Chapter 4-5

Prokaryotic Cells and

Membranes
 Four Important People
 Anton Von Leeuwenheok
 Inventing microscopes and first observing
unicellular living organisms
 Robert Hooke
 Discovered and coined the term “cells”
 Matthias Schleiden
 Established all plants are composed of cells
 Theodor Schwann
 Established all animals are composed of cells
Compound Light Microscopes
 Out
of the trillions of different cells only a small
handful have ever been visible to the naked eye.
 Thus, we need a tool to help study them
 Anton Von Leeuwenhoek did not invent the first
microscope, but he and his colleagues first used the
object as a scientific tool.
 He, among others, experimented with grinding glass
into lenses in order to bend light and make smaller
objects appear larger.
 Compound Light Microscopes
 Compound light
microscopes work
by running beams
of light through a
series of lenses.
 These lenses
continuously zoom
in on a specific
target.
 The object can be
magnified up to
1500 times
 Electron Microscope
 Electron microscopes fire beams of electrons at
whatever you want magnified.
 The electrons then interact with the structures of the
object. These interactions are calculated and
displayed by a computer.
 The result is a magnification of 500,000 to 1 million
times larger than normal.
 Electron microscopes have allowed us to study the
internal structures and functions of the cell.
 Cell Theory
 The cell is the simplest level of organization in biology
that meets the definitions of “living”
 All functions of an organ/organ system/organism are
collective functions of the cells that make them up
 In other words, the only reason you can communicate,
remove waste, move, etc is because your cells can
 Cellshave to find a unique balance between
personal, cellular survival and survival of the
organism as a whole
 The importance of cells is clearly outlined in the cell
theory
 Cell Theory
 #1: All organisms are composed of one or more
cells
 #2: The cell is the basic unit of structure and
function in an organism
 #3: All cells come from preexisting cells
 Cell Size
 One of the keys to life is the fact that cells are so small
 Although coordinating 10 trillion tiny cells is more
difficult than coordination 1000 large cells, the benefits
of multiple smaller cells far outweigh the difficulties.
 1: Surface area/volume ratio
 Cells take in nutrients and remove waste through their
membrane.
 The more surface area the membrane has, the more
nutrients/waste can pass through
 If the cell is too big though, it takes too long for nutrients to
reach the center of the cell
 Smaller cells can take up the same amount of space
(volume) as larger cells, but with 4 times as much surface
area
 Cell Size
 2: Redundancy
 If you have multiple cells making up an organism, the
death of one cell has less of an impact
 Instead of one cell performing millions of functions, millions
of cells perform one function each
 You can have lots of back-ups in case a cell is tired,
damaged, or is dividing into a new cell
 Prokaryotic Cells
 Prokaryotic
cells are distinguished by their lack of
membrane-bound organelles
 Prokaryote is Greek for “before nucleus”
 Prokaryotic cells are much simpler in size and structure
than eukaryotic cells
 Eukaryotic cells are on average 50x larger than
prokaryotic cells
 Prokaryotic cells have to be small enough to infect a
Eukaryotic cell by inserting themselves inside the Eukaryotic
cells
 The two prokaryotic groups are archaea and bacteria
 Bacteria are simpler in design and live in more neutral
environments
 Archaea are highly diverse and complex and live in harsher
climates
 Prokaryotic Cell Envelope

 Prokaryotic
cells are bound by different layers of
membranes
 Plasma Membrane: two layers of phospholipids that
regulate what goes in and out of the cell
 Very flexible
 Cell Wall: rigid outer layer that maintains the shape of the
cell and prevents collapsing or swelling
 Very rigid
 (Also found in plant cells)
 Cytoplasm
 Inside cells are numerous different objects swimming in
a semi-liquid solution
 This solution is called cytoplasm.
 The cytoplasm has three functions:
 Provide a medium to move against within the cell (imagine
trying to swim in an empty pool)
 Internal support of the cell
 In Eukaryotic cells, stabilize the organelles in place
 Other prokaryotic structures
 Nucleoid
› A general region of the cell where the DNA is stored
 Plasmid
› A circular section of DNA
 Fimbriae
› Fibers on the surface of the cell that allow cells to
attach to surfaces
 Sex pili
› Tubular structures used to pass DNA from cell to cell
 Membranes
 The reason you are able to build immunities, use your
senses, keep your temperature regulated, stay
hydrated, and hundreds of other functions is because
of your membrane.
 The membrane is one of the most-studied organelles
because it’s easy to see with microscopes
 Multiple different models of the structure of the
membrane have been proposed as early as 1900.
 In 1972, the model recognized as the most accurate
depiction of the cell membrane was introduced: the
fluid-mosaic model
 Cell Membrane Structure
 Themajority of the cell membrane is a molecule
called a phospholipid
 A phospholipid is a long chain of lipids attached to a
phosphate molecule
 The phosphate molecule is hydrophilic, or “water-
loving”. It can safely and freely be in contact with
water and water-soluble molecules
 “Polar”

 The lipid chain is highly hydrophobic. Near the

presence of water or water-soluble molecules it will
repel like a magnet
 “Nonpolar”
 Cell Membrane Structure
 The membrane is actually two layers of phospholipids.
 The phosphate heads face outside toward the
environment and inside toward the cytoplasm.
 The lipid chains are sandwiched in between the two
phosphate heads
 This is called the “phospholipid bilayer”
 Cell Membrane Structure
 Attachedto phospholipids are various other
chemicals that enhance the stability of the
membrane
 Cholesterol: a steroid; stiffens and strengthens the
membrane
 Glycolipid: Carbohydrate attached to the lipid,
important for cell recognition and immunity
 Glycoprotein: Protein attached to the lipid, important for
multiple different functions (performing tasks, entry/exit
from the cell, connection to other cells…)
 Cell Membrane Structure
 Theglycolipids and glycoproteins are located
randomly within the cell membrane
 Think “chocolate chips” in a cookie
 What is now known is that the molecules that make up
the membrane are not stationary
 Proteins and lipids are able to move back and forth
within the membrane like bumper cars on a track
 This gives the membrane a “fluid” appearance.
Hence, the fluid-mosaic model
Impermeability
 The membrane is almost 100% effective at
preventing leaks
 Hydrophobic substances can’t get past the phosphate
heads
 Hydrophilic substances can’t get past the lipid chains
 Ifthe cell is going to take in nutrients, get rid of
waste, or send or receive messages, it needs gaps in
the membrane
 Glycoproteins are large enough to span the entire
distance of the membrane and perform these
functions
 Because the cell prevents leaks, but still allows
substances through, it is called “semi-permeable”
 Glycolipids
 When we get to cell immunity, we’ll cover this in more
detail.
 Every cell in our body has specific structures of
glycolipids unique to us (or unique to the human
species)
 When a foreign substance makes contact with a
glycolipid, the cell immediately recognizes what it is
based on the structure of the foreign substance
 Glycolipids
 Ifthe cell does not recognize the structure on the
foreign substance, it will make a copy of this
glycolipid
 Other cells will then be given a copy of this foreign
glycolipid so they can recognize it as a dangerous
entity BEFORE it can penetrate the cell
 This is an important role for the immune system,
particularly white blood cells