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ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF CELLS
Fluorescence Micrograph of a Cell. This image of a bovine pulmonary arterial endothelial cell shows
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DNA in the nucleus (blue), mitochondria (green), and the actin cytoskeleton (purple).
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Cells and Organelles
• Two questions to consider
– Where did the first cells come from?
– How do today’s cells function?
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The Origins of the First Cells
• The appearance of cells involved four phases:
1. Abiotic (nonliving) synthesis of simple organic
compounds
2. Abiotic polymerization of these into macromolecules
3. Emergence of a macromolecule capable of replication
and storing genetic information
4. Encapsulation of the first living molecule within a simple
membrane
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4
Simple Organic Molecules May Have
Formed Abiotically in the Young Earth
• In a classic experiment, Stanley Miller (1953) tested the
hypothesis that energy from lightning could have powered
production of simple organic compounds from
atmospheric gases.
• The early atmosphere was thought
to consist largely of reduced gases
such as hydrogen (H2), methane
(CH4), ammonia (NH3), and water
vapor (H2O).
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Results of the Experiment
• After a week of continuous exposure of gases to electrical
discharge, Miller checked the flask.
• He detected two simple amino acids (alanine and glycine)
in the flask.
• This suggested that some organic compounds could be
produced under abiotic conditions.
Alanine Glycine
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Miller’s Apparatus for Abiotic Synthesis of
Simple Organic Compounds
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Additional Experiments
• Other researchers have tested
different proposed atmospheres
exposed to electrical discharge.
• They have detected a variety of
simple organic compounds
produced in this way.
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Models for Formation of Organic Compounds
• Formation in the atmosphere, precipitation into the oceans,
and concentration into ―primordial soup‖ as simulated by
Miller’s experiments
• Deep-sea hydrothermal vents provided a catalytic environment
for combining dissolved gases into organic molecules.
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https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2219
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RNA May Have Been the First Informational
Molecule
• Deoxyribonucleic acids, used to form DNA, are derived enzymatically
from the corresponding ribonucleotides.
• RNAs called ribozymes are capable of performing certain enzymatic
reactions; for example, the formation of the peptide bonds during
translation.
• This suggests that an ―RNA world‖ existed before the appearance of
DNA and proteins.
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpc.2022.106914
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Liposomes May Have Defined the First Primitive
Protocells
• Using lipids, scientists have produced hollow, membrane-
bound vesicles called liposomes.
• Under some circumstances, these can carry out simple
metabolic reactions.
• Primordial lipids may have come together in an early ocean,
trapping RNAs and forming the first ―protocells.‖
Liposome
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Artificial Liposomes
Image ―a‖ of liposomes shows two
smaller vesicles within a bigger one and
another vesicle on the circumference of
the bigger vesicle. A small vesicle is also
found next to the bigger one. Both these
vesicles along with liposome are
enclosed by lipid bilayer. It shows a
measurement of 20 micrometer at the left
end.
Image ―b‖ shows a measurement of 1
micrometer at the left end and shows
liposomes enclosed in a circular body.
The R N A is shown in yellow coloured
round shaped bodies inside liposomes.
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Basic Properties of Cells
• Several general characteristics of cells
– Organizational complexity
– Molecular components
– Sizes and shapes
– Specialization
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13
The Three Domains of Life Are
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes
• Biologists recognized two types of cells.
• The simpler type is characteristic of bacteria and archaea
(prokaryotes), and the more complex type is characteristic of
plants, animals, fungi, algae, and protozoa (eukaryotes).
• The main distinction between the two cell types is the
membrane-bounded nucleus of eukaryotic cells.
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A Changing View of Prokaryotes
• Recently, the term prokaryote has become unsatisfactory in
describing the non-nucleated cells.
• Sharing of a gross structural feature is not necessarily
evidence of relatedness.
• Based on rRNA sequence analysis, prokaryotic cells can be
divided into the widely divergent bacteria and archaea.
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Three Domains
• Bacteria and archaea are as divergent from one another as
humans and bacteria are.
• Biologists now recognize three domains, the Archaea, Bacteria,
and Eukarya (eukaryotes).
