CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
locomotion of cells by means of special
Mathias Schleiden
 Studied plant tissues and proposed that all
plants are made up of cells.
Theodore Schwann
 Made the same observation for animals.
As a result of their work, they published the first
statement of the cell theory: all living things are
composed of cells.
The field of cytology (FROM THE GREEK WORD
“CYTO” MEANING “CELL”) began based on this
theory.
Rudolf Virchow
 Proposed that cells come from preexisting
cells.
Cell
 The smallest unit that is capable of
performing life functions.
CELL FUNCTIONS
 Nutrition – The process by which cells
obtain food molecules to support their
activities.
 Digestion – The process by which food
particles are broken down with the help of
enzymes into smaller, soluble units suitable
for cell uses
 Absorption – The process by which cells
absorb from their environment water,
minerals, etc.
 Biosynthesis – The process by which all
cell organizes complex chemical from
simple building units or substances.
 Excretion – The process by which cell by-
products that are not needed for further cell
functioning are eliminated.
 Egestion – The process by which insoluble,
undigested particles are eliminated by the
cell.
 Secretion – the process by which
substances that are synthesized by the cells
are expelled from the elimination process.
 Movement – A process that consists of the
structure like cilia and flagella.
 Irritability – the process by which cells
respond or react to external factors or
conditions around them.
 Respiration – The process of breaking
down food molecules into chemical energy
that cells need to function.
 Cellular reproduction – A process by
which cell copies or replicates DNA and
increases in number by cell division.
CELL SIZE AND TYPES
Cells, the basic units of organisms, can only be
observed under microscope
Three Basic types of cells include:
1. Animal Cell
2. Plant Cell
3. Bacterial Cell
Number of Cells
 Unicellular – composed of one cell
 Multicellular- composed of many cells that
may organize into tissues, etc.
Multicellular Organisms
 Cells in multicellular organisms often
specialize (take on different shapes &
functions)
Cell Specialization
 Cells in a multi-cellular organism become
specialized by turning different genes on
and off
 This is known as DIFFERENTIATION
Specialized Animal Cells: Muscle Cells, Red
Blood Cells, and Cheek Cells
Specialized Plant Cells: Guard Cells, Xylem Cells,
and Pollen
2 TYPES OF CELLS
Prokaryotes – The first Cells
 Cells that lack a nucleus or membrane-
bound organelles
 Includes bacteria
 Simplest type of cell
  Single, circular chromosome
 Nucleoid region (center) contains the DNA
 Surrounded by cell membrane & cell wall
(peptidoglycan)
 Contain ribosomes (no membrane) in their
cytoplasm to make proteins
Eukaryotes
 Cells that HAVE a nucleus and membrane-
bound organelles
 Includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals
 More complex type of cells
 Contain 3 basic cell structures:
o Nucleus
o Cell Membrane
o Cytoplasm with organelles
 Two Main Types of Eukaryotic Cells:
o Plant Cell
o Animal Cell
Organelles
 Very small (Microscopic)
 Perform various functions for a cell
 Found in the cytoplasm
 May or may not be membrane-bound
Cell or Plasma Membrane
 Composed of double layer of phospholipids
and proteins
 Surrounds outside of ALL cells
 Controls what enters or leaves the cell
 Living layer
Phospholipids
 Heads contain glycerol & phosphate and
are hydrophilic (attract water)
 Tails are made of fatty acids and are
hydrophobic (repel water)
 Make up a bilayer where tails point inward
toward each other
 Can move laterally to allow small molecules
(O2, CO2, & H2O to enter)
Cell Membrane Proteins
 Proteins help move large molecules or aid
in cell recognition
 Peripheral proteins are attached on the
surface (inner or outer)
 Integral proteins are embedded completely
through the membrane
Glycoproteins
 Recognize “self”
 Have carbohydrate tails to act as markers
for cell recognition
CELL PARTS
Surrounding the Cell
Cell Membrane
 Outer membrane of cell that controls
movement in and out of the cell
 Double layer: Phospholipid bilayer
 Serve as a boundary between the
environment and the inside of the cell.
 It gives the shape of the cell.
 in Plants, lies immediately against the cell
wall in plant cells
 Pushes out against the cell wall to maintain
cell shape
Cell Wall
 Nonliving layer
 Found in plants, fungi, & bacteria
 Made of cellulose in plants
 Made of peptidoglycan in bacteria
 Made of chitin in Fungi
 Supports and protects cell
 Found outside of the cell membrane
Cytoplasm
 Jelly-like substance enclosed by cell
membrane
 Provides a medium for chemical reactions
to take place
 Contains organelles to carry out specific
jobs
 Found in ALL cells
Inside the Cell
Nucleus – The Control Organelle
 “Control center of the cell”
 Contains the DNA in chromosomes
 Bounded by a nuclear envelope
(membrane) with pores
 Usually the largest organelle
 Each cell has fixed number of
chromosomes that carry genes
 Genes control cell characteristics
 Nuclear Envelope
 o
Double membrane surrounding
nucleus
o Also called nuclear membrane
o Contains nuclear pores for materials
to enter & leave nucleus
o Connected to the rough ER
 Inside the Nucleus
o The genetic material (DNA) is found
o DNA is spread out and appears as
CHROMATIN in non-dividing cells
o DNA is condensed & wrapped
around proteins forming as
CHROMOSOMES
in dividing cells
o What Does DNA do?
