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What is a Eukaryotic Cell?This is a featured page

Chapter 5 Objectives:
  • Identify the different parts/structures of a eukaryotic cell, along with each structure's functions.
  • Identify the different kinds of eukaryotic microbes.
  • Identify the different kingdoms of eukaryotes, with each kingdom's morphology, nutritional mode/distribution, method of reproduction, importance, and major groups.


Eukaryotic Cell


Eucaryotic Cells & Microorganisms

EUKARYOTES - CELLS WITH PARTS Eukaryotes are what you think of when you think of a classic "cell." There are cells without organized nuclei or organelles that are called prokaryotes.


The possibilities are endless. Eukaryotes are cells that can do anything. They are the cells that have helped organisms advance to new levels of specialization beyond imagination. You wouldn't be here if eukaryotic cells did not exist. What makes a eukaryotic cell? Let's watch.

(1) Eukaryotic cells have an organized nucleus with a nuclear envelope. They have a "brain" for the cell. They have a discreet area where they keep their DNA. It is also said that they have a "true nucleus."

(2) Eukaryotic cells usually have organelles.
  • Example: They have mitochondria for energy production, chloroplasts for photosynthesis, and many other parts that make the cells a self-sufficient organism

(3) Although limited in size by the physics of diffusion, eukaryotic cells can get very large. There are even some extreme examples called plasmodial slime molds that can be a meter wide. The cell is multi-nucleated (many nuclei) and it gets huge. Generally, eukaryotic cells are a couple hundred times the size of a prokaryotic cell.

(4) Eukaryotic cells have extra stuff going on and extra parts attached. Since they have organelles and organized DNA they are able to create parts. One example is the flagellum (a tail-like structure to help it move). They could also create cilia (little hairs that help scoot the cell through the water). In the invertebrate section, we talk about nematocysts that are cells with little harpoons for catching prey. The list is endless.


Chapter 5 - Microbiowiki



Form & Function of the Eukaryotic Cell
The cell structures common to all eukaryotes are the cell membrane, a membrane-enclosed nucleus with nucleolus inside, vacuoles, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and a cytoskeleton. Cell walls, chloroplasts, and locomotor organs are present in some eukaryote groups.


I. External Structures:

Flagella and Cilia: Locomotor Appendages:
- Provide locomotion. Flagella are common in protozoa, algae, and few fungal and animal cells.
- Eukaryotic flagella are different from prokaryotic flagella: eukaryotic flagellum is 10x thicker, structurally more complex, and covered by an extension of the cell membrane. Eukaryotic flagella also contains regularly spaced hollow tubules--called microtubules--that extend along their entire length.
- In vertebrates only the sperm cells have flagella
- Cilia are found only in certain protozoa and animal cells. Cilia is shorter than flagella and more numerous. Cilia function in motility, feeding, and filtering.
-many protozoans are covered with cilia and move quickly

Glycocalyx:
- The glycocalyx is the outermost boundary of most eukaryotic cells that comes in direct contact with the environment. It is usually composed of polysaccharides and appears in a network of fibers, a slime layer or a capsule much like the glycocalyx of prokaryotes. Glycocalyx means "sweet husk."
- Its functions are adherence to environmental surfaces, the development of biofilms and mats, and reception of chemical signals from the environment and /or other organisms.
- The glycocalyx is supported by either a cell wall or a cell membrane.
- Cell surface markers (antigens) are part of the glycocalyx
this is how our immune system distinguishes self and nonself.

Boundary Structures:

Cell Wall:
- Found in fungi, plants, and most algae have a cell wall, but protozoa, a few algae, and all animal cells don't (they only have a membrane).
- The cell wall is rigid and provides structural support and shape. Fungi have a thick inner layer of polysaccharides fibers composed of chitin or cellulose and a thin outer layer of mixed glycans. Plants use cellulose for their cell wall.

Cytoplasmic Membrane:
- Made of a bilayer of phospholipids in which protein molecules are embedded. The cytoplasmic membrane of eukaryotes is similar in function to that of prokaryotes, but it differs in composition, possessing sterols as additional stabilizing agents.
- The cytoplasmic membrane is relatively rigid, which strengthens the stability on eukaryotic membranes. This is important especially to those cells without cell walls (i.e. protozoa, a few algae, and all animal cells).

