Cell : The Fundamental

Unit of Life
Made by : SHANTIL
Class : IX Div. : A
As we all know that Robert Hooke was the
one who discovered cell in year 1665. He
was examining a thin slice of cork, he saw
that the cork resembled the structure of a
honeycomb consisting many little
compartment. He made a chance
observation through a self-designed
microscope. He called this boxes cells.
Cell is a Latin word for a ‘little room’.
Robert Hooke
(1635 – 1703)
A Compound microscope
A Compound Microscope is a very useful thing which
we can use to see cells Typically, a compound
microscope is used for viewing samples at high
magnification (40 - 1000x), which is achieved by the
combined effect of two sets of lenses: the ocular
lens (in the eyepiece) and the objective lenses
(close to the sample)
 Cells look similar to each other. Together they form a big
structure like an onion bulb onion of different sizes have similar
small structures visible under a microscope. The cells of the
onion peel will all look the same, regardless of the size of the
onion they came from.

 The invention of magnifying lenses led to the discovery of the

microscopic world. It is now known that a single cell may
constitute a whole organism as in Amoeba, Chlamydomonas,
Paramoecium and bacteria. These organisms are called
unicellular organisms (uni = single). On the other hand, many
cells group together in a single body and assume different
functions in it to form various body parts in multicellular
organisms (multi = many) such as some fungi, plants and
animals.
Some organisms can also have cells of different kinds. Look at the
following picture. It depicts some cell from the human body. The
shape and size of cells are related to the specific function they
perform. Some cells like Amoeba have changing shapes. In some
cases the cell shape could be more or less fixed and peculiar for a
particular type of cell; example, nerve cells have a typical shape.
Each living cell has the capacity to perform certain basic functions
that are characteristic of all living forms. How does a living cell
perform these basic functions? We know that there is a division of
labour in multicellular organisms such as human beings. This
means that different parts of the human body perform different
functions. The human body has a heart to pump blood, a stomach
to digest food and so on. Similarly, division of labour is also seen
within a single cell in many cases. In fact, each such cell has got
certain specific components within it known as cell organelles.
Each kind of cell organelle performs a special function, such as
making new material in the cell, clearing up the waste material
from the cell and so on. A cell is able to live and perform all its
functions because of these organelles. These organelles together
constitute the basic unit called the cell. It is interesting that all
cells are found to have the same organelles, no matter what their
function is or what organism they are found in.
More To Know
Cells were first discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665. He observed
the cells in a cork slice with the help of a primitive microscope.
Leeuwenhoek (1674), with the improved microscope, discovered
the free living cells in pond water for the first time. It was Robert
Brown in 1831 who discovered the nucleus in the cell. Purkinje in
1839 coined the term ‘protoplasm’ for the fluid substance of the
cell. The cell theory, that all the plants and animals are composed
of cells and that the cell is the basic unit of life, was presented by
two biologists, Schleiden (1838) and Schwann (1839). The cell
theory was further expanded by Virchow (1855) by suggesting that
all cells arise from pre-existing cells. With the discovery of the
electron microscope in 1940, it was possible to observe and
understand the complex structure of the cell and its various
organelles.
What is Cell Made Up of ? What is the
Structural Organisation of a Cell ?
If we study a cell properly, we should notice that three feature
that exists in every cell; plasma membrane, nucleus and
cytoplasm. All activities inside the cell and interaction of the cell
with its environment are possible due to these features. Let us see
how.
Plasma Membrane or Cell Membrane
This is the outermost covering of the cell that separates the contents of
the cell from its external environment. The plasma membrane allows or
permits the entry and exit of some materials in and out of the cell. It also
prevents movement of some other materials. The cell membrane,
therefore, is called a selectively permeable membrane.
How does the movement of substances take place into the cell? How do
substances move out of the cell?
Some substances like carbon dioxide or oxygen can move across the cell
membrane by a process called diffusion. We have studied the process of
diffusion in earlier chapters. We saw that there is spontaneous movement
of a substance from a region of high concentration to a region where its
concentration is low.
 Something similar to this happens in cells when, for example, some
substance like CO2 (which is cellular waste and requires to be excreted
out by the cell) accumulates in high concentrations inside the cell. In the
cell’s external environment, the concentration of CO2 is low as compared
to that inside the cell. As soon as there is a difference of concentration
of CO2 inside and outside a cell, CO2 moves out of the cell, from a
region of high concentration, to a region of low concentration outside
the cell by the process of diffusion. Similarly, O2 enters the cell by the
process of diffusion when the level or concentration of O2 inside the cell
decreases. Thus, diffusion plays an important role in gaseous exchange
between the cells as well as the cell and its external environment.
Water also obeys the law of diffusion. The movement of water
molecules through such a selectively permeable membrane is called
osmosis. The movement of water across the plasma membrane is also
affected by the amount of substance dissolved in water. Thus, osmosis is
the passage of water from a region of high water concentration through a
semi-permeable membrane to a region of low water concentration.
What will happen if we put an animal cell
or a plant cell into a solution of sugar or
salt in water
One of the following three things could happen:
1. If the medium surrounding the cell has a higher water concentration
than the cell, meaning that the outside solution is very dilute, the
cell will gain water by osmosis. Such a solution is known as a
hypotonic solution.
Water molecules are free to pass across the cell membrane in both
directions, but more water will come into the cell than will leave. The
net (overall) result is that water enters the cell. The cell is likely to
swell up.
2. If the medium has exactly the same water concentration as
the cell, there will be no net movement of water across the
cell membrane. Such a solution is known as an isotonic
solution.
Water crosses the cell membrane in both directions, but
the amount going in is the same as the amount
going out, so there is no overall movement of water. The cell
will stay the same size.

