CELL STRUCTURE

ASSOC PROF DR MERYEM GÜVENİR

OPTICAL METHODS
 THE LIGHT MICROSCOPE
• The resolving power of the light microscope under ideal conditions is
about half the wavelength of the light being used.
• Resolving power is the distance that must separate two point sources
of light if they are to be seen as two distinct images.
• With yellow light of a wavelength of 0.4 mm, the smallest separable
diameters are thus about 0.2 mm (ie, one-third the width of a typical
prokaryotic cell).
 THE LIGHT MICROSCOPE
• The useful magnification of a microscope is the magnification that
makes visible the smallest resolvable particles.
• Several types of light microscopes are commonly used in
microbiology:
1. Bright-Field Microscope
2. Phase Contrast Microscope
3. Dark-Field Microscope
4. Fluorescence Microscope
 BRIGHT-FIELD MICROSCOPE
• The bright-field microscope is most commonly used in microbiology
courses and consists of two series of lenses (objective and ocular lens)
, which function together to resolve the image.
• These microscopes generally employ a 100-power objective lens with
a 10-power ocular lens, thus magnifying the specimen 1000 times.
• Particles 0.2 mm in diameter are therefore magnified to about 0.2
mm and so become clearly visible.
2-PHASE CONTRAST MICROSCOPE
• The phase contrast
microscope was developed
to improve contrast
differences between cells
and the surrounding
medium, making it possible
to see living cells without
staining them; with bright-fi
eld microscopes, killed and
stained preparations must
be used
3- DARK-FIELD MICROSCOPE
• Th e dark-field microscope is a light microscope in which the lighting
system has been modified to reach the specimen from the sides only.

• Thus, this technique has been particularly useful for observing

organisms such as Treponema pallidum , a spirochete that is smaller
than 0.2 mm in diameter and therefore cannot be observed with a
bright-field or phase contrast microscope.
 4- FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPE
• The fluorescence
microscope is used to
visualize specimens that
fluoresce , which is the
ability to absorb short
wave-lengths of light
(ultraviolet) and give off
light at a longer wave-
length (visible)
 THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
• The high resolving power of electron microscopes has enabled
scientists to observe the detailed structures of prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells.

• The superior resolution of the electron microscope is due to the fact

that electrons have a much shorter wavelength than the photons of
white light.
EUKARYOTIC CELL
STRUCTURE
 NUCLEUS
• The nucleus contains the cell’s genome

• It is bounded by a membrane that consists of a pair of unit

membranes separated by a space of variable thickness

• The inner membrane is usually a simple sac, but the outermost

membrane is, in many places, continuous with the endoplasmic
reticulum (ER)
 NUCLEUS
• The nuclear membrane exhibits selective permeability because of
pores, which consist of a complex of several proteins whose function
is to import substances into and export substances out of the nucleus.

• The chromosomes of eukaryotic cells contain linear DNA

macromolecules arranged as a double helix.
 NUCLEUS
• Eukaryotic DNA macromolecules are associated with basic proteins
called histones that bind to the DNA by ionic interactions
• A structure often visible within the nucleus is the nucleolus, an area
rich in RNA that is the site of ribosomal RNA synthesis
• Ribosomal proteins synthesized in the cytoplasm are transported into
the nucleolus and combine with ribosomal RNA to form the small and
large subunits of the eukaryotic ribosome
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells is characterized by the presence of
an ER, vacuoles, self-reproducing plastids, and an elaborate
cytoskeleton composed of microtubules, microfilaments, and
intermediate filaments
• The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a network of membrane-bound
channels continuous with the nuclear membrane
• Two types of ER are recognized: rough, which contains attached 80S
ribosomes, and smooth, which does not.
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• Rough ER is a major producer of glycoproteins and produces new
membrane material that is transported throughout the cell; smooth
ER participates in the synthesis of lipids and in some aspects of
carbohydrate metabolism.
• The Golgi apparatus consists of a stack of membranes that function in
concert with the ER to chemically modify and sort products of the ER
into those destined to be secreted and those that function in other
membranous structures of the cell.
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• The plastids include
mitochondria and chloroplasts.
• Several lines of evidence
suggest that mitochondria and
chloroplasts were descendents
of ancient prokaryotic
photosynthetic cell organelles
that are capable of converting
the energy of sunlight into
chemical energy through
photosynthesis.
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• Lysosomes are membrane-enclosed sacs that contain various
digestive enzymes that the cell uses to digest macromolecules such as
proteins, fats, and polysaccharides.
• The lysosome allows these enzymes to be partitioned away from the
cytoplasm proper, where they could destroy key cellular
macromolecules if not contained.
• After the hydrolysis of macromolecules in the lysosome, the resulting
monomers pass from the lysosome into the cytoplasm, where they
serve as nutrients
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• The peroxisome is a membrane-enclosed
structure whose function is to produce
H2O2 from the reduction of O2 by various
hydrogen donors.
• The H2O2 produced in the peroxisome is
subsequently degraded to H2O and O2 by
the enzyme catalase
 CYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE
• The cytoskeleton is a three-
dimensional structure that fills the
cytoplasm. The primary types of
fibers comprising the cytoskeleton
are microfilaments, intermediate
filaments, and microtubules.
• Microfilaments are about 3–6 nm in
diameter and are polymers
composed of subunits of the protein
actin
 SURFACE LAYERS
• The cytoplasm is enclosed within a plasma membrane composed of
protein and phospholipid similar to the prokaryotic cell membrane

