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What is a cell?
Cells are the basic unit of life. They are small membrane-
bound structures containing several smaller structures called
organelles.

There are two main categories of cell, each of which have

important different structural properties:
 eukaryotic cell, including
the cells of animals and
plants

 prokaryotic cell, including

bacterial cells.

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A brief history

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The cell membrane and cytoplasm
All cells, and all true
organelles, are contained
within a membrane, based on
a phospholipid bilayer.

The cell membrane holds a

cell together and controls
what enters and leaves the
cytoplasm, as it is a selectively permeable barrier.

The cytoplasm comprises a liquid called cytosol, and all the

organelles suspended in it (except the nucleus in eukaryotes).

The cell membrane and cytoplasm are universal features

of the living cell.

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The universal energy carrier
Cells need a constant supply of energy to carry out vital
processes such as protein synthesis, DNA replication and
cell division.
This energy originally comes from
fuel molecules, such as glucose,
consumed by the organism. These ATP
are broken down during aerobic or
anaerobic respiration, and the
energy released is used to make
adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
ADP
ATP diffuses throughout the cell, and breaks down into
adenosine diphosphate (ADP), releasing chemical energy
wherever it is needed.

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What is a eukaryote?
A eukaryote is any organism
consisting of one or more cells that
contain DNA in a membrane-bound
nucleus, separate from the cytoplasm.
Eukaryotes include:
 animals
 plants
 fungi
 a diverse group known as the
protists (or protoctists).
All eukaryotic cells contain a large number of specialized,
membrane-bound organelles.

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The organelles of protein synthesis

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Mitochondria
The mitochondrion is an energy-generating organelle.
It is surrounded by two membranes. The inner layer folds
inwards to form the cristae. The cristae project into a liquid
called the matrix.

outer membrane cristae

matrix
inner membrane

The inner membrane is coated in enzymes, which catalyze

the reactions of aerobic respiration to produce ATP.

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Microtubules and the cytoskeleton

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Which organelle?

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Plant cells
Plant cells share all the common features of animal cells,
but also contain some additional organelles.
Plants gain all their energy from sunlight; cells in their leaves
contain many chloroplasts to convert this into a useful form.

chloroplast

vacuole

Every plant cell is

surrounded by a cell
wall, and contains
one or more
cell wall
permanent vacuoles.

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Chloroplasts
Chloroplasts use carbon dioxide, water and light energy to
build sugars. They are present in all green plants.
The chloroplast is surrounded by a double membrane. It is
filled with a liquid called the stroma, and contains stacks
of thylakoid membranes called grana.

grana
stroma

thylakoid membrane

The thylakoid membranes are the site of photosynthesis.

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Vacuoles
Permanent vacuoles only exist in plant cells. Animal cells
can contain temporary vacuoles but they are not common
features.

A vacuole consists of a
membrane called the
tonoplast, filled with cell
sap – a watery solution
of different substances,
including sugars,
enzymes and pigments.

The vacuole is important in keeping the cell firm. When the

vacuole is full of sap the cell is said to be turgid.

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The cell wall
The cell wall of a plant cell gives it support and structure.
It is made of the polysaccharide cellulose, and can function
as a carbohydrate store by varying the amount of cellulose
it holds.

The cell wall does not seal

off a cell completely from its
neighbours. There are
pores within the walls called
plasmodesmata. These
connect two cells together
by their cytoplasm, enabling
the exchange and transport
of substances.

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Eukaryotic organelles

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What is a prokaryote?
A prokaryote is any organism –
usually single-celled – whose
DNA is suspended freely in the
cytoplasm. The word means
‘before the nucleus’.

Prokaryotes can be divided

into two groups:

 bacteria
 archaea.

Prokaryotes have simpler structure than eukaryotes, lacking

organelles such as the nucleus, ER and Golgi.

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Features of the bacteria and archaea

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Bacterial capsules
Many pathogenic bacteria are surrounded by a mucous-like
protective layer called a capsule.

capsule cell wall

The capsule protects bacteria from viruses, or attack from a

host organism’s immune system, by hiding antigens on the
cell surface.
The capsule is usually composed of polysaccharides, and
also contains water to protect against desiccation (drying out).

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Flagella and pili
Some prokaryotic cells feature
one or more flagella. These are
long helical tubes extending out
of the cell wall, which rotate to
provide locomotion.

Flagella are powered by protein

motors and can propel bacteria at
a rate of more than 50 lengths per
second.

Many bacteria also feature pili. These are hollow protein

structures used during bacterial conjugation – the transfer
of genetic material from one bacterium to another.

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Plasmids
Bacterial cells often contain several plasmids – small
continuous loops of DNA.
Plasmids are replicated independently of a bacterium’s
genophore (e.g. during bacterial conjugation), and may
confer an advantage, such as antibiotic resistance.

pilus draws replication of plasmid

bacteria together
Plasmids are commonly used in genetic engineering to make
copies of genes or large quantities of proteins or hormones.

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Structure of a bacterium

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How small is a cell?

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Light microscopes
Light (or optical) microscopes use lenses to project a
magnified image of an object onto the eye.
Magnification is a measure of how many times bigger the
image is than the object:

size of image
magnification =
actual size of the object

Light microscopes are limited to a magnification of 1500×

by their resolving power (resolution). This is a measure
of their ability to distinguish between two separate points.
A light microscope cannot resolve two points that are
closer than half a wavelength of visible light (250 nm).

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Virtual microscope

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Electron microscopes

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Preparing a specimen for microscopy
Electron microscopes
contain a vacuum as air
particles would interfere
with the beam of
electrons.

Water boils at room

temperature in a
vacuum, so the
specimen must be dried
out completely (dead).

Optical microscopes can be used to view living specimens.

Coloured dyes (stains) can be used to make specific
structures more visible under a light microscope.

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Extracting organelles from cells

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Microscope characteristics

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Glossary

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What’s the keyword?

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Eukaryotes vs. prokaryotes

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Multiple-choice quiz

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