3. If the medium has a lower concentration of water than the

cell,
meaning that it is a very concentrated solution, the cell will
lose water by osmosis. Such a solution is known as a hypertonic
solution.
Again, water crosses the cell membrane in both directions,
but this time more water leaves the cell than enters it.
Therefore the cell will shrink. Thus, osmosis is a special case
of diffusion through a selectively permeable membrane.
Unicellular freshwater organisms and most plant cells tend to gain
water through osmosis. Absorption of water by plant roots
is also an example of osmosis. Thus, diffusion is important in
exchange of gases and water in the life of a cell. In additions to
this, the cell also obtains nutrition from its environment. Different
molecules move in and out of the cell through a type of transport
requiring use of energy in the form of ATP. The plasma membrane
is flexible and is made up of organic molecules called lipids and
proteins. However, we can observe the structure of the plasma
membrane only through an electron microscope. The flexibility of
the cell membrane also enables the cell to engulf in food and
other material from its external environment. Such processes are
known as endocytosis. Amoeba acquires its food through such
processes.
Cell Wall
Now we will study about Cell Wall. Plant cells, in addition to the
plasma membrane, have another rigid outer covering called the
cell wall. The cell wall lies outside the plasma membrane. The
plant cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose. Cellulose is a
complex substance and provides structural strength to plants.
When a living plant cell loses water through osmosis there is
shrinkage or contraction of the contents of the cell away from the
cell wall. This phenomenon is known as plasmolysis. Cell walls
permit the cells of plants, fungi and bacteria to withstand very
dilute (hypotonic) external media without bursting. In such media
the cells tend to take up water by osmosis. The cell swells,
building up pressure against the cell wall. The wall exerts an equal
pressure against the swollen cell. Because of their walls, such
cells can withstand much greater changes in the surrounding
medium than animal cells.
Nucleus