 DNA is the hereditary
material of the cell
 Genes that make up the DNA
molecule code for different
proteins
Nucleolus
 Inside nucleus
 Cell may have 1 to 3 nucleoli
 Disappears when cell divides
 Makes ribosomes that make proteins
Cytoskeleton
 Helps cell maintain cell shape
 Also help move organelles around
 Made of proteins
 Microfilaments are threadlike & made of
ACTIN
 Microtubules are tube-like & made of
TUBULIN
Endoplasmic Reticulum
 “Manufacturing shippers of the cell”
 Moves materials around in cell
 Smooth type: lacks ribosomes
 Rough type (pictured): ribosomes
embedded in surface
 Network of hollow membrane tubules
 Connects to nuclear envelope & cell
membrane
 Functions in Synthesis of cell products &
Transport
o Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
(Rough ER)
 Has ribosomes on its surface
 Makes membrane proteins
and proteins for EXPORT out
of cell
o Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
(Smooth ER)
 Smooth ER lacks ribosomes
on its surface
 Is attached to the ends of
rough ER
 Makes cell products that are
USED INSIDE the cell
 Makes membrane lipids
(steroids); Regulates calcium
(muscle cells); Destroys toxic
substances (Liver)
Ribosomes
 “Protein factories of the cell”
 Made of PROTEINS and rRNA
 Each cell contains thousands
 Make proteins through the process called
protein synthesis
 Found on ribosomes & floating throughout
the cell
Mitochondrion (plural = mitochondria)
 “Powerhouse” of the cell
 Generate cellular energy (ATP)
 More active cells like muscle cells have
MORE mitochondria
 Both plants & animal cells have
mitochondria
 Site of CELLULAR RESPIRATION (burning
glucose)
 Surrounded by a DOUBLE membrane
 Has its own DNA
 Folded inner membrane called CRISTAE
(increases surface area for more chemical
reactions)
 Interior called MATRIX
Golgi APPARATUS/ GOLGI Bodies
 Protein “packaging counter of the cell”
 Named after Camillo Golgi, who discovered
its presence in 1898.
 Move materials within and out the cell
 It is composed of smooth flattened
membranous sacs called “cisternae”, which
resemble a stack of pancakes.
  3 areas of the Golgi apparatus  Inner membrane modified into sacs called
o The cis face Thylakoids
o Medial region  Thylakoids in stacks called Grana &
o Trans face interconnected
 Stroma – gel like material surrounding
Lysosomes
thylakoids
 “Suicide bags of the cell”  Contains its own DNA
 Contain digestive enzymes  Contains enzymes & pigments for
 Makes possible the destruction of Photosynthesis
microorganisms or harmful foreign bodies  Never in animal or bacterial cells
inside the cell.  Photosynthesis – food making process
 Break down food and worn out cell parts for Centrioles
cells
 Programmed for cell death (AUTOLYSIS)  “Helper in cell division”
 Lysosome Digestion  Found only in animal cells
o Cells take in food by phagocytosis  Paired structures near nucleus
o Lysosomes digest the food & get rid  Made of bundle of microtubules
of wastes  Appear during cell division forming mitotic
spindle
Peroxisomes
 Help to pull chromosome pairs apart to
 Membrane-bound organelles similar to opposite ends of the cell
lysosomes. Cilia & Flagella
 They have a single membrane that contains
digestive enzymes for breaking down toxic  Made of protein tubes called microtubules
materials in the cell.  Microtubules arranged (9 + 2
 It holds on to enzymes that require oxygen. arrangement)
 Also contain enzymes that are able to assist  Function in moving cells, in moving fluids, or
in synthesizing cholesterol and breaking in small particles across the cell surface
down lipids.  Cilia are shorter and more numerous on
cells
Vacuoles
 Flagella are longer and fewer (usually 1-3)
 “Storage tanks of the cell” on cells
 Membrane-bound sacs for storage,
digestion, and waste removal
 Contains water solution
 Help plants maintain shape
 Small or absent in animal cells
 Plant cells have a large Central Vacuole
 No vacuoles in bacterial cells
 In plants, they store Cell Sap
 Includes storage of sugars, proteins,
minerals, lipids, wastes, salts, water, and
enzymes
Chloroplast
 Found only in producers (organisms
containing chlorophyll)
 Contains green chlorophyll
 Where photosynthesis takes place
 Surrounded by DOUBLE membrane
 Outer membrane smooth