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The Three Domains of Life
The composition of each domain is as below:
1.Bacteria: The components are green nonsulfur bacteria with
mitochondria, spirochetes, chlamydia, green sulfur bacteria, and
cyanobacteria with plastids, including chloroplasts.
2.Eukarya: The main components are land plants, animals, and
fungi. The other parts shown as branches are dinoflagellates,
diatoms, ciliates, euglena, trypanosomes, leishmania, cellular slime
molds, amoebae, green algae, red algae, and forams.
3.Archaea: The components are sulfolobus, thermophiles,
halophiles, and methanobacterium.
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Bacteria
• These include most of the commonly encountered single-
celled, non-nucleated organisms that were traditionally
called bacteria.
• Examples include
– Escherichia coli
– Pseudomonas aeruginosa
– Streptococcus lactis
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Archaea (1 of 2)
• Archaea were originally called archaebacteria before they
were discovered to be so different from bacteria.
• They include many species that live in extreme habitats
and have diverse metabolic strategies.
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Archaea (2 of 2)
• Types of archaea include
– Methanogens—obtain energy from hydrogen and
convert CO2 into methane
– Halophiles—occupy extremely salty environments
– Thermacidophiles—thrive in acidic hot springs
• They are considered to have descended from a common
ancestor that also gave rise to eukaryotes long after
diverging from bacteria.
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The Common Ancestor of Bacteria, Archaea,
and Eukarya
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There Are Several Limitations on Cell Size
• Cells come in various sizes and shapes.
• Some of the smallest bacteria are about 0.2–0.3 μm in diameter.
• Some highly elongated nerve cells may extend a meter or more.
• Despite the extremes, cells in general fall into predictable size
ranges.
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4.1D%3A_Cell_Size
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Size Ranges
• Bacteria cells normally range from 1 to 5 μm in diameter.
• Animal cells have dimensions in the range of 10–100 μm.
• Cells are usually very small.
• There are three main limitations on cell size.
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Limitations on Cell Size
• Cell size is limited by:
– The requirement for adequate surface area relative to
volume
– The rates at which molecules can diffuse
– The need to maintain adequate local concentrations of
substances required for necessary cellular functions
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Surface Area/Volume Ratio
• In most cases, the major limit on cell size is set by the
need to maintain an adequate surface area/volume ratio.
• Surface area is important
because exchanges between
the cell and its surroundings
take place at the cell surface.
• The cell’s volume determines
the amount of exchange that
must take place across the
available surface area.
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Maintaining Adequate Surface Area/Volume Ratio
• The volume of a cell increases with the cube of its length.
• But the surface area of the cell increases with the square of
its length, so larger cells have proportionately smaller surface
areas.
• Beyond a certain threshold, a large cell would not have a
large enough surface area to allow for sufficient intake of
nutrients and release of wastes.
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The Effect of Cell Size on the Surface Area/Volume
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Cells Specialized for Absorption
• Cells that are specialized for absorption have
characteristics to maximize their surface area.
• For example, cells lining the small intestine have microvilli—
fingerlike projections that increase the surface area.
The Microvilli of Intestinal Mucosal Cells
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Diffusion Rates of Molecules
• The internal volume of the cell, not including the nucleus, is the
cytoplasm.
• Cytoplasm contains organelles, cytoskeletal fibers, and the semifluid
cytosol in which they are suspended.
• Many molecules move through this liquid-based environment by
diffusion, the unassisted movement of a substance from a region of
high concentration to a region of low concentration.
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Limitation on Rates of Diffusion
• The rate of diffusion of molecules decreases as the size of the
molecule increases.
• This limits diffusion for macromolecules such as proteins
and nucleic acids.
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Avoiding Limitations of Rates of Diffusion
• Eukaryotic cells can avoid the problem of slow diffusion rates by
using carrier proteins to actively transport materials through
the cytoplasm.
• Some cells use cytoplasmic streaming (cyclosis in plants) to
actively move cytoplasmic contents.
• Other cells move molecules through the cell in vesicles that are
transported along protein fibers.
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The Need for Adequate Concentrations of
Reactants and Catalysts
• For a reaction to occur, the reactants must collide with and
bind to a particular enzyme.