 Nucleus
According to their chemical composition different regions of cells
get coloured differentially. Some regions appear darker than other
regions. Apart from iodine solution we could also use safranin
solution or methylene blue solution to stain the cells.
 Nuclear Membrane
The nucleus has a double layered covering called nuclear
membrane. The nuclear membrane has pores which allow the
transfer of material from inside the nucleus to its outside, that is,
to the cytoplasm
 Chromosome
The nucleus contains chromosomes, which are visible as rod-
shaped structures only when the cell is about to divide.
Chromosomes contain information for inheritance of features from
parents to next generation in the form of DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic
Acid) molecules. Chromosomes are composed of DNA and protein.
DNA molecules contain the information necessary for constructing
and organising cells. Functional segments of DNA are called genes.
In a cell which is not dividing, this DNA is present as part of
chromatin material. Chromatin material is visible as entangled
mass of thread like structures. Whenever the cell is about to
divide, the chromatin material gets organized into chromosomes.
 Cytoplasm
When we look at the temporary mounts of onion peel as well as
human cheek cells, we can see a large region of each cell
enclosed by the cell membrane. This region takes up very little
stain. It is called the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm is the fluid
content inside the plasma membrane. It also contains many
specialised cell organelles. Each of these organelles performs a
specific function for the cell.
Cell organelles are enclosed by membranes. In prokaryotes,
beside the absence of a defined nuclear region, the membrane-
bound cell organelles are also absent. On the other hand, the
eukaryotic cells have nuclear membrane as well as membrane-
enclosed organelles.
The significance of membranes can be illustrated with the
example of viruses. Viruses lack any membranes and hence do not
show characteristics of life until they enter a living body and use
its cell machinery to multiply.
 Cell Organelle’s
Every cell has a membrane around it to keep its own contents
separate from the external environment. Large and complex cells,
including cells from multicellular organisms, need a lot of
chemical activities to support their complicated structure and
function. To keep these activities of different kinds separate from
each other, these cells use membrane-bound little structures (or
‘organelles’) within themselves. This is one of the features of the
eukaryotic cells that distinguish them from prokaryotic cells. Some
of these organelles are visible only with an electron microscope.
Cell organelles which we will discuss now are: endoplasmic
reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, mitochondria, plastids and
vacuoles. They are important because they carry out some very
crucial functions in cells.
The nucleus plays a central role in cellular reproduction, the
process by which a single cell divides and forms two new cells.
It also plays a crucial part, along with the environment, in
determining the way the cell will develop and what form it will
exhibit at maturity, by directing the chemical activities of the
cell.
In some organisms like bacteria, the nuclear region of the
cell may be poorly defined due to the absence of a nuclear
membrane. Such an undefined nuclear region containing only
nucleic acids is called a nucleoid. Such organisms, whose cells
lack a nuclear membrane, are called prokaryotes (Pro =
primitive or primary; karyote ≈ karyon = nucleus). Organisms
with cells having a nuclear membrane are called eukaryotes.
Prokaryotic cells also lack most of the other cytoplasmic
organelles present in eukaryotic cells. Many of the functions of
such organelles are also performed by poorly organised parts of
the cytoplasm5.2.4). The chlorophyll in photosynthetic
prokaryotic bacteria is associated with membranous vesicles
(bag like structures) but not with plastids as in eukaryotic cells
 Endoplasmic Reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a large network of membrane-
bound tubes and sheets. It looks like long tubules or round or
oblong bags (vesicles). The ER membrane is similar in structure to
the plasma membrane. There are two types of ER– rough
endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and smooth endoplasmic reticulum
(SER). RER looks rough under a microscope because it has particles
called ribosomes attached to its surface. The ribosomes, which are
present in all active cells, are the sites of protein manufacture.
The manufactured proteins are then sent to various places in the
cell depending on need, using the ER. The SER helps in the
manufacture of fat molecules, or lipids, important for cell
function. Some of these proteins and lipids help in building the
cell membrane. This process is known as membrane biogenesis.
Some other proteins and lipids function as enzymes and hormones.
Although the ER varies greatly in appearance in different cells, it
always forms a network system.
Thus, one function of the ER is to serve as channels for the
transport of materials (especially proteins) between various
regions of the cytoplasm or between the cytoplasm and the
nucleus. The ER also functions as a cytoplasmic framework
providing a surface for some of the biochemical activities of the
cell. In the liver cells of the group of animals called vertebrates,
SER plays a crucial role in detoxifying many poisons and drugs.

 Golgi Apparatus
The Golgi apparatus, first described by Camillo Golgi, consists of a
system of membrane-bound vesicles arranged approximately
parallel to each other in stacks called cisterns. These membranes
often have connections with the membranes of ER and therefore
constitute another portion of a complex cellular membrane
system.
The material synthesised near the ER is packaged and dispatched
to various targets inside and outside the cell through the Golgi
apparatus. Its functions include the storage, modification and
packaging of products in vesicles. In some cases, complex sugars
may be made from simple sugars in the Golgi apparatus. The Golgi
apparatus is also involved in the formation of lysosomes.

