Specialised cells Flashcards
Egg cell
(function)
The main function of an egg are to carry the female DNA and to nourish the developing embryo in the early stages
Egg cell
(adaptions)
- It contains nutrients in the cytoplasm to feed the embryo.
- It has a haploid nucleus.
- Straight after fertilisation, its membrane changes structure to stop any more sperm getting in. This makes sure the offspring gets the right amount of DNA.
Sperm cell
The function of a sperm is to transport the males DNA to the females egg
Sperm cell (adaptations)
- It has a has a long tail so it can swim to the egg
- It has alot of mitochondria in the middle section to provide the energy it needs to swim
- Contains a haploid nucleus
- Has a acrsome at the front of the head where it stores enzymes needed to digest through the membrane of the egg cell
Fertilisation
The egg is fertilised by a sperm cell to become a zygote (which grows into an embryo). An egg cell is much larger than a sperm cell and it is specialised to support the zygote as it grows
Specialised cell fertilisation (adaptations)
- cytoplasm is packed full of nutrients that the zygote will need to grow
- cell membrane is adapted to change it’s structure once the egg is fertilised so that no more sperm can get into the egg cell
- Haploid nucleus contains half the genetic information needed for the new zygote
Ciliated Epithelial cells
- Line surfaces organs
the function of these are to move substances - the cilia beat to move substances in one direction, along the surface tissue. The cilia moves in unison (together). These cell may need lots mitochondria. For an example,They line the airways. Their function is to waft mucus (which traps harmful organisms) to the back of the throat to be swallowed.
Red blood cell
They are biconcave shape with no nucleus for larger surface area to carry more oxygen around the body
Palisade cell
In plants
Root hair cell
In plants
Root hair cells are specialised (to perform a specific function). Their structure allows the plant to absorb more water. They also allow a plant to take in the minerals it needs to survive.
They have long projections to increase surface area
No chloroplast as theres no sunlight underground