II. Internal Structures:

Nucleus: Control Center:
- Compact sphere that is the most prominent organelle of eukaryotic cells. The control center (governs and regulates all cell activity). The nucleus contains the cell's chromosomes (the cell's genetic information) which are
not visible until they coil during mitosis. Chromosomes are only coiled up when getting ready to divide, they are normally unbound in the nucleus.
- The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by an external boundary called a nuclear envelope, which is composed of two parallel membranes separated by a narrow space and perforated with pores. The pores serve as passageways for molecules to go between the nucleus and cytoplasm.
- The main body of the nucleus consists of the nucleolus, which is the site for ribosomal RNA synthesis and ribosomes assembly.

Endoplasmic Reticulum: A Passageway into the Cell:
- A series of tunnels used in transport and storage.
- Two kinds of endoplasmic reticulum:
- appears as parallel, flat pouches bounded by membranes
- Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), which originates from the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope and extends in a continuous network through the cytoplasm. It's rough due to the ribosomes partly attached to its membrane surface. Proteins synthesized on the ribosomes are shunted into the RER for packaging and transport. transport materials from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and ultimately to the cells exterior.
- Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) is a closed tubular network without ribosomes. It functions in nutrient processing and also in synthesis and storage of lipids and other non-protein macromolecules. SER lack ribosomes making it have the smooth shape it does.

Golgi Apparatus: A Packaging and Distribution Machine:
- The "packaging and distribution center" (the site where proteins are modified, stored, and packaged for transport to their final destinations which can be within or outside of the cell).
- Consists of a stack of flattened sacs called cisternae (looks like pita bread), which have cavities like the endoplasmic membrane, but the cisternae don't form a continuous network.
- The Golgi apparatus is always closely associated with the endoplasmic reticulum in its location and function. The endoplasmic reticulum buds off protein packets called transitional vesicles that are picked up by the Golgi apparatus, which modifies the proteins, then pinches them off as finished condensing vesicles that are transported to organelles or secreted outside the cell.

Lysosymes:
- The garbage men of the cell.
- Vesicles originating from the Golgi apparatus that contain a variety of enzymes.
- They're involved in intracellular digestion of food particles and in protection against invading microbes.
- White blood cells have lots of lysosomes.

Vacuoles:
- A membrane-bound sac of fluid or solid particles to be excreted, digested, or stored.
- Formed in phagocytic cells (certain white blood cells and protozoa).

Mitochondria: Energy Generators of the Cell:
- Function in energy production: generates energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for all cellular activities.
- Consists of an outer membrane and an inner, folded membrane with folds called cristae.
- The cristae membranes hold the enzymes and electron carriers of aerobic respiration, which is an oxygen-using process that extracts chemical energy contained in nutrient molecules and stores it in the form of high energy molecules (i.e. ATP).
- The spaces around the cristae are filled with a fluid called the matrix, which holds prokaryote-sized ribosomes and DNA.
-The higher the cells energy needs the more mitochondria it has.
- Has the instructions within itself, is able to divide and copy themselves (therefore, they divide independently).
- Believed to have once been free-living bacteria

Chloroplasts: Photosynthesis Machines:
- Found in algae and plant cells.
- Capable of photosynthesis (i.e. converting the energy of sunlight into chemical energy). This makes them the primary producers of organic nutrients upon which almost all other organisms ultimately depend.
- Chloroplast also produces oxygen gas.
- Resemble mitochondria, but chloroplasts are larger and more varied in shape.
- Most chloroplasts are composed of two membranes, one enclosing the other. The outer membranes covers an inner membrane that's folded into small sacs called thylakoids and stacked on each other into grana. These structures carry the green pigment chlorophyll.
- Believed to have once been cyanobacteria

Ribosomes: Protein Synthesizers:
- Present in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, but eukaryote ribosomes are larger (80S).
- They originate in the nucleus and the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Both types of ribosomes are necessary components of protein synthesis. Ribosomes are composed of rRNA and proteins. Larger than prokaryotic ribosomes. They are attached to the ER in the cytoplasm. Are the peptide assembly site.
- 80s ribosomes on ER and in cytoplasm
- 70s ribosomes in chloroplasts and mitochondria (like bacteria)
- Made in the nucleolus from rRNA and protein

Cytoskeleton: A Support Network:
- Maintains the shape of cells.
- Produces movement of cytoplasm within the cell, movement of chromosomes at cell division, and in some groups, movement of the cell as a unit. WBC, macrophages, use pseudopods to move around.
- The cytoskeleton is the flexible framework of proteins.
The micro-filaments (strands of protein actin that attach to the cell membrane) and micro-tubules (long, hollow tubes that maintain the shape of eukaryotic cells that lack
cell walls, such as protozoa) form the network through the cytoplasm.


Eucaryotic cells have membrane-bound organelles, which are never present in procaryotes. Such compartmentalization allows a wide variety of cellular functions to occur in specialized areas of the cell.


