FUNDAMENTAL UNIT OF LIFE

CELL
 All living forms are composed of microscopic units called as “Cells”.
 A cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all life forms.
 Study of structure and composition of cell is called as “Cytology”.
 Cell was first observed by “Robert Hooke” in a dead cork slice in the year 1665.
 The word cell was derived from a Greek word “Cellulae” which means small room.
 First living cell was discovered by A.V. Leeuwenhoek.
 Protoplasm is an aggregate of various chemicals such as water, ions, salts and other
organic molecules like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, nucleic acids, vitamins etc

CELL THEORY
Two biologists, “Schleiden and Schwann” gave the “Cell theory” which was later on
expanded by “Rudolf Virchow”. Cell theory states that
(i) All plants and animals are composed of cells.
(ii) Cell is the basic unit of life.
(iii) All cells arise from pre-existing cells.
• Viruses are the exceptions of cell theory.

TYPES OF CELL & ORGANISM

(a) On the Basis of Number of Cells Organisms can be categorized as:
(i) Unicellular organisms: These are organisms which made up of single cell only. This
single cell Performs all the vital body functions of an organism. e.g. Amoeba
(ii) Multicellular organisms: These are the organisms which made up of numerous cells.
These cells then combine to form an organ and group of organs performing different
functions forms an organ system which further forms an organism. e.g. plants and animals
(b) On the basis of type of organization, cells are two types :
(i) Prokaryotic cells: these are primitive and incomplete cells. They have less developed
nucleus without nuclear membrane & nucleolus. e.g. Bacteria.
(ii) Eukaryotic cells: these are well developed cells. They have advanced nucleus with
unclear membrane and nucleolus. e.g. Plants & animals.

CELL SHAPE
Cells are of variable shapes and sizes. Their shape is according to the function. Generally
cells are spherical but they may be elongated (nerve cell), branched (pigmented), discoidal
(RBC), spindle shaped (muscle cell) etc.

CELL SIZE
Size of cell is variable depending upon the type of organism. Some are microscopic while
some are visible with naked eyes.
Their size may vary from 0.2 µm to18 cm.
 Size of a typical cell in a Multicellular organism ranges from 20-30 mn.
 The largest cell is ostrich egg(15 cm. in dia with shell & 8 cm. in dia without shell).
The longest cell is nerve cell.(upto 1m. or more)
 Smallest cells so far known are PPLOs e.g. mycoplasma (0.1 µm in dia.)
 Human egg is 0.1 mm. in dia

1|Page
 SURBHI STUDY CIRCLE

2|Page
 CELL MEMBRANE
• Cell membrane is also called as plasma Membrane or Plasma lemma.

It is the limiting boundary of each cell which separates the cytoplasm from its
surroundings.
 It is found in both plant as well as animal cells.
 It is the outer most covering of a cell in case of animals and lies below the cell wall in
case of plants.
 It is made up of proteins and lipids where proteins are sandwiched between bilayer of
lipids.
 Plasma membrane name was given by Nageli.
 Plasma membrane is selectively permeable in nature. It allows or permits the entry and
exit of some materials in and out of the cell.
 Singer and Nicholson gave the fluid mosaic model of plasma membrane according to him
it consists of a protein layer sandwiched between two layers of lipids. It is in quasifluid
state. It is 75A thick.
 It is flexible and can be folded, broken and reunited.

Function of plasma membrane

(A) It regulates the movement of molecules inside and outside the cell.
(B) It helps in maintaining the distinct composition of the cell.

CELL WALL
• It is the outermost covering of the plant cells.
• It is absent in animal cells.
• Cell wall is rigid, strong, thick, porous and non-living structure. It is made up of
cellulose and hemicelluloses. Cell walls of two adjacent cells are joined by a layer called
middle lamellae. It is made up of calcium and magnesium pectate.

Functions of cell wall

• It provides definite shape to the cell.
• It provides strength to the cell.
• It is permeable and allows entry of molecules of different sizes.
• It is antigen specific.
• It has the characteristics of repair and regeneration.

NUCLEUS
• Nucleus is the most important cell organelle which directs and controls all its cellular
activities.
• It is called as “Headquarter of the cell”.
• It was discovered by “Robert Brown in 1831”.
• In eukaryotes a well-defined nucleus is present while in prokaryotes a well-defined
nucleus is absent.
• Prokaryotes contain a primitive nucleus.
• It has double layered covering called as nuclear membrane. Nuclear membrane has
pores which regulate the movement of materials of materials in & out of the cell.
• Besides nuclear membrane nucleus also contains nucleolus and chromatin material
and the substance filled inside the nucleus is nucleolus or karyolymph.
• Chromosomes or chromatin material consists of DNA which stores and transmits

3|Page
 hereditary information for the cell to function, grow and reproduce.

Function of the nucleus

(A) It controls all the metabolic activities of the cell and regulates the cell cycle.
(B) It helps in transmission of hereditary characters from parents to off springs

CYTOPLASM
• Cytoplasm was discovered by Kolliker in 1862.
• It is the site of both biosynthetic and catabolic pathways.
• It can be divided into two parts:
(i) Cytosol: Aqueous soluble part contains various fibrous proteins forming cytoskeleton.
(ii) Cell organelles: Living part of the cells having definite shape, structure and function
bounded By Plasma membrane.

ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM
• It is the network of membranes present in the cytoplasm.
• It was discovered by Porter, Claude and Fullam.
• These are present in all cells except prokaryotes and mammalian erythrocytes
• They are made up of three components:
(i) Cistemae: These are long, flattened, parallely arranged, unbranched tubules. These
from Successive layers of nucleus. These are found in cells which are active in protein
synthesis and are 40-50 µm in diameter.
(ii) Vesicles: These are around or spherical they are founded in synthetically active cells.

Function of ER
(i) It is the only organelle which can move within a cell so it serves as a channel for the
transport of materials between various regions of cytoplasm and between cytoplasm and
nucleus.
(ii) It also function as a cytoplasmic framework to provide space for some of the
biochemical activities. It forms endoskeleton of cell.
(iii) It helps in synthesis of fats, steroids, cholesterol etc.
(iv) It contains secretory proteins.
(v) SER plays a crucial role in detoxification of drugs and poisonous by-products.

GOLGI APPARATUS
• Golgi apparatus consists of a system of membrane bounded vesicles arranged parallel to
each other in stacks called Cisternae along with some large and spherical vacuoles.
• It was discovered by Camilo Golgi.
• In plants Golgi membrane bounded.
• It is single membrane bounded.
• It is absent in prokaryotes, mammalian RBC’s & sieve cells.

Functions:
(i) It helps in formation of lipids
(ii) It helps in formation of middle lamellae
(iii) It is secretary in nature.
(iv) It helps in melanin synthesis
(v) Lipids and proteins synthesized in endoplasmic reticulum are packed at Golgi complex.
4|Page
They provide the site for assembly of new membrane material.

MITOCHONDRIA
• It is a rod shaped structure found in cytoplasm of all eukaryotic cells except
mammalian RBC’s.
• These are also absent in prokaryotes.
• It was first seen by Kolliker in insect cells.
• Maximum mitochondria are found in metabolically active cells.
• It is also called as “Power House of the Cell” or the “Storage Battery”.
• It is double membranous structure where outer membrane has specific proteins

While inner membrane is folded inside to from chambers called Cristae. ”Cristae” are the
infoldings of inner mitochondrial membrane that possess enzymes for respiratory cycles
like Kreb Cycle. ATP synthesizing units are called Oxysomes or F1 particles.
• Space between inner and outer mitochondrial membranes is called as Peri-mitochondrial
space. The fluid present in mitochondrial is called as matrix.

Functions:
(i) Its main function is to produce and store the energy in the form of ATP.
(ii) It is the site of Kreb cycle of respiration.
(iii) Oxysome contains enzymes for ATP production.
(iv) Matrix contains enzymes for Kreb cycle

PLASTID
• It is double membranous discoidal structure, found only in plant cells.
• Term plastid was given by Haeckel.
• Chloroplast was discount by A.V. Leeuwenhoek and named by Schimper.
• Besides being discoidal of rhombic in plant cells they occur in variable shapes like in
algae they can be ‘U’ shaped , spiral , coiled , ribbon shaped etc.
(a)Chloroplast have Following Two Parts :
(i) Grana: It constitutes the lamellar system. These are found layered on top of each other,
these stacks are called as Grana. Each granum of the chloroplast is formed by
superimposed closed compartments called Thylakoids.
• Function: They are the sites of light reaction of photosynthesis as they contain
photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. In each thylakoid Quantasomes are present which are
called as
Photosynthetic units. Each quantansome possesses 230 chlorophyll molecules.
(ii) Stroma: It is a granular transparent substance also called as matrix. Grana are
embedded in it. Besides Grana they also contain lipid droplets, starch grains, ribosomes
etc.

Function: This is the site of dark reaction of photosynthesis. Also helps in protein synthesis
due to presence of ribosomes.

VACUOLES
 These are membrane bounded regions in the cytoplasm containing water and other
substances.
 They are bounded by a single membrane called Tonoplast.
 In animal cells vacuoles are smaller in size and numerous while in plant cells a single
large vacuole Is found which occupies about 90% of the volume of cell.

Functions:

5|Page
 It helps in maintaining osmotic pressure in a cell.
 It stores toxic metabolic products of plant cell.
 It contains various Coloured pigments like anthocyanins.

LYSOSMES
(Discovery: Christian de Duve) (Lyso = digestive, some = body)
 These are tiny sac like granules containing enzymes of intracellular digestion.
 They are bounded by a single membrane.
 They occur in animal cells and a few plant cells.
 They do not have a definite shape or size.
 They contain hydrolyzing enzymes called acid hydrolyses.
(a) FUNCTION :
 Their main function is phagy = digestion
 They are kind of waste disposal system.
 They help in digesting foreign materials and wom out cells.
 During disturbances in cellular metabolism i.e. in case of cell damage lysosomes burst
and their enzymes are released into the cytoplasm and they digest their own cell so they
are also called as “Suicidal Bags”.

6|Page