TheFundament

alUni
tofLi
fe
Cellisthebasi cst ructur al andfunct ional unitofl i
vi
ngor ganisms.
Cellbiology/ cytol
ogyi st hest udyofcel ls.
Historyofcel l:
-
 I n1665, Rober thookdi scov eredthecel l
.
 I n1674, Ant onv onl eeuwenhoekdi scov eredthef reel
i
vingcell
sinpondswat
er.
 Rober tBr owndi scov eredt henucl eusi nt hecell.
 Pur kinjecoi nedt het erm‘ protoplasm’ fort hefluidcont
entofthecell
.
 Schl eidenandSchwannpr oposedt hecel lt
heor y.
 I n1855, Rudol fVi rchowsai dt hatallcell
sar isef r
om pr
e–exi st
ingcel
ls.
(Omni scel lula-e-cel lula)
Typesofcel l:
-
Ont hebasi sofnucl earor ganization
Prokary oti
ccel l
:-Singl ecel l
edthatl acknucl earmembr ane.
Eukar yoti
ccel l:
-Cel lhav eawel l definednucl earmembr ane.
Cell-Shape: -Mostcel lshav eadef i
ni t
eshape
Ex:Muscl escel l–Spi ndl eshape, RBC-Ov al,Ner v
ecel l
-Elongat ed
Somecel lsofmaynothav eanydef i
niteshape.
Ex:Amoeba, Leucocy tes
Size:-
Smal lestcell-My copl asm ( 0.1t o0.5mi cromet r
e)
Somecel l
sar e0. 5mm t o100cm i nsize.
St
ruct
uralor
gani
zat
ionofacel
l
Cel lhav ethr eemaj orf unct i
onal regions:Cellmembr aneorpl asmamembr ane,nucleusand
cytopl asm
Plasmamembr ane( PM) :-
*Out ermostcov eri
ngoft hecel l whichsepar atesthecont entsofcellfrom i t
sext er
nal envi
ronment .
*Madeupofor gani cmol eculescal ledl i
pidsmol eculesandpr otei
nmol ecules
*PM i ssel ect i
vel ymembr ane, i
.e; i
tal l
owsent ryandexi tofonlyselectedsubst ances.
*Boundst hesemi fl
ui dcont entoft hecells.
*Pr otectst hecel lf
rom i njury.
Processbywhi chmov ementofsubst anceoccur s:-
Diffusi on:
-Themov ementofmol eculesofasubst ancef r
om ar egi
onoft heirhigherconcentrationto
ar egionofl owerconcent rati
on.
Impor tance: -
 Exchangeofgasesbet weent hecellsaswel lasbet weenthecel landi t
sout sideenv i
ronment
 Tr anspi rat i
on
 Ar omaoff l
ower s
Osmosi s:-Themov ementofwat ermol eculesfrom ar egionofhighwat erconcent rat
ionthrough
asemi per meabl emembr anet oar egionofl owwat erconcent r
ation.
Impor tance: -
 Ent ryofsoi lwat erintoroot
 Cel ltocel lmov ementofwat er
 Li v i
ngcel l
sr emai nt urgi
d
 Openi ngandcl osingofst omat a
Typesofsol utionandt heireffectoncel l
Isot onic(I
so- Same) Hy pertonic(
Hy per-Hi
gher ) Hy pot oni
c(Hy po-Lower)

Concent
rat
ionofwat
eron Theoutsi
desolut
ionhashigher Theoutsi
desolut
ionhaslower
ei
thersi
deofPM i
sthesame sol
uteconcent
rat
ionthan sol
uteconcent
rat
ionthan
i
nsidet
hecell i
nsidet
hecell
Nomov
ementofwat
er Watermol ecul
emovefr
om Watermolecul
emovefr
om
i
nsidetoout si
deoft
he out
sidetoinsi
deoft
he
cel
l
( Exosmosis) cel
l
(Endosmosis)

Plasmolysi
s:-Shri
nkageoft
heprotopl
ast(
cel
lcont
ent
)ofacel
lfr
om i
tscel
lwal
l
undertheinf
luenceofahyper
toni
csoluti
on.

CellWal l
:-
Itisanout er
,r
igid,prot
ecti
ve,support
iveandsemi t
ransparentcov
eri
ngofplantcell
s
onl
y .
Itismadeupofcel lulose.
Function:-
 Pr ovidesadef i
nit
eshapet othecell
 Pr otectsPM andi nternal
struct
uresfrom theat
tackofpathogenandmechanicalinj
ury
 Pr ovidesri
gidit
ytot hecell
Nucl eus:-
Adense,
cent
ral
l
ylocat
edspher
ical
cel
l
ularcomponent
.Thenucl
euscont
ains:

