The 2 major classes of cells are defined by the presence or absence of a nucleus; Eukaryotic (with nucleus) and Prokaryotic (without nucleus).
Eukaryotes can be further divided into unicellular (only one cell, like prokaryotes) and multicellular (like us) organisms.
A major difference between eukayotes and prokaryotes is the presence of physical compartments (membrane bound) and organelles within the cell. These compartments allow the separation/specialization of processes within the cell.
There also exist within each of these physical compartments, functional compartments where specific processes may occur or are restricted too.
This lecture is an introduction to compartments within the cell and membranes. The key components are: cell compartments, membrane structure. The lecture slides and textbook alone contain enough information as an introduction to the subject for this level of study. If you are interested in further reading, I have also included below links to more detailed textbooks with further information and images.
Understand the difference between eukaryotes and prokaryotes
Understand the concept of unicellular and multicellular organisms
Understand the common cell features
Understand how membranes form compartments
Page Links: Introduction | Lecture Slides | UNSW Online Resources | Online Textbooks | Movies | Research Labs | Related Topics | Related WWW Links
Below are links to 2009 lecture slides allows you to open and view the slides in your web browser or download the PDF document for later viewing/printing. Download Acrobat Reader 6.0
Links to 2009 slides: Lecture Slides 1/page (viewing only) | Lecture Slides 4/page (printing) | Lecture Slides 6/page (printing)
Links to 2008 slides: Lecture Slides 1/page (viewing only) | Lecture Slides 4/page (printing) | Lecture Slides 6/page (printing)
DNA (gene): storage, gene regulation, gene expression, messenger RNA processing.
Humans have cells both without a nucleus or with several nuclei, but these are still considered eukaryotic cells?
In general these fully differentiated (adult) cells started out quite differently, always with a nucleus, as they developed (differentiated) this changed. For example, red blood cells which as they develop in the bone marrow had a nucleus that is lost as they mature, and exist in the circulation without a nucleus. In contrast, heart cardiomyocytes may have 2 nuclei, bone osteoclasts may have several and a singly skeletal muscle fiber may have several hundred.
Metabolism: absorbtion (endocytosis), secretion (exocytosis), messenger RNA translation (ribosomes), protein processing (rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi appraratus), transport (transport vesicles), energy production (Mitochondria), digestion (lysosomes), lipid synthesis and detoxification (smooth endoplasmic reticulum).
Is this all these organelles do?
The list above is very generalised, as many organelles have many different functions, and interact with other organelles and structures.
Do all these organelles just "float" in the cytoplasm?
The cytoskeleton, which are 3 separate filament systems (microfilament, intermediate filament, microtubules), regulate cell shape, motility and the position of organelles within the cytoplasm.
UNSW Cell Biology - Science
The following Science page links are in much more detail than you currently require. Also look at the Online Textbook links below.
Science - Membranes
Science - Cell Organelles I
Science - Cell Organelles II
NCBI
MBoC | Publisher (Garland) MBoC
The Compartmentalization of Cells
Image: Hypothetical schemes for the evolutionary origins of some membrane-enclosed organelles
Image: The major intracellular compartments of an animal cell.
Image: Topological relationships between compartments in a eucaryotic cell
Image: 3 views of plasma membrane
Table: Relative Amounts of Membrane Types in Two Types of Eucaryotic Cells
The
Cells of the Vertebrate Body Exhibit More Than 200 Different Modes of Specialization
Search Links: Plasma Membrane (357 items)
NCBI
MCB | Publisher
(Freeman) MCB
Harvard Medical School - The inner life of the cell
The Online Service for Cell Biology with Videos and Interactive Media
Flight through an Animal Cell: computer animation (296 Kb)
Flight through an Plant Cell: computer animation (296 Kb)
Cell Structure A list of various short movies of cell corganelles.
Listed below are some Labs that work in the research area of cell organelles. These links are mainly USA and are provided for interest alone. Have you found some Australian based research labs in this area? (send an email to Dr Mark Hill with the link).
(More? Comprehensive list of Cell Biology Labs from BioChem Web)
Note that the dynamic nature of the internet means that some external links may eventually not work, use the link text to search for the new link.
BioChem Web Cell Cytoskeleton
The Virtual Library of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
The Virtual Library of Biochemistry and Cell Biology- Cell Organelles
Prokaryote, Eukaryote, compartments, membranes, cell organelles, nucleus, cell wall, antibiotics
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Hi There! As part of your foundations course I will be giving you 2 lectures to introduce you to cells and how they divide.
This first page gives an introduction to Cells. Lets start generally and then get specific.
We, all plants and animals, are just cells and their products (extracellular matrix and extracellular fluids).
In addition, all these cells have the same organelles and structures which carry out the same function in all cells (make it easy to understand).
Clearly within us different cells have different functions, but this is not what I will be talking about today. I will be looking at the commonality of cells. Now work through the central content panel on this page.
Note that cell organelles and cytoskeleton can be covered by many chapters in any good Cell Biology textbook, meaning that no detailed coverage can be given in any one lecture. Science students (see lecture links) receive several lectures to cover aspects of this topic.
Please note the different spellings that will give different search results: Prokaryotes / Procaryotes, Eukaryotes/Eucaryotes Use the study guides or links to look for more information.
Please email Dr Mark Hill if you wish to make a comment about this current project.