Life at the cellular level Flashcards
What are prokaryotic cells?
- bacteria, archaea
- lack nuclear membrane
- no membrane bound organelle
What are eukaryotic cells?
- animals, plants, fungi, algae, protozoa
- nucleus with membrane
- membrane bound organelles
What are the characteristics of cell membranes?
- also called plasma membrane or plasmalemma
- phospholipid bilayer
- selective barrier
- receptors embedded in membrane to detect chemical signals
What are the characteristics of the cytoskeleton?
- supports and maintains cell shape
- internal cell order
- intracellular transport
- movement
- assembly of cells into tissues
What are the three types of cytoskeleton?
1.) microfilaments
2.) intermediate filaments
3.) microtubules
What are microfilaments?
- thinnest cytoskeleton
- units of actin put together (globular protein)
What are intermediate filaments?
Made up of fibrous proteins such as keratin and neurofilament protein
What are microtubules?
- largest cytoskeleton
- lots of functions
- made of tubulin put together (globular protein)
What are the two types of cell surface projections?
Cillia and flagella
What is cillia?
- short
- usually many present
- move with stuff power stroke and flexible recovery stroke
What is flagella?
- longer than cillia
- usually one of two present
- movement is stroke like
What are the characteristics of the nucleus?
- contains DNA
- nucleoli are sites of RRNA synthesis and ribosomal assembly
- enclosed in nuclear membrane/envelope (phospholipid bilayer)
- closely associated with RER
What are the characteristics of endoplasmic reticulum?
- membrane bound organelle
- rough and smooth variations
- RER has ribosomes attached
- RER modifies proteins
- SER has no ribosomes attached
- SER is mainly associated with lipid and steroid hormone production and metabolism of toxins
- ribosomes synthesise proteins
What are the characteristics of golgi apparatus?
- membrane bound organelle
- packages up protein in preparation for transport out of the cell
What are the characteristics of mitochondria?
- membrane bound organelle
- outer membrane contains pores
- inner membrane has cristae (folds)
- matrix contains most of the enzymes required for metabolising food molecules
- circular DNA
- can self-replicate
- synthesise most of their own proteins
What are the characteristics of lysosomes and peroxisomes?
- membrane bound vesicles containing enzymes
- lysosomal enzymes are degradative, responsible for digestion of biological materials or engulfed particles
- peroxisomal enzymes degrade long-chain fatty acids and other foreign toxic molecules and breakdown the hydrogen peroxide produced by the reactions
What is apoptosis?
Controlled, programmed cell death