Nucl earenv elope: -Itisadoubl emembr anedst ruct ure, andcont ainsal argenumberofpor es.The
nuclearpor escont r
olst het r ansf erofsubst ancesf rom i nsidet henucl eust oi tsout side, i.
e.t o
cytoplasm.
Nucl eopl asm: -I ti
st ranspar ent, semi –fluidandcont ai nsal argenumberofenzy meswhi char e
requiredf orsy nthesi sandf unct ioningofDNA, RNA, etc.
Chromat innet wor k:-Chr omat ini sthr eadl i
kest ructur eswhi chcondenseandf orm
chromosome. Chr omosomear ecomposedofDNAmol ecul esandpr oteins
Nucl eolus: -
Dense, r
oundst ruct ureat tachedt oachr omat inf i
br eatspeci f
icr egion.Itisr ichi nRNA
andpr ot einmol ecul es.
Funct i
ons: -
 Thenucl euscont r
olscel lmet abol ism andot heract i
v iti
esoft hecel l.
 Nucl euspl aysacent r al r
olei ncel l
ul arrepr oduct ion.
 I ti sconcer nedwi t
ht het r
ansmi ssionofher edi tar ytraitsf rom par entt oof fspring.
Cytopl asm( Cy t
osol ):-Thespacebet weent hepl asmamembr aneandt henucl eusisf i
lledbya
homogeneous, tr
ansl ucent, colloidal liquidcal ledcy topl asm.I tconsi stofv ariousi nor gani c
mol ecules, suchaswat er,sal ts,organi ccompounds, pr oteins, nucleicaci ds, andav ar ietyof
enzy mes.
Funct i
ons: -
 I thel psi nintracel l
ulardi stribut i
onofmol ecules, enzy mesandnut rient s.
 I thel psi nexchangeofmat erialsbet weendi fferentcel lorganel l
es.
 Bi osy nthesi sofnucl eot ides, prot einsandf attyaci dst akepl acei nt hecy toplasm.
 Br eaki ngdownofgl ucoset akepl acei nt hecy topl asm.
****Pr ot oplasm i st hel iv ingcomponentoft hecel lcont ainingcy toplasm andt henucl eusina
l
ivingcel l
.
*****Cel lor ganel l
esar e“ smal lor gans”oft hecel landar ef oundembeddedi nthecy tosol.They
forml i
vingpar toft hecel landeachoft hem hasadef initeshape, struct ureandf unct i
on.
Endopl asmi cRet iculum( ER) :
-ERi sani nterconnect ednet wor kofmembr ane–l inedt ubesand
sheet sthatr unt hr ought hecy topl asm.ERoccur si nt hreef or ms: cist
er nae( Closedf luid-fi
ll
ed
sacs) ,vesicl esandt ubul es.

ERi
sabsenti
nther
edbl
oodcel
l
sofmammal
.

TypesofER:-
RoughER:-
Ribosomesatt
achedonitssur
facef
orsy
nthesi
zi
ngpr
otei
ns.RERi
sver
ywel
ldev
eloped
i
nplasmacells,
fibr
obl
ast
s,gobl
etcel
lset
c.
Smoot hER: -
Ri bosomesar eabsentandi smeantf orsecretingli
pids.SERi sf oundi nl i
vercel ls,
i
nt erstiti
al cel l
s, adi posecel ls,muscl ecel ls,etc.
Funct ion:-
 ERgi v esr igiditytocel landact sasaskel et alfr
amewor kofcel l.
 ERpr ovidesapat hwayf orthedi stribut i
onofmat erialsfr
om onecel ltot heot heraswel las
bet weent hecy toplasm aswel last henucl eus.
 SERpl ay sani mpor tantr oleinthebi osynt hesi sofgl ycol
ipids,phosphol i
pids, andchol ester
ol
whi char eusedi nt hef ormat i
onofpl asmamembr ane.
 RERi sresponsi blef ort hef or
mat ionofpr ot eins.Li
pi dstogetherwi thsomepr oteinshel pin
thef ormat ionofPM t hroughapr ocessknownasmembr anebi ogenesi s.
 SERofl i
v erofv ertebr ateshel psi ndet oxificat i
on.
Ribosomes: -Dense, spher ical andgr anul arpar ti
cl es.Ribosomeconsi stofribonucl eicaci dand
prot ei
ns.Ri bosomei sabsenti nmat uresper m andRBCs.Theyar ealsof oundi nt hemi t ochondr i
a
andpl astids.
Inpr okar yot i
ccel l,theyf reel yoccuri ncy topl asm.
Ineukar yot i
ccel ls,theyoccurf reelyinthecy toplasm aswel lasattachedt ot heout ersur faceofRER.
Funct ion:-Hel pi npr oteini nsy nt hesi
s.
Gol giAppar atus: -Di scov eredbyCami l
loGol gi.
Gol gi apparatusisabsenti nbact eria,bluegr een
algae, mat uresper ms&RBCofmammal andot herani mals.
Gol giappar at usconsi st sofasetofmembr ane- bounded, f l
uidfil
ledv esi
cles, vacuol esand
fl
at tenedci ster nae.

