INTRODUCTION

The Cell Theory 1. Robert Hooke (~1600) o From a thin slice of cork o little compartments : cellulae (Latin) cell 2. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (~1600) o microscopic observations with simple microscope o First observation / description on bacteria 3. Robert Brown (~1830s) o Discovered that every plant cell contained a rounded structure = nucleus o Improved lenses with higher magnification and better resolution 4. Matthias Schleiden (1838) o All plant tissues were composed of cells o An embryonic plant always arose from a single cell 5. Theodor Schwann (1839) o Reached similar conclusions as Schleiden with animal tissues o Postulated the cell theory (with two basic tenets) i. All organisms consist of one or more cell. ii. The cell is the basic unit of structure for all organisms. iii. Cells can arise only by division from a preexisting cell. (third tenet added 20 years later by Rudolf Virchow) The Emergence of Modern Cell Biology 1. Cytology (beginning 17th century) o Light microscope earliest tool of the cytologists : allowed identification of nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts (1,000 1,500X). Microtome enables rapid and efficient preparation of thin tissue slices of uniform thickness Development of dyes and staining methods important role in identifying subcellular structures. Fluorescence microscopy (proteins and other molecules) Phase contrast microscopy (observation of living cells) Electron microscopy 100,000X, with lower limit of resolution (0.1-0.2 nm compared with 200-350 nm for light microscope)

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2. Why are cells almost always microscopic? o Their nuclei possess a limited no. of copies of each gene

The surface area (which serves as the cells exchange surface) becomes limiting as a cell increases in size The distance between the cell surface and interior becomes too great for the cells needs to be met by simple diffusion

3. Biochemistry (beginning 19th century) o o Wohler showed that urea, a biochemical can be synthesized in the lab. Pasteur linked the activity of living organisms to specific processes (fermentation of sugar to alcohol by yeast cells) Buchner discovery of enzymes (in cell-free extracts). Discovery of important biochemical pathways (glycolysis / Emden-Meyerhof pathway, Krebs cycle) and ATP (as principal energy storage compound in most cells). Ultracentrifugation technique at very high speeds, can separate subcellular structures and macromolecules on the basis of size, shape and density Svedburg & Claude.

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4. Genetics (beginning 19th century) o o o o o o o 5. Mendel hereditary factors (genes). Fleming identified chromosomes in dividing cells (mitosis) Roux and Weisman chromosomes as actual bearers of genetic information. Sutton chromosome theory of heredity. Miescher (1869) discovery of DNA Avery, MacLeod & McCarty (1944) - DNA as the genetic material. Watson & Crick (1953) double helix structure of DNA