accomplish this?
2. All living things are made up of one or more cells
• This statement applies to most living organisms, except viruses.
• Viruses are not made of cells.
• A single virus particle is called a virion.
• It is made of genetic material (which could either be RNA or DNA) contained
in a protective protein shell called a Caspid.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells through cell division
• This statement is true for life as we know it now
• But the question remains, ‘Where did the first cell come from?
• The cell theory fails to give an account as to where the first cell came from.
 Type of Cells
• There are essentially two types of cells:
i. Prokaryotic cells
ii. Eukaryotic cells
i. Prokaryotic cells
• Believed to be the first cells to evolve.
• These are simple cells
• All bacteria are prokaryotes.
• Lack a membrane bound nucleus and
organelles.
• Genetic material is free in the
cytoplasm.
ii. Eukaryotic cells
• Eukaryotic cells are far more complex than prokaryotic cells.
• The hallmark of the eukaryotic cell is compartmentalization.
• The interiors of eukaryotic cells contain numerous organelles, membrane-
bounded structures that close off compartments within which multiple
biochemical processes can proceed simultaneously and independently.
• All plants, animals, fungi, and many microorganisms are eukaryotes.
 Cell structures and functions

• Eukaryotic cells are far more complex than prokaryotic cells because they
contain additional membrane-bound structures called organelles.
• Cells have different structural components which serve different yet specific
roles in them.
Cell wall
• Found outside of the cell membrane
in plant cells, fungal cells & bacteria
only.
• Contains cellulose in plants and chitin
in fungi; provides support (rigidity) &
protection.
Cell membrane (Plasma membrane)
• Outer membrane of cells that
controls movement of substances in
and out of the cell.
• Double layer (bi-layer).
• In plants and bacteria, this is within
the cell wall.
Cytoplasm
• Gel-like mixture inside cells.
• Surrounded by cell membrane.
• Contains cell structure that carry out
specific jobs ex. Mitochondrion,
nucleus (this applies to eukaryotic
cells).
• Provides a medium for chemical
reactions to take place.
Nucleoid
• In prokaryotes
• Region of the cytoplasm where
chromosomal DNA is located.
• Singular, circular chromosome.
• Smaller circles of DNA called plasmids
are also located in cytoplasm.
Ribosomes
• Each cell contains thousands of
ribosomes.
• Make proteins.
• Found on endoplasmic reticulum &
floating throughout the cell
cytoplasm.
 Membrane-bound organelles

Nucleus
• “Control center”.
• Directs cell activities.
• Contains the genetic material (DNA).
• Separated from cytoplasm by nuclear
membrane (or nuclear envelope).
Nuclear membrane
• Surrounds nucleus, separates DNA
from cytoplasm.
• Made of two layers.
• Openings called pores allow some
materials to enter and leave nucleus
Chromatin
• In nucleus.
• Genetic material (DNA) of cell in its
non-dividing state.
• Uncoiled chromosomes.
• Contain instructions for traits &
characteristics.
Nucleolus
• Dark-staining structure in the
nucleus.
• Makes ribosomes that make proteins.
Rough endoplasmic endoplasm
• Network of continuous sacs, studded
with ribosomes.
• Internal delivery system of the cell.
• Manufactures, processes, and
transports proteins for export from
cell.
• Continuous with nuclear envelope.
Smooth endoplasmic endoplasm
• Similar in appearance to rough ER,
but without the ribosomes.
• Produces lipids, involved in
carbohydrate metabolism, and
detoxification of drugs and poisons.
Golgi apparatus
• Protein ‘packaging plant’
• Modifies proteins and lipids made by
the ER and prepares them for export
from the cell.
• Functions in the collection,
packaging, and distribution of
molecules within the cell.
Lysosome
• Digestive 'plant' for proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates.
• They contain digestive enzymes break
down cellular waste and debris.
• Transports undigested material to cell
membrane for removal.
• Cell breaks down if lysosome
explodes.
Mitochondria
• Cell “powerhouse”.
• Membrane bound organelles that are
the site of cellular respiration (use
glucose to produce cell energy, ATP).
• Active cells like muscles have more
mitochondria.
Vacuole
• Membrane-bound sacs for storage, digestion, and waste removal.
• Contains water solution.
• Plants have large central vacuoles that store water and nutrients needed
by the cell.
• Help support the shape of the cell.
Chloroplast
• Usually found in plant cells.
• Contains green pigment chlorophyll.
• Where photosynthesis takes place.
• Produces plant food (sugars) and
oxygen gas.
Cilia and Flagella
• External appendages from the cell
membrane that aid in locomotion
(movement) of the cell.
• Cilia also help to move substance past
the membrane.
Centrioles
• Found only in animal cells.
• Self-replicating.
• Made of bundles of microtubules.
• Help in organizing cell division.
Cytoskeleton
• The cell’s skeleton.
• Made of microtubules and filaments
• Give the cell shape, strength and
ability to move.