• Most animal cells have no other surface layers; however, plant cells
have an outer cell wall composed of cellulose

• Many eukaryotic microorganisms also have an outer cell wall, which

may be composed of a polysaccharide such as cellulose or chitin or
may be inorganic (eg, the silica wall of diatoms)
 MOTILITY ORGANELLES
• Many eukaryotic
microorganisms have
organelles called
flagella (eg, T.
vaginalis) or cilia (eg,
Paramecium) that
move with a wavelike
motion to propel the
cell through water
PROKARTOTIC CELL
STRUCTURE
 THE NUCLEOID
• Prokaryotes have no true nuclei;
instead they package their DNA in
a structure known as the nucleoid.
• The negatively charged DNA is at
least partially neutralized by small
polyamines and magnesium ions,
but histone-like proteins exist in
bacteria and presumably play a
role similar to that of histones in
eukaryotic chromatin
 THE NUCLEOID
• In bacteria, the number of nucleoids, and therefore the number of
chromosomes, depend on the growth conditions.

• Rapidly growing bacteria have more nucleoids per cell than slowly
growing ones; however, when multiple copies are present, they are all
the same (ie, prokaryotic cells are haploid)
 CYTOPLASMIC STRUCTURE
• Prokaryotic cells lack autonomous plastids, such as mitochondria and
chloroplasts; the electron transport enzymes are localized instead in
the cytoplasmic membrane

• Some photosynthetic bacteria have specialized nonunit membrane-

enclosed structures called chlorosomes
 CYTOPLASMIC STRUCTURE
• Bacteria often store reserve materials in the form of insoluble
granules, which appear as refractile bodies in the cytoplasm when
viewed by phase contrast microscopy.

• These so-called inclusion bodies almost always function in the storage

of energy or as a reservoir of structural building blocks
 CYTOPLASMIC STRUCTURE
• Most cellular inclusions are bounded by a thin nonunit membrane
consisting of lipid, which serves to separate the inclusion from the
cytoplasm proper.

• One of the most common inclusion bodies consists of poly-β-

hydroxybutyric acid (PHB), a lipid-like compound consisting of chains
of β-hydroxybutyric acid units connected through ester linkages
 CYTOPLASMIC STRUCTURE
• Another storage product formed by prokaryotes when carbon is in
excess is glycogen, which is a polymer of glucose

• A variety of prokaryotes are capable of oxidizing reduced sulfur

compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and thiosulfate, producing
intracellular granules of elemental sulfur
 CYTOPLASMIC STRUCTURE
• Many bacteria accumulate large reserves of inorganic phosphate in
the form of granules of polyphosphate
• These granules can be degraded and used as sources of phosphate for
nucleic acid and phospholipid synthesis to support growth.
• These granules are sometimes termed volutin granules or
metachromatic granules because they stain red with a blue dye.
• They are characteristic features of the corynebacteria.
 THE CELL ENVELOPE
• Prokaryotic cells are surrounded by complex envelope layers that
differ in composition among the major groups.