Q: What is not a cytoplasmic organelle present in all eucaryotic organisms?
a. endoplasmic reticulum
b. cytoskeleton
c. mitochondria

A: B cytoskeleton

Form and Function of the Eucaryotic Cell: Internal Structures
The genome of eucaryotes is located in the nucleus, aspherical structure surrounded by a double membrane. The nucleus also contains the nucleolus, site of rRNA synthesis. Eucaryote DNA, or chromatin, is organized into chromosomes at cell division.

All eucaryotes cycle between a haploid state and a diploid state at some point in their life cycle. Most fungi, many algae, and some protozoa are haploid except in their zygote stage.

Plants and animals, as will as some protozoa and algae, are diploid for most of their life cycles, but their gametes (reproductive cells) are always haploid.

Microscopic eucaryotes reproduce asexually by mitosis and sexually by meiosis.


Flagella: are long, sheathed cylinder containing micro-tubules in a 9+2 arrangement. It's main function is motility.
Q: What are the only human cells that have flagella?


Q: What statement regarding procaryotic and eucaryotic Flagella is correct?
a. Both possess an external covering
b. The motion of both types is the same
c. Both function in locomotion

A: C Both function in locomotion

Structure Flowchart

Eucaryotic cell
  • Appendages
    • Flagella
    • Cilia
  • Surface structures
    • Glycocalyx
      • Capsules
      • Slimes
  • Cell wall-Outer support
  • Cytoplasmic membrane
  • Nucleus
    • Nuclear envelope
    • Nucleolus
    • Chromosomes
  • Cytoplasm
    • Organelles
      • Endoplasmic reticulum
      • Mitochondria
      • Chloroplasts
      • Golgi complex
        • Lysosomes
        • Vacuoles
  • Cytoskeleton
  • Micro-tubules Micro-filaments
  • Ribosomes




Videos showing protozoans moving with flagella and cilia.



Chapter 5 - Microbiowiki

Cilia are similar in overall structure to flagella, but are shorter and more numerous. They are found only on a single group of protozoa and certain animal cells. Their functions include: motility, feeding and filtering. There can be thousands and thousands of cilia on one cell.

Example: the lung cells have cilia that move mucous up the trachea and the mucous gets dumped down the esophagus. Chapter 5 - Microbiowiki
















Eucaryotic Microorganisms

- The eucaryote microorganisms include the Myceteae (Fungi), the Protista (algae and Protozoa), and the Helminths (Kingdom Animalia).
- The Kingdom Myceteae (Fungi) is composed of non-photosynthetic haploid species with cell walls of chitin. The fungi are either saprobes or parasites.
- The Kingdom Protista (algae and protozoa) is a kingdom of mostly unicellular or colonial eucaryotes that lack specialized tissues. It is composed of two major subgroups:
Subkingdom Algae
Sunkingdom Protozoa

- The Kingdom Animalia has only one group of microscopic organisms: the Helminths, or worms.

Lynn Marguilis:

Lynn Marguilis first proposed the endosymbiotic theory in the 1960's. Her initial paper was rejected by fifteen journals before finally being printed. In 1963 her paper on The Endosymbiotic Theory was printed. In this theory it states that a larger prokaryote cell engulfed a smaller one without digesting it. Both cells were able to live together and were able to mutually benefit each other. Over time they lost the ability to survive without the one another. In this paper it was first to rely on direct microbial observations proposed that eucaryotes came from prokaryotes and a large archaea.



Chapter 5 - Microbiowiki

FUNGI
Also known as myceteae. There are nearly 100,000 species of fungi that can be divided into two groups:
Fungi are Heterotrophic and acquire nutrients from a wide variety of organic materials called substrates
* Cell wall typically made of chitin.
* Grow at cooler temperatures, like 20-40 c (simillar to a fridge).
* None are photosynthetic.
* Most are unicellular, but some have multi-cellular parts.
* Often, if they smell bad or taste bad, then they will not hurt you.
* Many antibiotics are made from fungal products.
***One fungi has the capacity to take over acres.

Macroscopic fungi:
mushrooms and puff balls.

Microscopic fungi:
such as molds and yeast.
2 types of microscopic fungi:

Hyphae: are long, threadlike cells that make up the bodies of molds.

Hyphae fungus

Yeast: is distinguished by its round/oval shape. They reproduce by growing buds on their surface which actually become separate cells (asexual reproduction).

Yeast

Saprobes: are microbes that decompose the remains of dead organisms. AKA: Saprophyte, and Saprotroph.
Mycoses: fungal infection in animals.


