Cell Structure and

Cell Organisation
Cells
 All living things are made of cells
 Cells are the smallest units than can
be alive
 Cells form the building blocks of living
organisms
 Living component
 Protoplasm – cytoplasm and nucleus
 Plasma membrane
 Organelles
 Tiny structures
 Cellular components that perform specific
functions within the cell
 Examples : nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts,
vacuoles, ribosomes and Golgi apparatus
A typical animal cell
 Cellular components
Membrane, cell wall and cytoplasm

Cell membrane / Plasma membrane

 A thin, flexible layer round the outside of all cells
 The cell’s most important organelle
 Acts as a boundary between a cell and its environment
 Controls the entry and exit of materials
 Permits different substances to pass through it at
different rates
 Partially permeable
 Made of phospholipids, proteins and carbohydrate
 Cellulose cell wall
 A thick layer outside the cell
membrane used to give a cell
strength and rigidity
 Distinct boundary layer
 Made up of fibrils of the
polysaccharide cellulose
 Give strength
 Freely permeable to solutes
 Link the cytoplasms of adjacent
cells
 Functions :
 Provide support in herbaceous
plants
 Allow movement of water through
and along it
 Act as a waterproofing layer when
impregnated with other substances
such as lignin
Cytoplasm
 The solution within the cell membrane -
cytosol
 All the living parts of the cell, excluding the
nucleus
 Contain enzymes for metabolic reactions
together with sugars, salts, amino acids,
nucleotides and everything else needed for
the cell to function
Organelles
 Structures that carry out specific
functions within the cells
 The detailed internal structure of a cell
- ultrastructure
Nucleus

