BIOLOGY 1

SVDPA eCLASSROOM

CELL THEORY
Endomembrane System,
Mitochondria, Chloroplasts,
Cytoskeleton and Extracellular
Components
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STEM_BIO1112-1a-c-1, STEM_BIO1112-Ia-c-2,
STEM_BIO1112-Ig-h-11 and STEM_BIO1112-Ig-h-12

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of living organisms and all cells come
from other cells. The scientists Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann are credited
with establishing the cell theory in 1839. However, there was a lot of work done over
the previous centuries which paved the way.
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A cell is the smallest unit of life. Cells are often called the "building blocks of life". The
study of cells is called cell biology or cellular biology. Cells consist of cytoplasm
enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such as proteins and
nucleic acids.

HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF CELL THEORY

1665 Cell first observed

Robert Hooke, an English scientist, discovered a honeycomb-like structure in a

cork slice using a primitive compound microscope. He only saw cell walls as
this was dead tissue. He coined the term "cell" for these individual
compartments he saw.

1670 First living cells seen

Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch biologist, looks at pond water with a

microscope he made lenses for.

1683 Miniature animals

Anton van Leeuwenhoek made several more discoveries on a microscopic

level, eventually publishing a letter to the Royal Society in which he included
detailed drawings of what he saw. Among these was the first protozoa and
bacteria discovered.
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1833 The center of the cell seen

Robert Brown, an English botanist, discovered the nucleus in plant cells.

1838 Basic building blocks

Matthias Jakob Schleiden, a German botanist, proposes that all plant tissues
are composed of cells, and that cells are the basic building blocks of all plants.
This statement was the first generalized statement about cells.

1839 Cell theory

Theodor Schwann, a German botanist reached the conclusion that not only
plants, but animal tissue as well is composed of cells. This ended debates that
plants and animals were fundamentally different in structure. He also pulled
together and organized previous statement on cells into one theory, which
states: 1 - Cells are organisms and all organisms consist of one or more cells 2 -
The cell is the basic unit of structure for all organisms

1840 Where does life come from

Albrecht von Roelliker discovered that sperm and eggs are also cells.

1845 Basic unit of life

Carl Heinrich Braun reworks the cell theory, calling cells the basic unit of life.

1855 3rd part to the cell theory added

Rudolf Virchow, a German physiologist/physician/pathologist added the 3rd

part to the cell theory. The original is Greek, and states Omnis cellula e cellula.
This translates as all cells develop only from existing cells. Virchow was also
the first to propose that diseased cells come from healthy cells.

CELL THEORY STATES THAT

• All living organisms are composed of cells. They may be unicellular or multicellular.
• The cell is the basic unit of life.
• Cells arise from pre-existing cells. (They are not derived from spontaneous generation.)
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PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

• Prokaryotic cell (Unicellular cell)
o Bacteria is the only prokaryotic organism
• Eukaryotic cell (Multicellular cell)
o Animal and plant cell

ANIMAL CELL
• Eukaryotic (Multicellular)
• Comes in different form. Functions of specific cell differs in their shape.
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Parts of the Animal Cell

Cell (Plasma) Membrane - thin, semi-permeable membrane that surrounds
the cytoplasm of a cell, enclosing its contents.
Centrioles - cylindrical structures that organize the assembly of microtubules
during cell division.
Cilia and flagella - specialized groupings of microtubules that protrude from some cells
and aid in cellular locomotion.
Cytoplasm - gel-like substance within the cell.
Cytoskeleton - a network of fibers throughout the cell's cytoplasm that gives the cell
support and helps to maintain its shape.
Endoplasmic Reticulum - an extensive network of membranes composed of both
regions with ribosomes (rough ER) and regions without ribosomes (smooth ER).
Golgi Complex - also called the Golgi apparatus, this structure is responsible for
manufacturing, storing and shipping certain cellular products.
Lysosomes - sacs of enzymes that digest cellular macromolecules such as nucleic acids.
Microtubules - hollow rods that function primarily to help support and shape the cell.
Mitochondria - cell components that generate energy for the cell and are the sites
of cellular respiration.
Nucleus - membrane-bound structure that contains the cell's hereditary information.
• Nucleolus - structure within the nucleus that helps in the synthesis of ribosomes.
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• Nucleopore - a tiny hole in the nuclear membrane that allows nucleic acids and proteins to
move into and out of the nucleus.

Peroxisomes - enzyme containing structures that help to detoxify alcohol, form bile
acid, and break down fats.
Ribosomes - consisting of RNA and proteins, ribosomes are responsible for protein
assembly.

PLANT CELL
• Eukaryotic cell (Multicellular cell)
• Each part of the cell plays a vital role and specific function.

