LAB-3- The cell

The cell is the basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all
known living organisms. Cells are the smallest unit of life that
can replicate independently. The study of cells is called cell biology.

Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains

many biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids.
Organisms can be classified as
a- unicellular (consisting of a single cell; including bacteria)
b- multicellular (including plants and animals)

* Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms, while eukaryotes can be either

single-celled or multicellular.
* Cells are of two types:
A- Prokaryotic cells
They are simpler and smaller than eukaryotic cells, and lack membrane-
bound organelles such as the nucleus. Prokaryotes include two of
the domains of life, bacteria and archaea. The DNA of a prokaryotic cell
consists of a single chromosome that is indirect contact with the cytoplasm.
The nuclear region in the cytoplasm is called the nucleoid.
Most prokaryotes are the smallest of all organisms ranging from 0.5 to
5.0 µm in diameter.
B- Eukaryotic cells
These cells are about fifteen times wider than a typical prokaryote and
can be as much as a thousand times greater in volume. The main
distinguishing feature of eukaryotes as compared to prokaryotes is the
presence of membrane-bound organelles .Eukaryotes include fungi,
animals and plants cells.
 Comparison of features of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Prokaryotes Eukaryotes

Typical
bacteria fungi, plants, animals
organisms

Typical size ~ 1–5 µm ~ 10–100 µm

nucleoid
Type
region; no true true nucleus with double membrane
of nucleus
nucleus

circular
DNA linear molecules (chromosomes) with histone proteins
(usually)

RNA/protein coupled in RNA synthesis in the nucleus

synthesis the cytoplasm protein synthesis in the cytoplasm

flagella
flagella made and cilia containing microtubules; lamellipodia and filopodia
Cell movement
of flagellin
containing actin

Mitochondria None one to several thousand

Chloroplasts None in algae and plants

usually single single cells, colonies, higher multicellular organisms with

Organization
cells specialized cells

binary
mitosis (fission or budding)
Cell division fission (simple
meiosis
division)
 single
Chromosomes more than one chromosome
chromosome

Membranes cell membrane Cell membrane and membrane-bound organelles

Structure of a typical prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell

Structure of a typical animal and plant cell

 Anatomy of the cell
1- Cell membrane

There are semi – permeable membrane surrounding the cell. It helps in

holding the cell together and allows entry and exits of nutrients into the
cell.

Cell membrane

2- Cytoplasm

A jelly types double membrane organelles, which are present in the inner
region of the cell. It helps by keeping the cell in stable and protects the cell
organelles by separating them from each other.

3- Nucleus

The largest organelle in the cell, which contains DNA and other cells
hereditary information. The main role of nucleus in the cell is it controls
all cellular activities.

Nucleus
 4- Nucleolus
is a round body located inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell. It is not
surrounded by a membrane but sits in the nucleus. The nucleolus makes
ribosomal subunits from proteins and ribosomal RNA, also known as
rRNA.

Nucleolus

5- Vacuoles

They are the fluid sacs, which are present in less numbers in animal cell
compared to plant cells. The main function of this membrane is to store
food and other waste materials.

Vacuoles

**Examine vacuoles in:

A. Onion leaf
1. Cut a red onion and remove a fleshy leaf.
2. Snap the leaf backward and remove the thin piece of the inner
epidermis that formed at the break point. This tissue will be as thin and
flexible as plastic wrap.
 3. When you obtained your piece of onion, prepare a wet-mound slide
by adding a drop of water on the middle of a clean slide. Then add
cover slide and examine the tissue. The preparation should be one cell
thick.
4. Stain the onion tissue by placing one drop of neutral red at the edge
of the cover slip for 5-15 min.
5. Carefully focus to distinguish the vacuoles surrounded by the
stained cytoplasm.
B. Rose leaf
1. Snap a thin tissue from the toothed margin of a red leaf of rose plant
using sharp lancet.
2. Mount it on a slide and add a cover slip.
3. Carefully focus to distinguish the colourless vacuoles near the
margin. If you search far from the toothed margin, you can see red
colour vacuoles because they contain anthocyanin in their cell sap.

