Week 5 eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells Flashcards
Cells intro
All living things = organisms
Made of cells -> smallest and fundamental units of life
New cells are made from pre-existing cells
Unicellular organisms
-Simpler organisms
-One cell exerting all life functions
-Bacteria
-Protozoa
-Unicellular Fungi
Multicellular organisms
-More evolute organisms
-Multiple cells with specialised functions
-Pluricellular Fungi
-Plants
-Animals/humans
Cell specialisation
-The human body is made up of ~1013 cells, with 200 types of specialised cells
-Distinct cell types vary in size,
shape, functions
-Cell shape and size determine a
particular specialisation
-Cooperation of different specialised cells allows complex organisms to perform a wide range of functions
Red blood cells
Main function:
O2 / CO2 transport
-Biconcave shape
-No nucleus
-Contain haemoglobin
-Small and flexible
Neurons
Propagation of nerve impulse
(action potential)
-Thin and long cells
-Branched at their ends
-Different subcellular parts
-Release of neurotransmitter signals
Organisation in the human body
The human body is organised into levels of increasing complexity;
Cell -> Tissue -> Organ -> Organ system -> Organism
Light microscope or optical microscope
The light microscope:
-Is used to observe living cells in a tissue
-Its resolution limit is ~ 0.2μm (not suitable for organelles)
Properties of microscopes
Magnification – the ratio of an object’s image to its real
size (up to 1000 times)
Resolution – it is the ability to distinguish between two very closely positioned objects
Fluorescence microscope
A technique to make specific parts of a cell or tissue that uses fluorophore proteins or dyes under a special light causing the fluorescent molecules to absorb this light and emit visible light, which makes them glow
-Used to monitor the localisation of target labelled molecules within a cell / tissue
Electron microscope (EM)
EM use:
-High resolution images of cell
structures (e.g. organelles)
-Living cells cannot be observed
-Resolution limit is ≈ 2 nm (nanometres)
Two main EM biomedical applications:
->Transmission EM (TEM) - to study organelles
->Scanning EM (SEM) - to study the cell surface
Two distinct type of cells:
-Prokaryotic cell
-Eukaryotic
Prokaryotic cell
-Without nucleus
-No internal compartments
-No organelles
-Simple internal organisation
Eukaryotic cell
-With nucleus
-Internal membranes that enclose the organelles
-Complex organisation
Basic components of a cell
-Plasma membrane
-Cytosol, a concentrated aqueous solution of chemicals
-Ribosomes
-GENOME -> genetic information of a cell represented by DNA
that carry hereditary information and define each species
-Biological macromolecules
Macromolecules in cells
Cells of all organisms contain 4 major organic (carbon atoms) macromolecules;
-Carbohydrates/Polysaccharides
-Proteins
-Lipids
-Nucleic acids
Macromolecules are polymers made by specific repeating molecular units, monomers
Monomers
mono- (one) and -mer (part)
-Building blocks or subunits
-Smallest units of molecules that can join with each other to form larger molecules, polymers
Anabolism
Cells link monomers together to form a polymer through polymerisation / condensation reactions (requiring energy)
Catabolism
Polymers are broken down into smaller molecules by hydrolysis (realising energy)
Metabolism
Catabolism + Anabolism