Protists
Protozoa and Algae have been combined into this kingdom.

Algae- photosynthetic organisms. Algae are inhabitants of fresh and Marine water. They play an essential role in the aquatic food web and produce most of the earths oxygen.
Algae are rarely infectious.

Algae

Protozoa -There are 65,000 species of protozoans.
*All are heterotrophic Have asexual and sexual reproduction.

Most Protozoans:
- are unicellular
- have locomotor structures
- flagella, cilia, or pseudopods
- are free-living in a moist habitat

Protozoans vary in shape and lack a cell wall & chloroplast.
- They can exist in trophozoite
- motile feeding stage or cyst
- a dormant resistant stage.
- They feed by engulfing other microbes & organic matter.
- Some are animal parasites & can be spread by insect vectors.
Malaria is caused by plasmodium and transferred by mosquitoes.
- Protozoans are motile by means of pseudopods, flagella, or cillia.

Chapter 5 - Microbiowiki

Parasitic Helminths:
- Round worms: pin worms, or other intestinal round worms
- Flat worms: tapeworms or flukes
- In the kingdom Animalia: as animals they have no cell wall

Produce massive quantities of eggs and are ingested through fecal contaminated water or food.
Usually large enough to see with the naked eye but require a microscope to identify their eggs and larva.
All Helminths are multi-cellular animals equipped to some degree with organs and organ systems.
They can be difficult to kill since their cells are similar to ours.
It is believed that the lack of worms is what created allergies.
True hermaphrodite- can self fertilize
*produce massivr quantaties of eggs- microscopic eggs are ingested through fecal contaminated water or food

Definitions
glycocalyx: an outermost boundary that comes into direct contact with the enviornment.
chromatin: a network of dark fibers
chromosomes: large units of genetic information in the cell
mitosis: cell division
Golgi apparatus: aka golgi complex
chloroplasts: found in algae and plant cells that are capable of converting the energy of sunlight into chemical evergy through photosynthesis.
1. Mitochondria likely originated from?
a. archea
b. invaginations of the cell membrane
c. purple bacteria
d. cyanobacteria

2. Both flagella and cilia are found primarily in?
a. algae
b. protozoa
c. fungi
d. both a and c

3.Fungi includes:
a. yeasts
b. molds
c. mushrooms
d. all of the above

4. What is one role of saprobes?
a. photosynthesis
b. produce oxygen
c. cause disease
d. decomposes

5. ________ is known as the power house.
a. mitochondria
b. chloroplasts
c. nucleus
d. golgi apparatus

6.Why are sterols important components of eucaryotic cell membranes?
a. They provide strength and stability
b. They are important in communication with other cells
c. They anchor the cell membrane to the cell wall
d. They allow the cell membrane to secrete various chemicals

7. What is not a function of the cytoskeleton?
a. provide cellular support
b. permit eucaryotes to change shape
c. permit cellular movement
d. anchor organelles

8. ______________wrote a paper about the Endosymbiotic Theory in 1963?
a. Juliana Marguilies
b. Wendy Prefercorn
c. Lynn Marguilies
d. Fannie Hess

9. Bacteriologists have placed both ________ and _________ on the family tree of bacteria:
a. nucleus and ribosomes
b. ribosomes and mitochondria
c. chloroplasts and golgi apparatus
d. mitochondria and chloroplasts

10. The cell wall is usually found in which eucaryotes?
a. fungi
b. algae
c. protozoa
d. a and b

11. The mitochondria is known as what?
a. "packaging and mail center"
b. "workbench"
c. "power house"
d. "control center"

14. By what means are helminthic parasites transmitted to humans?
a. ingestion
b. injection
c. insect vector
d. conjugation

15. Which of the following pairs is mismatched?
a. metachromatic granules---stored phosphates
b. polysaccharide granules---stored starch
c. lipid inclusions---poly-B-hydroxybutytric acid
d. sulfur granules---energy reserve
e. ribosomes---protein storage

16. The cell wall of fungi is composed of what?
a.peptidoglycan
b.chitin or cellulose
c. pectin
d. mannans
e. calcium carbonate

17. In general, fungi derive nutrients through
a. photosynthesis
b. engulfing bacteria
c. digesting organic substrates
d. parasitism




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sar-sim spores and pores 3 Feb 20 2009, 5:01 PM EST by flattail
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I was wondering if anyone cold tell me the dirrerence?
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angieatkin Lynn Marguilis 0 Jan 28 2008, 3:37 PM EST by angieatkin
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lynn marguilis endosymbiosis
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