• The frequency of such collisions is greatly increased by
higher concentrations of enzymes and reactants.
• As cell size increases, the number of molecules increases
proportionately with volume.
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Compartmentalization of Cellular Activities
• A solution to the concentration problem is the compartmentalization
of activities within specific regions of the cell.
• Most eukaryotic cells have a variety of organelles, membrane-
bounded compartments that are specialized for specific functions.
• For example, cells in a plant leaf have most of the materials needed
for photosynthesis compartmentalized into structures called
chloroplasts.
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Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes Differ from Each
Other in Many Ways
• There are shared characteristics among cells of each of
the domains, Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
• However, each type of cell has a unique set of
distinguishing properties.
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Presence of a Membrane-Bounded Nucleus
• A eukaryotic cell has a true, membrane-bounded nucleus.
• The genetic information of a bacterial or archaeal cell is
folded into a compact structure called the nucleoid
and is attached to the cell membrane.
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Structure of a Rod-Shaped Bacterial Cell
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Use of Internal Membranes to Segregate Function
• Bacterial and archaeal cells do not usually contain internal
membranes.
• A group of photosynthetic bacteria (cyanobacteria) have
extensive internal membranes upon which photosynthetic
reactions are carried out.
• Some bacteria have membrane-bound or protein-lined
structures that serve as (or resemble) organelles.
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Internal Membranes in Eukaryotes
• Nearly all eukaryotes make extensive use of internal
membranes to compartmentalize specific functions and
have numerous organelles.
• Examples: endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex,
mitochondria, chloroplasts, lysosomes, peroxisomes, and
various types of vacuoles and vesicles.
• Each organelle contains the materials and molecular
machinery needed to carry out the functions for which the
structure is specialized.
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An Animal Cell
• The parts of an animal cell are lysosome, peroxisome, mitochondrion, nucleus,
ribosome, rough endoplasmic reticulum, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi
apparatus, centrosome, microtubule, and actin filaments.
• The nucleus comprises of an inner nucleolus and an outer nuclear envelope.
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A Plant Cell
• The different parts that are labeled are a large part of vacuole, chloroplast, granum
or stack of thylakoids, mitochondrion, peroxisome, Golgi apparatus, smooth
endoplasmic reticulum, rough endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, and ribosome.
• The nucleus comprises of nucleolus and nuclear envelope.
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Exocytosis and Endocytosis
• Eukaryotic cells can exchange materials between
compartments within the cell and the exterior of the cell.
• This is possible through exocytosis and endocytosis,
processes involving membrane fusion events unique to
eukaryotic cells.
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Vesicle Transport
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Organization of DNA
• Bacterial DNA is present in the cell as a circular molecule,
called a chromosome, associated with few proteins.
• Eukaryotic DNA is organized into linear molecules
(chromosomes) complexed with large amounts of proteins
called histones.
• Archaeal DNA is circular and complexed with proteins
similar to eukaryotic histone proteins.
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DNA Packaging
• The circular DNA of bacteria or archaea is much longer
than the cell itself and so must be folded and packed
tightly, equivalent to packing about 60 feet of thread into a
thimble.
• Eukaryotic cells have about 1000 times more DNA than
bacteria.
• The problem of DNA packaging is solved among
eukaryotes by organizing the DNA into chromosomes.
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A Pair of Eukaryotic Chromosomes
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Segregation of Genetic Information
• Prokaryotes and eukaryotes differ in how genetic information is allocated to
daughter cells upon division.
• Bacterial and archaeal cells replicate their DNA and divide by binary
fission, with one molecule of the replicated DNA and the cytoplasm going
into each daughter cell.
• Eukaryotic cells replicate DNA and then distribute their chromosomes into
daughter cells by mitosis and meiosis, followed by cytokinesis, division
of the cytoplasm.
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Expression of DNA
• Eukaryotic cells transcribe genetic information in the nucleus into large
RNA molecules that are processed and transported into the cytoplasm
for protein synthesis. Each mature RNA molecule typically encodes one
polypeptide.
• Bacteria transcribe genetic information into RNA, and the RNA molecules
produced may contain information for several polypeptides. There is very
little RNA processing in bacteria.
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