Cell evolution Flashcards
Cell theory
- All living organisms are composed of one or more cells
- The cell is the basic unit of structure and organization in organisms
- Cells arise from pre-existing cells
Relative sizes of different cells
Cell are measure in micro meters (um) - one one-thousandth of a mm
- 0.1 nm - Atoms
- 1nm - Lipids
- 5-10nm - Potein
- 100 nm - Flu virus (similar to Ribosome)
- 1um - Bacteria (Prokaryote cell), Mitochondria, Chloroplasts
- 10-100um - Plant & Animal cells
- 100um and a bit - Human egg
- 1mm - Frog egg
- 10mm and a bit - Chicken egg
- 100mm - ostridge egg
Advantages of cell being small
- ions & organic molecules in the environment efficiently enter the cell and rapidly diffuse throughout its volume
- This is important: cell is an open system (thermodynamics) and must transform energy from its environment into stored chemical energy that can be used for building and breaking down macromolecules (sucrose/glucose)
What happens if the cell grows too large
Surface area will be insufficient to support the rate of diffusion required for the increased volume
Prokaryotic cell size
- Relatively small
- Surface area-to-volume ration of 3:1
-> plenty of surface to absorb and can rapidly diffuse
Eukaryotic cell size
- Cells are 10-fold larger than Prokaryotic
- Surface area-to-volume ration of 0.3: 1
-> once something gets inside of the cell, it takes longer to diffuse throughout the entire volume
-> Solution: making compartments (used for specific purposes) within the cell help organize smaller spaces for chemical reactions to occur
Prokaryotic & Eukaryotic share 6 common components
- Macromolecules - Proteins, lipids, carbs
- Plasma membrane - Separates cell’s interior from its surrounding environment
- Cytoplasm - Consists of a jelly-like cytosol within the cell (watery)
- DNA and RNAs
- Ribosomes
- Enzymes
Prokaryotes: Bacteria
- Bacteria Cell wall: composed of proteins and sugars
- Bacteria Capsule: gives it shape and resilience, determines how things will enter the cell, protect the cell against toxins
- Bacteria Chromosome: molecule of double stranded DNA
- Ability of bacteria to resist freezing and remain in a fluid state bc it’s hard to freeze cytoplasm: quickly or slowly freeze it but it remains fluid. When temperature gets warmer, bacteria wake up
- Bacteria are so small that molecules can enter and diffuse across the cell in seconds
Eukaryotes: Animal cells
- Reduced S/V ratio selected for adaptations in animals cells. SO:
- Folding of membranes to increase surface area (minimize size/volume)
- Intracellular transport
- Organelles specialized for specific chemical reactions
- Everything in animal cells are dynamic at room temp.
Microfilaments and Microtubules (Animal Cells)
Rod-like structures composed of polymers similar to the polymers that make up the flagella in bacteria
- Related, have diff proteins
- Both: use energy stored in ATP or GTP to do chemical reactions
Eukaryotes: Plant cells
Plant cells are adapted for life in one place
- A rigid cell wall
- A central vacuole
-> Stores watery substances so plants can survive in drought (why you don’t need to water plants everyday)
The plasma membrane (all cells)
Barrier between the cell and the environment
- Barrier = permeable (allows things to come in)
-> Small uncharged molecules can diffuse across membrane - Integral membrane proteins: form a channel on their own or w another protein. They allow big molecules to be pumped into the cell across membrane barriers
- Cholesterol: makes membrane more fluid
- Glycoproteins (proteins mixed w sugars): form structures that are unique to you
Ribosomes (all cells)
- In cytoplasm
- Large and small subunits
- E, A, P sites
- Enzyme
- Essential for protein synthesis
Cytoplasm (and nucleoplasm)
- The aqueous environment of a cell
- Densely packed with molecules and macromolecules (Glycogen)
Organelles (Eukaryotes)
- Organelles: a collection of factories and assembly lines
-> Have their own membrane barriers
Organelle membranes
- Isolate chemical reactions
OR - Ensure that metabolic pathways involving many chemical reactions are efficient
Organelles: Nucleus
- Nucleus: a membrane compartment that holds the DNA
-> Huge surface area - Inside the nucleus: RNA polymerase is working on the DNA at the genes to produce mRNA
Organelles: Nuclear Pore
Allows mRNA has to leave the nucleus, and proteins need to move back and forth across through
Organelles: Nucleolus
- Specialized region of DNA
- Where the specialized mRNA required for ribosomes to function is synthesized.
Organelles: Nucleoplasm
- The aqueous environment within the nucleus
- Special chemical reactions needed for transcription occur in the nucleoplasm
NOTE: For translation, chemical reactions occur in the cytoplasm.
Organelles: Mitochondria
- Specialized for the synthesis of ATP
- Folded membranes with many different compartments