6- Golgi Bodies or Golgi complex

The sac like structures, which are present in a cell to manufacture store,
packing and shipping the selected particles throughout the cell.

Golgi Bodies Ribosome

It is present in the cytoplasm. They are the site of protein synthesis, which
are composed of ribosomal RNA and proteins.

7- Endoplasmic reticulum
The network of membrane, which helps in transporting materials around
the cell and also helps in the synthesis of lipids and proteins. It forms a
connection between nuclear envelope and the cell membrane of the cell.
There are two types of ER:

a- rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) The outer (cytosolic) face of

the rough endoplasmic reticulum is studded with ribosomes that are
the sites of protein synthesis.
b- smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). The smooth endoplasmic
reticulum lacks ribosomes and functions in lipid synthesis but
not metabolism, the production of steroid hormones,
and detoxification.

Endoplasmic reticulum

8- Ribosomes

Ribosomes are small particles which are found individually in the

cytoplasm and also line the membranes of the rough endoplasmic
reticulum. Ribosomes produce protein. They could be thought of as
"factories" in the cell.

9- Mitochondria

They are rod shaped organelles, plays an important role in releasing

energy and they are powerhouse of the cell.
 Mitochondria

**Examine mitochondria in onion cells:

Procedure
1. On a clean glass, add 2-3 drops of Iodine
2. Prepare a thin piece of onion epidermis and mount it in the
staining solution:
3. Add the cover slip.

4. Search the periphery of the cells to locate stained mitochondria,

they are small about 1mm in diameter.
5. Also examine slides for mitochondria in onion root tips and liver
cells, the mitochondria will appear as black points around the
nucleus.
10- Lysosomes
A lysosome is a membrane-bound organelle found in many
animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that
contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds
of biomolecules.

11- Centriole
 In cell biology a centriole is a cylindrical organelle composed mainly
of a protein called tubulin. The main function of centrioles is to
produce cilia during interphase and the aster and the spindle during
cell division.

12- Plastids ( in plants only)

Its found in the cells of plants, algae, and some

other eukaryotic organisms. Plastids are the site of manufacture and
storage of important chemical compounds used by the cells
of autotrophic eukaryotes. They often contain pigments used
in photosynthesis, and the types of pigments in a plastid determine the
cell's color.

*In plants, plastids may differentiate into several forms :

1- Chloroplasts

2- Chromoplasts

3- Leucoplasts

a. Amyloplasts
b. Elaioplasts
c. Proteinoplasts
 Types Of Plastids

The plastids have a double membrane envelope consisting of the outer

and inner membrane (phospholipid layers). The space within the double
membranes is covered with an aqueous matrix known as stroma. This
aqueous matrix contains various enzymes and proteins that are essential for
cellular processes

**Some of the other components of a chloroplast include:

 Grana - Thylakoids arranged in stacks (one on top of another)

 Peripheral reticulum - Membranous tubules arising from the inner
membrane
 Chloroplast DNA
 Ribosome
 

Plastids

13- Vesicle

It is a structure within or outside a cell, consisting of liquid or

cytoplasm enclosed by a lipid bilayer. Vesicles form naturally during
the processes of secretion (exocytosis), uptake (endocytosis) and
transport of materials within the plasma membrane.

14-Cilia and Flagella

Both cilia and flagella are hair-like organelles which extend from the
surface of many animal cells. the structure is identical in both, except that
flagella are longer and whip like and cilia are shorter. There are usually
only a few flagella on a cell, while cilia may cover the entire surface of a
cell. The function of cilia and flagella include locomotion for one-celled
organisms and to move substances over cell surfaces in multi-celled
organisms.
Anatomy of the cell