• These structures protect the organisms from hostile environments,

such as extreme osmolarity, harsh chemicals, and even antibiotics.
 THE CELL MEMBRANE-STRUCTURE
• The bacterial cell membrane, also called the cytoplasmic membrane
• It is a typical “unit membrane” composed of phospholipids and
upward of 200 different kinds of protein
• The membranes of prokaryotes are distinguished from those of
eukaryotic cells by the absence of sterols, the only exception being
mycoplasmas that incorporate sterols, such as cholesterol, into their
membranes when growing in sterol-containing media.
 THE CELL MEMBRANE-FUNCTION
1) selective permeability and transport of solutes
2) electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation in aerobic species
3) excretion of hydrolytic exoenzymes
4) bearing the enzymes and carrier molecules that function in the
biosynthesis of DNA, cell wall polymers, and membrane lipids
5) bearing the receptors and other proteins of the chemotactic and
other sensory transduction systems.
 PERMEABILITY AND TRANSPORT
• The cytoplasmic membrane forms a hydrophobic barrier
impermeable to most hydrophilic molecules.
• However, several mechanisms (transport systems) exist that enable
the cell to transport nutrients into and waste products out of the cell
• These transport systems work against a concentration gradient to
increase the concentration of nutrients inside the cell, a function that
requires energy in some form.
 PASSIVE TRANSPORT
• This mechanism relies on diffusion, uses no energy, and operates only
when the solute is at higher concentration outside than inside the
cell.
• Simple diffusion accounts for the entry of very few nutrients,
including dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water itself. Simple
diffusion provides neither speed nor selectivity
 PASSIVE TRANSPORT
• Facilitated diffusion also uses no energy so the solute never achieves
an internal concentration greater than what exists outside the cell.
However, facilitated diffusion is selectivy
• Channel proteins form selective channels that facilitate the passage
of specific molecules. Facilitated diffusion is common in eukaryotic
microorganisms (eg, yeast) but is rare in prokaryotes.
• Glycerol is one of the few compounds that enters prokaryotic cells by
facilitated diffusion.
 ACTIVE TRANSPORT
• Many nutrients are concentrated more than a thousand-fold as a
result of active transport.

• There are two types of active transport mechanisms depending on

the source of energy used: ion-coupled transport and ATP-binding
cassette (ABC) transport
 GROUP TRANSLOCATION
• In addition to true transport, in which a solute is moved across the
membrane without change in structure, bacteria use a process called
group translocation (vectorial metabolism) to effect the net uptake of
certain sugars (eg, glucose and mannose), the substrate becoming
phosphorylated during the transport process.
THE PEPTIDOGLYCAN LAYER
SPECIAL COMPONENTS OF GRAM-
POSITIVE CELL WALLS
SPECIAL COMPONENTS OF GRAM-
NEGATIVE CELL WALLS
SUMMARY…………..
• Microscopy has played an important role in our understanding of cell
structure.

• Eukaryotic cells are characterized by a membrane-bound nucleus, an

endoplasmic reticulum, 80S ribosomes, and plastids (mitochondria
and chloroplasts). The plasma membrane is characterized by the
presence of sterols (cholesterol). Prokaryotic cells lack a true nucleus
and are haploid. The cytoplasm contains 70S ribosomes, and they do
not have mitochondria and chloroplasts
SUMMARY…………..
• The major functions of the cell membrane of prokaryotic cells are
(1) selective permeability and transport of solutes;
(2) electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation, in aerobic
species;
(3) excretion of hydrolytic enzymes and other proteins;
(4) bearing the enzymes and carrier molecules that function in the
biosynthesis of DNA, cell wall polymers, and membrane lipids; and
(5) bearing the receptors and proteins of the chemotactic and other
sensory transduction systems
SUMMARY…………..
• Most bacteria are classified as gram-positive or gram– negative
according to their response to the Gram-staining procedure. The
differences between these two groups are reflected by fundamental
differences in their cell envelopes.
• Gram-positive cell wall consists of a plasma membrane and thick
peptidoglycan layer; the gram-negative cell wall consists of a plasma
membrane, a thin peptidoglycan layer, and an outer membrane
containing lipopolysaccharide (endotoxin). The space between the
plasma membrane and outer membrane is referred to as the
periplasmic space.