Golgiappar atusexi stsasanext ensivenet wor kneart henucl eusi nt heani mal cell
s.I
nplantcel ls,
golgiappar at usalsoconsi stsofmanyf r
eelyscat ter edsubuni tscalleddi ctyosomes.
Function:-
 Hel psi nthest orage, pr
ocessi ngandpackagi ngofv ar
iouscel l
ularsecr et
ions.
 Hel psi nsecr eti
onofenzy mes, proteins,cel lul
ose, hormoneset c.
 Hel psi nformat i
onofl ysosomes.
Lysosomes: -Lysosomesar esimpl et i
nyspher i
cal sacl ikestructuresev enl
ydi str
ibutedi
nt he
cytoplasm.Eachl ysosomei sasmal l v
esiclesur roundedbyasi nglemembr aneandcont ains
power fulenzy mes.Theseenzy mesar ecapabl eofdi gest i
ngorbr eaki ngdownal lor
ganicmat er
ial
s.
Lysosomal enzy mesar emadebyRER.
Function:-
 Hel pi nintr
acel l
ulardigestion.
 Pr ovideener gyduringst ar
v ati
onbycont r
olledbr eakdownofst oredf ood.
 Hel pi nwast edisposal from t hecell.
 I ncaset hecel lgetdamaged, lysosomesbur standr el
easet heenzy mes, whichdi gesttheir
owncel l
.Hence, theyar ecal l
edsui cidebagsoft hecell.
Mitochondr ia:-Mitochondr iaaresausageshapedcel lorganellescov eredbyadoubl emembr ane
envelope.Out ermembr anei ssmoot handpor ous, whi leinnermembr anei sgivenouti nt
of olds
call
edcr istae.Thesef oldscr eateal argesur facear eaf orthegener at i
onofATP( Adenosine
t
ri
phosphate)
duringrespi
rati
on.Mit
ochondr
iar
eleaseener
gyintheform ofATP
molecul
es.
Mitochondriaareal
soknownast hepowerhousesofthecell
.
Thecavi
tyofthemi t
ochondri
aisfi
ll
edwit
hli
pids,pr
otei
ns,
cir
cularDNAandr i
bosomes.

Funct i
on: -
Mitochondr iaaresi t
esofcel lularrespiration.
Mitochondr iaareabl etomakesomeoft heirownpr oteins;so,t
heyar eregardedassemi
autonomousor ganel l
es.(Theor ganell
ewhi chcont aint heirownDNAandr eproduceindependentlyof
thenucl eus)
Plastids:-Plasti
dsoccuri nmostpl antcel ls.Plasti
dscont ainmanymembr anelayersembeddedi na
mat erialcalledt hest roma.Pl ast i
dsalsohav etheirownDNA&r i
bosomes.
Ther earet hreet y pesofpl astids:-
Chromopl ast (
col ouredpl ast i
d): -provi
decol ourtof l
ower sandf r
uits.
Leucol past(colour lesspl ast i
d) :
-Storest arch, oi
lsandpr otei
ngranul es.
Chloroplast (Greenpl astid):-Chloroplasthasacol our l
essgr oundmat ri
x, str
omaandamembr anous
system , grana.Eachgr anushasmembr ane–boundsacscal l
edt hylakoids.Thy l
akoidsof
chloroplastpossessphot osy ntheti
cgr eenpi gment, i.
e,chlorophyl
l.St r
omacont ainsav ar
iet
yof
photosy nthet i
cenzy mes, starchgr ai
n, DNA&r i
bosome.
Duringphot osynt hesi s,li
ghtr eactiontakepl aceingr anum anddar kreact i
ont akeplaceinstr
oma.
Funct i
on: -
 Chl oroplast -phot osy nthesis
 Chr omopl ast -Polli
nat ion
 Leucopl ast -Storage

Diagram ofchlor
oplast
Vacuoles:
-Thesear efl
uidfi
ll
edmembr aneboundspaces.Vacuolesarestoragesacsforl
i
qui
dor
sol
idcontents.Theyareboundbyamembr aneknownast onopl
ast.
Inanimal cel
l,v
acuolestor
ewat er,gl
ycogenandprot
eins
Inprotozoa,vacuol
estoreingestedfood,di
gestandhelpsi
nexcreti
on
Inplantcel
l,vacuoleisfi
l
ledwi t
hcellsapwhichisawater
ysol
uti
onr
ichi
nsugar
s,ami
noaci
ds,
prot
eins,mineral
sandmet abol
icwaste.
Functi
on:-
 Hel pt omaintai
ntheosmot icpressur
einacel
l.
 Pr ovidetur
gidit
y&r igi
dit
ytotheplantcel
l
.

 Peroxisomesaresmallsingl
emembr anespher
ical
cell
or ganel
lescont
aini
ngpower
ful
oxi
dat i
veenzymes.
 Centrosomesconsistoftwosmallgr
anulescal
ledcent
riole.Pr
esentonl
yinani
malcel
l.Hel
p
i
nspi ndlef
ormati
onduringcell
div
isi
on.