Parts of the Plant Cell

Chloroplast
Chloroplast are found only in plant and algae cells. These organelles carry out the
process of photosynthesis, which turns water, carbon dioxide, and light energy into
nutrients. They are oval-shaped and have two membranes: an outer membrane, which
forms the external surface of the chloroplast, and an inner membrane that lies just
beneath. Between the outer and inner membrane is a thin intermembrane space about
10-20 nanometers wide. Within the other membrane, there is another space called
the stroma, which is where chloroplasts are contained.
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Vacuoles
The central vacuole of a plant cell helps maintain its turgor pressure, which is the
pressure of the contents of the cell pushing against the cell wall. A plant thrives best
when its cells have high turgidity, and this occurs when the central vacuole is full of
water. If turgor pressure in the plants decreases, the plants begin to wilt. Plant cells
fare best in hypotonic solutions, where there is more water in the environment than in
the cell; under these conditions, water rushes into the cell by osmosis, and turgidity is
high. Animal cells, on the other hand, can lyse if too much water rushes in; they fare
better in isotonic solutions, where the concentration of solutes in the cell and in the
environment is equal and net movement of water in and out of the cell is the same.

Cell Wall
The cell wall is a tough layer found on the outside of the plant cell that gives it strength
and also maintains high turgidity. In plants, the cell wall contains mainly cellulose,
along with other molecules like hemicellulose, pectin, and lignins. The composition of
the plant cell wall differentiates it from the cell walls of other organisms. For example,
fungi cell walls contain chitin, and bacterial cell walls contain peptidoglycan, and
these substances are not found in plants. The main difference between plant and
animal cells is that plant cells have a cell wall while animal cells do not. Plant cells have
a primary cell wall, which is a flexible layer formed on the outside of a growing plant
cell, and a secondary cell wall, a tough, thick layer formed inside the primary plant cell
wall when the cell is mature.
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UNIQUE STRUCTURE OF BETWEEN PLANT AND

ANIMAL CELL

LABORATORY:
1. Compare animal cells from plant cells. For the animal cells, scrape cheek cells using a toothpick.
Ask the learners to place the scrapings on a microscope slide and add a drop of water to the
scrapings. Tease the scrapings into a thin layer and cover with a slip. Examine under HPO.
Instruct the learners to draw the cells on their workbooks and to label the cell parts that they
were able to observe under the microscope.
2. For the plant cells, instruct the learners to obtain a Hydrilla leaf and place it on a microscope
slide. Examine under LPO. Ask the learners to draw the cells on their workbooks and to label
the cell parts that they were able to observe under the microscope.

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Draw the cell membrane on one end of the board.
2. Draw the double membrane of the nucleus (nuclear membrane) on the other end of the
board.
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3. From the nuclear membrane, draw the reticulated structure of the endoplasmic reticulum.
Ask the learners what the two types of endoplasmic reticulum are and their corresponding
functions.
4. Draw the ribosomes as separate units.
5. Draw a DNA and an mRNA. Explain that the mRNA is a copy of the DNA that will be sent to
the cytoplasm for protein synthesis.
6. Explain to the learners that the mRNA leaves the nucleus and goes to where the ribosomes
are located (i.e., mRNA + functional ribosome)
7. Explain the possible ‘pathways’ for protein synthesis (e.g., within the cytosol or the
endoplasmic reticulum)
8. Draw the mRNA + functional ribosome on the endoplasmic reticulum. With a lot of these,
the endoplasmic reticulum becomes a rough endoplasmic reticulum.
9. Draw the formed polypeptide inside the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Discuss the
formation of a cisternae and pinching off as a vesicle.
10. Draw the Golgi Apparatus and then a vesicle from the rough endoplasmic reticulum that
travels to the Golgi Apparatus and attaches to the part which is nearest the rough
endoplasmic reticulum.
11. Ask the learners what the function of the Golgi Apparatus is. Synthesize their answers and
compare the Golgi Apparatus to a factory with an assembly manufacturing line.
12. Draw the polypeptide travelling along the Golgi Apparatus stack; pinching off as a vesicle to
travel to the next stack. Repeat the process while increasing the complexity of the
polypeptide drawing.
13. On the last stack, explain the ‘pathways’ that the vesicle may follow: become a lysosome
through fusion with an endosome (i.e., formed by endocytosis), or travel to the cell
membrane, fuse with it, and empty its contents.
14. Present the composition of the endomembrane system and discuss how these parts are
connected to each other by structure and by function.
15. Draw the mitochondria and label its parts. Explain the importance of the enfolding (cristae)
in increasing the surface area of the inner mitochondrial membrane. Further explain to the
class that enfolding is a common structural strategy to increase surface area. As an example,
you may draw a cross-sectional structure of the small intestine.
16. Draw the chloroplast and label its parts. Explain the function that each part performs in the
process of photosynthesis.
17. Discuss the similarities of the mitochondria and chloroplast (e.g., both are involved in
energy transformation, both have DNA, high surface area, and double membranes) income
accounts and lastly, expenses accounts.