Diagram of an animal cell

 Lysosomes
Lysosomes are a kind of waste disposal system of the cell.
Lysosomes help to keep the cell clean by digesting any foreign
material as well as worn-out cell organelles. Foreign materials
entering the cell, such as bacteria or food, as well as old
organelles end up in the lysosomes, which break them up into
small pieces. Lysosomes are able to do this because they contain
powerful digestive enzymes capable of breaking down all organic
material. During the disturbance in cellular metabolism, for
example, when the cell gets damaged, lysosomes may burst and
the enzymes digest their own cell. Therefore, lysosomes are also
known as the ‘suicide bags’ of a cell. Structurally, lysosomes are
membrane-bound sacs filled with digestive enzymes. These
enzymes are made by RER.
 Mitochondria
Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. The energy
required for various chemical activities needed for life is released
by mitochondria in the form of ATP (Adenosine triphopshate)
molecules. ATP is known as the energy currency of the cell. The
body uses energy stored in ATP for making new chemical
compounds and for mechanical work. Mitochondria have two
membrane coverings instead of just one. The outer membrane is
very porous while the inner membrane is deeply folded. These
folds create a large surface area for ATP-generating chemical
reactions.
Mitochondria are strange organelles in the sense that they have
their own DNA and ribosomes. Therefore, mitochondria are able to
make some of their own proteins.
About Camillo Golgi.
Camillo Golgi was born at Corteno near Brescia in 1843.
He studied medicine at the University of Pavia. After
graduating in 1865, he continued to work in Pavia at the
Hospital of St. Matteo. At that time most of his
investigations were concerned with the nervous system,
In 1872 he accepted the post of Chief Medical Officer at
the Hospital for the Chronically Sick at Abbiategrasso. He
first started his investigations into the nervous system in
a little kitchen of this hospital, which he had converted
into a laboratory. However, the work of greatest
importance, which Golgi carried out was a revolutionary
method of staining individual nerve and cell structures.
This method is referred to as the ‘black reaction’.
This method uses a weak solution of silver nitrate
and is particularly valuable in tracing the processes
and most delicate ramifications of cells. All through
his life, he continued to work on these lines,
modifying and improving this technique. Golgi
received the highest honours and awards in
recognition of his work. He shared the Nobel prize in
1906 with Santiago Ramony Cajal for their work on
the structure of the nervous system.
 Plastids
Plastids are present only in plant cells. There are two types of
plastids – chromoplasts (coloured plastids) and leucoplasts (white
or colourless plastids). Plastids containing the pigment chlorophyll
are known as chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are important for
photosynthesis in plants. Chloroplasts also contain various yellow
or orange pigments in addition to chlorophyll. Leucoplasts are
primarily organelles in which materials such as starch, oils and
protein granules are stored.
The internal organisation of the plastids consists of numerous
membrane layers embedded in a material called the stroma.
Plastids are similar to mitochondria in external structure. Like the
mitochondria, plastids also have their own DNA and ribosomes.
 Vacuoles
Vacuoles are storage sacs for solid or liquid contents. Vacuoles are
small sized in animal cells while plant cells have very large
vacuoles. The central vacuole of some plant cells may occupy 50-
90% of the cell volume.
In plant cells vacuoles are full of cell sap and provide turgidity
and rigidity to the cell. Many substances of importance in the life
of the plant cell are stored in vacuoles. These include amino
acids, sugars, various organic acids and some proteins. In single-
celled organisms like Amoeba, the food vacuole contains the food
items that the Amoeba has consumed. In some unicellular
organisms, specialised vacuoles also play important roles in
expelling excess water and some wastes from the cell.
Each cell thus acquires its structure and ability to function because of
the organisation of its membrane and organelles in specific ways. The
cell thus has a basic structural organisation. This helps the cells to
perform functions like respiration, obtaining nutrition, and clearing of
waste material, or forming new proteins. Thus, the cell is the
fundamental structural unit of living organisms. It is also the basic
functional unit of life.