Cell Structure and Diversity Flashcards
what is the limitation of cell size
the rate at which molecules can pass through the cell membrane in order to support the metabolic processes of the cell
What are the three domains
bacteria, archaea, eukarya
what are the kingdoms
animalia, plantae, fungi, and the protists
what four things are needed for natural selection
time, genetic variation within the population, inheritance of genetic characteristics, and selection pressures
what size are eukaryote cells?
10 - 100 microns
what size are prokaryote cells?
0.1 - 5 microns
what are the features of the light microscope?
- doesn’t need a stain
- can be used to view living cells
- colour images
- 1000 magnification in air
- 1400 magnification in oil
why does oil immersion allow greater magnification than air in light microscopes?
because of the reduced diffraction of light
resolution
the minimum distance which can separate two points and still have them visible as two separate points
magnification
the ratio of image size to actual size
what are the features of electron microscopes?
- stain needed
- can only view dead cells
- max magnification of x100,000
- black and white images
how does a scanning electron microscope work?
electrons are fired over the surface of the cell, showing the 3D surface of the cell
how does a transmission electron microscope work?
electrons are fired through a very thin sample of the cell, revealing the internal ultrastructure.
what is spontaneous generation?
the idea that life can spontaneously arise from non-living matter in the correct environmental conditions
what is germ theory?
the idea that microbes cause and spread diseases
what did Pasteur’s experiment prove?
the germ theory because life only developed after the infusion was contaminated when the environmental conditions were kept the same
What is sexual selection?
when a mate is chosen based on inheritable characteristics
what does sexual selection select for?
extreme phenotypes
what is sexual dimorphism?
sex based differences in size, colour, ornamentation, and behaviour
what are Koch’s postulates?
- the suspected causative agent must be present in every case of the disease and generally not present in healthy organisms
- the microbe must be able to be isolated and grown in pure culture
- when a healthy host is infected with the microbe it must develop that specific disease
- the microbe must be able to be isolated from the deliberately infected host
What are the most common atoms in the human body?
oxygen > carbon > hydrogen > nitrogen
what is the monomer of polysaccharides?
monosaccharides
what is a disaccharide?
a carbohydrate with two monosaccharide building blocks
what is an oligosaccharide?
a carbohydrate with 3 - 9 monosaccharide building blocks
what is the monomer of DNA / RNA?
nucleotides
what is the monomer of protein?
amino acids
what is the monomer of lipids?
none - they are heterogenous
what is the function of hexose?
monomer for carbohydrates
what is the function of pentose?
used as part of larger molecules eg DNA
what is the functions of carbohydrates?
energy source and storage, structure, cell to cell recognition
which polysaccharides are composed of alpha glucose monomers? why?
glycogen and starch. this is because they are energy storage molecules, and alpha glucose bonds can be broken by enzymes. this means that the energy stored in the bonds can be released for use by the cell
which polysaccharides are composed of beta glucose monomers? why?
cellulose. this is because it is a structural molecule, and beta glucose bonds cant be broken down by enzymes, so the structural integrity of the cell is maintained
what is the difference between alpha and beta glucose molecules?
they are geometric isomers. alpha glucose is cis for the OH group on carbons 1 and 2, and beta glucose is trans.
what are the functions of lipids?
energy storage, regulatory, structural
describe the structure of a phospholipid
hydrophyllic head, hydrophobic tail.
phosphate head, glycerol backbone, lipid tails.
describe the structure of a nucleotide
sugar with a phosphate bonded to carbon 5 and a nitrogenous base bonded to carbon 1
what are the differences between DNA and RNA?
- DNA = double stranded, RNA = single stranded
- DNA = deoxyribose sugar, RNA = ribose sugar
- DNA = thymine base, RNA = uracil base
what are the functional groups on amino acids?
amine group and carboxyl group
what are the eight protein functions?
structural regulatory contractile toxic storage protective catalytic transport
what are the three prokaryote cell shapes?
- spirochaete = spiral shaped
- cocci = circular
- bacilli = rod shaped
what are the features of the cytosol?
- semifluid gel
- mainly water
- ions and proteins in it
- ~7pH
what size are ribosomes?
25nm
what are the three functions of capsules?