 The largest organelle

 Bounded by a double unit
membrane
 Nuclear envelope / membrane
 Nucleolus – a dark region of
chromatin
 involving in making ribosomes /
store RNA
 one or more nucleoli (small,
round bodies) may be present
 Chromatin
 coils of DNA
 Functions of nucleus :
 Act as the control centre for the
cell
 Contain the genetic material of
the cell
 Produce ribosomes and RNA
 Play an essential role in division
Mitochondrion (pl. Mitochondria)
 Vary in shape and size
 Usually rod shaped / sausage-shaped
 The wall consists of two thin membranes / double membranes
 The outer membrane is simple
 The inner one folded to form cristae
 give a large surface area
 studded with stalked particles, which are the site of ATP synthesis
 The space enclosed by the inner membrane – matrix
 Contains small circular strands of DNA
 Cell respiration
 Most of the necessary enzymes being attached to the inner
membrane and cristae, or occurring in the matrix
 Cells which expend a lot of energy have numerous
mitochondria, each with many cristae, e.g. muscle cells
Mitochondria
 Chloroplasts
 Found only in photosynthetic
organisms (plant cells and
algae)
 Shape and size vary with
species
 Bigger and fatter than
mitochondria
 Double unit membrane
surrounding a matrix (stroma)
 Contains chlorophyll
 Stacks of lamellae (grana)
 site of photosynthesis and
ATP synthesis
 Contain starch, ribosomes and
circular DNA
Chloroplas
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
 A network of membranes
 An extension of the outer nuclear membrane
 Rough endoplasmic reticulum
 ER is lined with ribosomes
 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
 Ribosomes are absent
 Functions
 Forms a transport network throughout the cell
 Provide a large surface area for chemical reactions
 Collect and store manufactured material
 Form a structural skeleton to help maintain the shape of the cell
 Play a role in protein synthesis (rough ER)
 Produce lipids and steroids (smooth ER)
RER and SER
Golgi apparatus / Golgi body
(dictyosome)
 Similar in structure to smooth ER
 Composed of membrane-bound flattened sarc piled up in
stacks
 Formed from the ER
 To transport proteins from the RER to the cell membrane for
export
 Parts of the RER containing proteins fuse with one side of the
Golgi apparatus membrane, where they fuse, releasing their
contents by exocytosis
 Well developed in secretory cells
 Functions :
 Production of glycoproteins
 Secretion of carbohydrates involved in the production of new cell
walls
 Production of secretory enzymes
 Transport and storage of lipids
 Formation of lysosomes
Golgi body
 Ribosomes
 Smallest and most numerous
of the cell organelles
 Made up of small RNA
molecules and protein
 Either found free or in group
 Free ribosomes
 Make proteins for the cell’s own
use
 Found attached to the rough
endoplasmic reticulum – make
proteins for export from the
cell
 Sites of protein synthesis
Lysosomes (lysis, splitting;
soma, body)
 Spherical organelles
 Formed from the RER
 Contain around 50 enzymes, mostly hydrolases, in acid
solution
 Functions :
 The destruction of unwanted or worn-out cell organelles
 The digestion of material engulfed by a cell, e.g. bacteria
engulfed by white blood cells
 The release of enzymes outside the cell (exocytosis) to digest
external material
 The complete digestion of a cell after its death (autolysis)
 Example :
 A tadpole loses its tail
 An organism or part of organism dies
 Centrioles
 Animal cells
 A pair of short microtubules
 Two centrioles are found at
right angles to each other
 Hollow cylinders
 About 0.2 m in diameter
 Have the same basic
structure as the basal bodies
of cilia
 Functions :
 Formation of the spindle at
cell division
 Give rise to cilia and flagella
Vacuoles
 General term for any fluid-filled sac surrounded by a
membrane
 In plant cells
 A single, large central vacuole surrounded by a
membrane called a tonoplast
 Functions :
 stores amino acids and sugars as well as certain waste,
 contains coloured pigmen
 supports the herbaceous parts of a plant by providing an
osmotic system which creates a pressure potential
 Some unicellular protoctists have feeding vacuoles
for digesting food, or contractile vacuoles for
expelling water
Storage granules
 Acts as energy stores
 Starch grains within plant cells
 Glycogen granules in animal cells
 Oil or lipid droplets in both
Similarities in animal and plant
cells
 Nucleus
 Cytoplasm
 Plasma membrane
 Golgi apparatus
 Mitochondria
 Endoplasmic reticulum
 Ribosomes
Differences between animal
and plant cells
Animal Cells Plant Cells
No fixed shape Fixed shape
No Cell walls Have cellulose cell wall
No chloroplast Have chloroplasts
No vacuoles. If present, Have a large central
small and numerous vacuole
Food storage : glycogen Food storage : starch
Centrioles No centrioles
The density of organelles in
specific cells
 Sperm cells ?
 Muscle cells ?
 Palisade mesophyll cells ?
 Pancreatic cells ?
 Liver cells ?
Q1 :
 Describe the structure and function of
 (a) Nucleus
 (b) Chloroplast
 (c) Mitochondrion
Q2 :
 Describe the structure of a generalised
eukaryotic plant cell.
 Indicate the ways in which a
nonphotosynthetic prokaryotic cell
would differ in structure from this
generalised eukaryotic plant cell.
Q3 :
 Describe the structure and function of
the endoplasmic reticulum.
 Explain the roles of the Golgi
apparatus and lysosomes in the cell.
A3(a) :
 Consists of flattened membrane-bound sacs, known as
cisterna
 Is continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear
envelope
 There are two types of ER : rough ER (RER) and smooth ER
(SER)
 The cisternae of SER are usually more tubular in shape than
the cisternae of RER
 There are no ribosomes on the SER
 The function of SER is in the synthesis of lipids from fatty
acids and glycerol, as well as steroid production
 RER is covered with ribosomes
 Its functions are the synthesis of proteins by the ribosomes
and the transport of proteins such as enzymes and hormones
A3(b)
 The roles of the Golgi apparatus :
 To manufacture lysosomes
 Transport materials such as lipids
 Chemically modify the materials inside it
 Produce mucin in mucilage secretions and secrete
carbohydrates
 The roles of the lysosomes
 To break down substances or bacteria by digestion
 To remove old cytoplasmic organelles by digestion
(autophagy)
 To release enzymes outside the cell (exocytosis) of
breaking down other cells
Q4 :

(a) Describe the structure and function of

 (i) Golgi apparatus

 (ii) Endoplasmic reticulum

 (iii) Ribosome

(b) Compare and contrast the structure

and function of mitochondria and
chloroplasts.
Q4(a)(i)
 The structure of the Golgi apparatus
consists of a stack of flattened membrane-
bound sacs, known as cisternae
 Which have new cisternae constantly being
formed by Golgi vesicles budding off one
end of the stack
 The functions are to manufacture
lysosomes, transport materials such as
lipids, chemically modify the materials inside
it, produce mucin in mucilage secretions and
secrete carbohydrates