Cell (biology)

Cell (biology)
The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living
organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as
living, and is often called the building block of life. Some organisms,
such as most bacteria, are unicellular (consist of a single cell). Other
organisms, such as humans, are multi-cellular. (Humans have an
estimated 100 trillion or 1014 cells; a typical cell size is 10 µm; a typical
cell mass is 1 nanogram.) The largest known cell is an unfertilized
ostrich egg cell.
In 1835 before the final cell theory was developed, a Czech Jan
Evangelista Purkyně observed small ‘granules’ while looking at the
plant tissue through a microscope. The cell theory, first developed in
1839 by Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, states that
all organisms are composed of one or more cells. All cells come from
preexisting cells. Vital functions of an organism occur within cells,
and all cells contain the hereditary information necessary for
regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to the next
generation of cells.
The word cell comes from the Latin cellula, meaning, a small room.
The descriptive name for the smallest living biological structure was
chosen by Robert Hooke in a book he published in 1665 when he
compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small
rooms monks lived in.
General principles
Each cell is at least somewhat self-contained and self-maintaining: it
can take in nutrients, convert these nutrients into energy, carry out
specialized functions, and reproduce as necessary. Each cell stores its
own set of instructions for carrying out each of these activities.
All cells have several different abilities:
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Reproduction by cell division: (binary fission/mitosis or
meiosis).
Use of enzymes and other proteins coded for by DNA genes
and made via messenger RNA intermediates and ribosomes.
Metabolism, including taking in raw materials, building cell
components, converting energy, molecules and releasing byproducts. The functioning of a cell depends upon its ability to
extract and use chemical energy stored in organic molecules.
This energy is released and then used in metabolic pathways.
Response to external and internal stimuli such as changes in
temperature, pH or levels of nutrients.
Cell contents are contained within a cell surface membrane that
is made from a lipid bilayer with proteins embedded in it.
Some prokaryotic cells contain important internal membrane-bound
compartments,[6] but eukaryotic cells have a specialized set of internal
membrane compartments.
Anatomy of cells
There are two types of cells: eukaryotic and prokaryotic. Prokaryotic
cells are usually independent, while eukaryotic cells are often found in
multicellular organisms.
Prokaryotic cells
The prokaryote cell is simpler than a eukaryote cell, lacking a nucleus
and most of the other organelles of eukaryotes. There are two kinds
of prokaryotes: bacteria and archaea; they share a similar overall
structure.
A prokaryotic cell has three architectural regions:
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On the outside, flagella and pili project from the cell’s surface.
These are structures (not present in all prokaryotes) made of
proteins that facilitate movement and communication between
cells;
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Enclosing the cell is the cell envelope - generally consisting of a
cell wall covering a plasma membrane though some bacteria
also have a further covering layer called a capsule. The envelope
gives rigidity to the cell and separates the interior of the cell
from its environment, serving as a protective filter. Though
most prokaryotes have a cell wall, there are exceptions such as
Mycoplasma (bacteria) and Thermoplasma (archaea)). The cell wall
consists of peptidoglycan in bacteria, and acts as an additional
barrier against exterior forces. It also prevents the cell from
expanding and finally bursting (cytolysis) from osmotic
pressure against a hypotonic environment. Some eukaryote cells
(plant cells and fungi cells) also have a cell wall;
Inside the cell is the cytoplasmic region that contains the cell
genome (DNA) and ribosomes and various sorts of inclusions.
A prokaryotic chromosome is usually a circular molecule (an
exception is that of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which
causes Lyme disease). Though not forming a nucleus, the DNA
is condensed in a nucleoid. Prokaryotes can carry extra
chromosomal DNA elements called plasmids, which are usually
circular. Plasmids enable additional functions, such as antibiotic
resistance.
Inside the ribosome
The ribosome is composed of two subunits, named for how rapidly
they sediment when subject to centrifugation. tRNA is sandwiched
between the small and large subunits and the ribosome catalyzes the
formation of a peptide bond between the 2 amino acids that are
contained in the rRNA.
The ribosome also has 3 binding sites called A, P, and E.
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The A site in the ribosome binds to an aminoacyl-tRNA (a
tRNA bound to an amino acid).
The amino (NH2) group of the aminoacyl-tRNA, which
contains the new amino acid, attacks the ester linkage of
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peptidyl-tRNA (contained within the P site), which contains the
last amino acid of the growing chain, forming a new peptide
bond. This reaction is catalyzed by peptidyl transferase.
The tRNA that was holding on the last amino acid is moved to
the E site, and what used to be the aminoacyl-tRNA is now the
peptidyl-tRNA.
A single mRNA can be translated simultaneously by multiple
ribosomes.
Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes
Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic can be broken down into two
subunits (the S in 16S represents Svedberg units):
Type
Size Large subunit Small subunit
prokaryotic 70S 50S (5S, 23S)
30S (16S)
eukaryotic 80S 60S (5S, 5.8S, 28S) 40S (18S)
Note that the S units of the subunits cannot simply be added because
they represent measures of sedimentation rate rather than of mass.
The sedimentation rate of each subunit is affected by its shape, as
well as by its mass.
Difference between Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
The size of prokaryotic cells is typically 0.2-2.0 micrometer in
diameter while eukaryotic cell is 10-100 micrometer in diameter.
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Eukaryotes are called to have ‘true nucleus’ because it contains
membrane-bound nuclei and consists of other organelles such as
lysosomes, Golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and
chloroplasts , while prokaryotes does not have nuclear membrane or
other membrane enclosed organelles.
In prokaryotes, flagellum is made of two protein building blocks and
cell wall is chemically complex and made of peptidoglycan (a single
large polymer of amino acids and sugar) while eukaryotes’ flagellum is
more complex with multiple microtubules and when cell walls are
present they are chemically simple.
In prokaryotes, the cell division occurs via binary fission and no
meiosis takes place but only transfer of DNA fragments occurs via
conjugation. Cell division in eukaryotes occurs through mitosis and
sexual reproduction occurs through meiosis.
In eukaryotes, plasma membrane consists of sterols and
carbohydrates. Cytoplasm consists of cytoskeletons and cytoplasmic
streaming is present. Ribosomes are larger (80S) and smaller (70S) in
size, and chromosomes are multiple and linearly arranged with
histones. The DNA of eukaryotes is much more complex than the
DNA of prokaryotes.
In prokaryotes, plasma membrane does not contain carbohydrates or
sterols. Cytoplasm does not have cytosketeton or cytoplasmic
streaming. Ribosomes are smaller (70S) in size and present with
single circular chromosome which does not consist histones.
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