- resist dehydration
- resist phagocytosis
- increase adhesion to solid surface and other cells
what is a capsule?
a sticky protein or carbohydrate layer
what is the difference between a capsule and a slime layer?
a slime layer is less defined and less organised than a capsule
what is the function of the flagella?
motility via chemotaxis
what is the structure of the flagella?
flagellin protein arranged in alpha helix shape
describe the cell wall of Gram negative bacteria
- more complex
- two layers
- permeable
- less peptidoglycan
- contain lipopolysaccharides
- stains pink (crystal violet stain washes out)
describe the cell wall of Gram positive bacteria
- less complex
- one layer
- impermeable
- more peptidoglycan
- stains purple (crystal violet stain can’t wash out)
what are the functions of the smooth ER?
- lipid synthesis
- calcium storage
- detoxification of drugs and poisons
- metabolism of carbohydrates
what are the functions of the rough ER?
- protein synthesis
- membrane factories
- glycolisation of secretory proteins in the lumen
- production of transport vesicles
what is the function of the fimbraie?
increased adhesion to solid surfaces
what is the function of the pili?
bacterial conjucation
describe the nucleoid
- region of genetic information
- not membrane bound
what is an endospore?
- survival mechanism against starvation / adverse conditions
- genetic material condensed into a spore which can survive adverse environmental conditions
what are the functions of the golgi body?
- modifies proteins
- glycolysation of cell surface proteins
- manufacture of macromolecules eg polysaccharides (pectin)
- direction of vesicles via vesicle markers
how are proteins processed through the golgi body?
- enter at cis face
- process through, being modified as they go
- exit at trans face
what is the function of the central vacuole?
- generate hydrostatic pressure
- maintain cell structure / integrity
which organelles are in plant cells but not animal cells?
- chloroplast
- plasmodesmata
- cell wall
- central vacuole
which organelles are in animal cells but not in plant cells?
- centrosome with centromere
- lysosome
- flagella are more common
what size are viruses?
> 20nm
what is a capsid?
a protein coat around the virus
describe the structure of the bacteriophage
- head where genetic information is stored
- tail
- sheath around tail
- tail fibres
- spikes
describe the lytic cycle
- genetic information is inserted into cell
- reverse transcription of RNA occurs using reverse transcriptase
- DNA replication of single stranded genomes occurs
- host cell genome is degraded
- virus takes over host cell mechanisms to produce reverse transcriptase and replicate the viral genome
- virus assembles within the cell
- viruses exit cell, lysing it
describe the lysogenic cycle
- genetic information is inserted into cell
- reverse transcription of RNA occurs using reverse transcriptase
- DNA replication of single stranded genomes occurs
- virus integrates itself with the host genome, creating a prophage
- virus exits genome when host cell replicates and forms a loop in the cytoplasm
- virus reinfects daughter cells
what is a viroid
a plant pathogen composed of naked circular RNA
how is a viroid different to viruses?
- much shorter - only a few hundred nucleotides
- only infects plants
- doesn’t produce proteins
what is a prion?
a misfolded protein which converts other proteins to prions
what effects on the cell do prions have?
disrupt cell function, causing the cell to eventually die
describe the structure of the cell membrane
semipermeable phospholipid bilayer
how does the chemical structure of phospholipid tails affect the cell membrane structure?
saturated tails = densely packed phospholipids, less fluid membrane.
unsaturated tails = less densely packed phospholipids, more viscous membrane.
how does cholesterol affect the cell membrane?
cholesterol increases the fluidity of the membrane at low temperatures and decreases it at higher temperatures
what functions do plasma membranes have?
- separation of incompatible processes
- creates different environments for different processes
- allows concentration gradients to form
what are the functions of membrane proteins?
- active transport
- linking ECM and cytoskeleton
- signal transduction
- linking neighbouring cells
- cell identification
what is passive transport?
movement of lipid soluble / hydrophobic molecules through a plasma membrane down a concentration gradient without the use of ATP
what is facilitated diffusion?
movement of water soluble molecules through a plasma membrane down a concentration gradient without the use of ATP. requires membrane proteins or channels.
what types of channels are used to enable facilitated diffusion?
- voltage gated = ion fluxes
- ligand gated = open with extracellular signal
what is active transport
movement of molecules up their concentration gradient through a membrane with the use of ATP
how does cotransport work? use H+ / sucrose cotransporter as example
- H+ ions pumped onto one side of membrane, creating a high concentration of H+ on one side
- low concentration of sucrose on the same side
- H+ ions flow through cotransporter, dragging sucrose along with them
- sucrose is added to side with high concentration