Types of living organism

There are two types of organisms the Unicellular and

Multicellular Organisms
1. The Unicellular Organisms
 One cell
 Bacteria and protists
 Carry out all the functions of life in one cell

2. Multicellular Organisms
 More than one cell
 Plants, animals, and fungi
 Cells are differentiated (specialized)
 WHY STUDY THE CELL
 The cell is the basic unit of life and disease conditions affect specific cells

 Interventions in terms of drugs target specific cells

 Understanding the cell structure helps us develop and carry out interventions that
are efficient, and appropriate to sustain life
 The Cell
The Cell:-
 is the smallest unit of living matter capable of independent existence.
 contains two major compartments: nucleus and cytoplasm.
 nucleus contains chromatin, consisting of genetic material.
 cytoplasm contains organelles (metabolically active units of living
matter), inclusions (inert accumulations of material), and the
cytoskeleton.

The cell theory

 The cell is the basic unit of an organism structure or The cell is the
basic unit of function/life.
 All cells arise from pre-existing cells.
The Surface Area to Volume Ratio and functioning of
cells
 Cellsare so small because small spheres have larger
surface area to volume ratio than larger spheres

 Thislarger surface area to volume ratio allows them to

absorb enough nutrients /oxygen/ substances quickly

 Also, this large surface area/volume ratio allows them

to excrete wastes quickly
 Types of cells
 There are two Types of Cells
 
Prokaryotes / Prokaryotic
 
 First organisms, simple structure
 Generally smaller than eukaryotic
 Has one circular chromosome which floats in cytoplasm
 Has no membrane bound organelles
 Can have slime layer / pili / capsule
 Bacteria and some protests
  
Eukaryotes / Eukaryotic
 More evolved, complex cells
 Generally larger than prokaryotic
 Has two or more chromosomes
 Has some membrane bound organelles
 Has mitochondria
 Some protists, most fungi, most plants, and all animals
Cell types
 Plasma membrane: a cell’s boundary
Separates two compartments
 Defines the perimeter of the cell
 Place of communication with the environment and other cells through
 Channels
 Receptors
 Markers
 Allows adhesion to each other and extracellular matrix
 Allows substance to move in and out of the cell
Plasma mebrane
 The plasma membrane Ctd’
 The fundamental structure of all cell membranes is lipid bilayer that is
similar in every organism and every part of the cell. it just isolates two
spaces
 Membrane proteins that are present in the cell membranes give each membrane a
specific function (markers, channels, receptors)
Characteristics of plasma membrane
1. It has a Hydrophobic tail
 Afraid of water
 Phospholipid tails
 Hydrophilic
 Attracted to water
2. It has a Phospholipid heads
 Fluidity
 Phospholipids are not bonded together
 Arranged by hydrophobic and hydrophilic
 properties of phospholipids
 Means cell membrane can bend, transform, and be manipulated easily
Structure of the plasma membrane
Arragement of the phospholipids
Structure of the phospholipids
Cholestral components of cell membrane
 ribosomes
 There are two types of ribosomes:-
1. Free / nonmembranous ribosome
2. Bound ribosome (on rough endoplasmic reticulum)

Function of ribosomes
 • Translates RNA into proteins / assemble proteins
1. Free and, 2. membrane bound ribosomes
 Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
There are Two types Endoplasmic Reticulum
1. Rough Endoplasmic reticulum
 has bound ribosomes for protein synthesis

2. Smooth Endoplasmic Retivulum

 does not have bound ribosomes
 contains enzymes for lipid synthesis
 Has Folded membrane that acts as the cell’s deliverysystem
The Endoplasmic reticulum
Golgi Apparatus

 Defn: they are aseries of flattened sacs where newly

made lipids and proteins
 from the ER are “repackaged” and shipped to the
plasma
Golgi apparatus
 The mitochondria

 They are the centres of metabolism in the cell

where they Produce energy in the form of ATP for
the cell
 Also known as the “powerhouse of the cell”
 Has a highly folded inner membrane known as
cristae
 Provides high surface area for energy production
The mitochondria
Lysosomes

 These are small membrane bound organells that

Contains a digestive enzymes
 They Can fuse with vacuoles to digest food or can digest
worn cell parts
 Sometimes referred to as the “trash can” of the cell
lysosomes
vacuoles

 Vacuole Function
 They are sacs of fluid surrounded by a membrane used
to store food, fluid, or waste products
vacules
Cytoplasm

Defn:-
 Jelly-like substance that fills in the space between other
 organelles
 Contains many chemicals to keep the cell functioning
cytoplasm
 The nucleus
 Functions
 Determines all of the cell’s activities
 Triggers production of new cells
 Stores DNA

 The characteristics of cell Nucleus

 Contains the genetic apparatus encoded in the DNA of chromosomes.
 directs protein synthesis in the cytoplasm via macromolecules of ribosomal
RNA (rRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), and transfer RNA (tRNA).
 displays euchromatin: lightly stained, dispersed chromatin in the process of
being transcribed.
 displays heterochrornatin: densely stained, condensed chromatin, not currently
being transcribed.
  
Chromosome Organization
 The are complex, consisting of multiple coils and supercoils.
 coils are composed of nucleosome cores of histones with a DNA double helix
wrapped around them.
  Nuclear Envelope
 consists of two parallel membranes separated from each other by
a narrow peri- nuclear space.
 the inner and outer nuclear membranes are continuous with one
another around the nuclear pores, which interrupt the double
membrane of the envelope.
  
 Outer Nuclear Membrane
 has ribosomes attached and is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum. Inner
Nuclear Membrane

 contains a thin meshwork of interwoven intermediate filaments, called the fibrous

lamina (nuclear lamina).

 >>it serves as an anchoring site for interphase chromosomes.

Structure of the nuclear pore
 Nuclear pore is a selectivity “filter”
 It is a ring of 8 subunits with Each subunit projects a spoke-like unit into the
center
 so that the pore looks like a wheel with 8 spokes from the top
 Inside is a central "plug“
Differentiation in Multicellular Organisms
 Differentiation is development in different/specific ways
 Differentiated cells carry out specific functions or they become
specialized
 All cells contain the same DNA (if from the same
individual, duh)
 The cells could have developed in any way But certain genes are
turned on or off (expressed) to change how cell grew or
differentiate
 Nerve cells, muscle cells, skin cells, and bone cells are all examples
of differentiated cells
 Study of cells
 The study of the cell has been made possible by the invention of
Microscopes- they Made the discovery of cells possible
 There are two types of microscopes:-
1. Light microscopes
 Uses light rays that are passed through tissues
 Easy to prepare a sample for
 Living material can be viewed / living processes can be seen
 Color images can be seen
 Relatively portable
 Relatively cheap

2. Electron microscope (scanning and transimission EM)

 Uses a beam of lectrons that is passed through tissues
 – Higher magnification
 – Higher image resolution / clarity
 Very expensive-and usually used in research work