Organization of Eukaryotic Cells

The eukaryotic cell contains organelles, which are defined as membrane-bound structures such as nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, vacuoles, peroxisomes, etc. rokaryotic cells do not have organelles. !or animal cells, the cell surface consists of the plasma mem"rane only, "ut plant cells have an additional layer called cell wall, which is made up of cellulose and other polymers. The nucleus is the largest organelle in an eukaryotic cell. #t is not part of the cytoplasm. $y definition, cytoplasm is everything inside the plasma mem"rane except the nucleus. %nder microscope, the nucleus shows two distinct areas. The darker area is called nucleolus, and the lighter area is known as nucleoplasm. Cytosol is the cytoplasm excluding organelles. #t contains cytoskeleton, ri"osomes, proteins and other smaller molecules.

!igure &'('). The organi*ation of animal and plant cells. Red color indicates the difference "etween them. (ll "iological mem"ranes, including plasma mem"ranes and all organelle mem"ranes, contain lipids and proteins. The lipids found in "iomem"ranes are mainly phospholipids and cholesterol. #n the plasma mem"rane and some of organelle mem"ranes, proteins and phospholipids are attached to carbohydrates, forming glycoproteins and glycolipids, respectively.

!igure &'$'&. +chematic drawing of a typical plasma mem"rane.

Phospholipids
( phospholipid molecule consists of a hydrophilic polar head group and a hydrophobic tail. The polar head group contains one or more phosphate groups. The hydropho"ic tail is made up of two fatty acyl chains. ,hen many phospholipid molecules are placed in water, their hydrophilic heads tend to face water and the hydropho"ic tails are forced to stick together, forming a "ilayer.

(a)

(b)
!igure &'$'-. +tructure of a phospholipid (phosphatidylcholine). (a) .hemical structure. (b) ( computer model.

Polar head groups /ost phospholipid head groups "elong to phosphoglycerides, which contain glycerol 0oining the head and the tail. Examples of phosphoglycerides include phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, etc.

!atty acyl chains The fatty acyl chain in "iomem"ranes usually contains even num"er of car"on atoms. They may "e saturated (neigh"oring . atoms are all connected "y single "onds) or unsaturated (some neigh"oring . atoms are connected "y dou"le "onds). Ta"le &'$'&. .ellular fatty acids. Chemical !ormula #aturated fatty acid .1)(.1-)&2.331 .1)(.1-)&-.331 .1)(.1-)&5.331 .1)(.1-)&6.331 .1)(.1-)&7.331 .1)(.1-)--.331 $nsaturated fatty acid .1)(.1-)8.19.1(.1-):.331 .1)(.1-):.19.1(.1-):.331 .1)(.1-)5.19.1.1-.19.1(.1-):.331 .1)(.1-)5(.19.1.1-)).19.1(.1-)).331 .1).1-.19.1.1-.19.1.1-.19.1(.1-):.331 almitoleic 3leic 4inoleic (rachidonic 4inolenic 4auric /yristic almitic +tearic (rachidic 4ignoceric "ame

;ote< #n the "ond'line representation, almitic acid is represented as

(rachidonic acid is represented as

Cholesterol and #teroids

.holesterol is a"sent from most prokaryotic cells, "ut a"undant in the plasma mem"rane of mammalian cells. #t is used as a precursor to generate other important steroids.

!igure &'$'). +tructures of cholesterol and other important steroids. They are characteri*ed "y four hydrocar"on rings, designated as (, $, ., and =. (lthough cholesterol is made up of almost entirely hydrocar"ons, it is still an amphipathic molecule (with "oth hydrophilic and hydropho"ic parts) "ecause it contains a hydroxyl group (31).

%lycoproteins and %lycolipids

Glycoproteins are the proteins covalently attached to car"ohydrates such as glucose, galactose, lactose, fucose, sialic acid, ;'acetylglucosamine, ;'acetylgalactosamine, etc. Glycolipids are car"ohydrate'attached lipids. Their role is to provide energy and also serve as markers for cellular recognition. The antigens which determine "lood types "elong to glycoproteins and glycolipids. .lick here for more information.

&lood %roup 'ntigens

The antigens which determine "lood types "elong to glycoproteins and glycolipids. There are three types of "lood'group antigens< 3, (, and $. They differ only slightly in the composition of car"ohydrates.

!igure &'$'8. $lood'group antigens. (ll humans contain en*ymes which cataly*e the synthesis of the 3 antigen. 1umans with ('type "lood also contain an additional en*yme (called ('type en*yme here) which adds ;'(cetylgalactosamine to the 3 antigen. 1umans with $'type "lood contain another en*yme (called $'type en*yme here) which adds Galactose to the 3 antigen. 1umans with ($'type "lood contain "oth ('type and $'type en*ymes while humans with 3'type "lood lack "oth types of en*ymes.

(he "ucleus
The cell nucleus consists of nuclear envelope, nucleolus and nucleoplasm. /ost chromosomes are located in the nucleoplasm, "ut portions of several chromosomes containing clusters of rR;( genes may get together in the nucleolus, forming the nucleolar organizing region. The ma0or role of the nucleolus is to produce rR;(.

!igure &'.'&. +chematic drawing of the nuclear envelope which contains two lipid "ilayers. ( mammalian nucleus has a"out 5222 nuclear pores, each is formed "y over &22 different proteins.

Chromosomes and )aryotype

#n a non'dividing cell, chromosomes are not visi"le "y light microscopy, "ecause chromatin spreads throughout the nucleus. =uring the metaphase of cell division, the chromatin condenses and "ecomes visi"le as chromosomes. (t this time, each chromosome has "een duplicated. ( chromosome "ecomes two sister chromatids attached at the centromere.

!igure &'.'-. +chematic drawing of chromosomes. (a) =uring the metaphase of cell division, a chromosome "ecomes two sister chromatids attached at the centromere. (b) ;otations a"out the chromosome "ands. This figure uses human chromosome &: as an example.

Chromosome banding To see chromosomes "y microscope, they are normally treated with chemical dyes, such as %iemsa. The chromosome will appear as a series of alternate dark and light "ands. #f Giemsa is used, the dark "and is called %-band or G'positive "and, and the light "and is named G'negative "and. +imilar "anding patterns can "e o"served "y using another dye, >uinacrine. 1owever, if chromosomes were treated in a hot alkaline solution "efore staining with Giemsa, a reverse pattern will "e o"served, namely, the original dark "and will "ecome light "and, and vice versa. !or this reason, the G'negative "and is also known as the *-band. .hromosome "ands are named as follows. Each chromosome consists of two arms separated "y the centromere. The long arm and short arm are la"eled + (for ?ueue) and p (for petit), respectively. (t the lowest resolution, only a few ma0or "ands can "e distinguished, which are la"eled ?&, ?-, ?)@ p&, p-, p), etc., counting from the centromere. 1igher resolution reveals su"'"ands, la"eled ?&&, ?&-, ?&), etc. +u"'su"' "ands identified "y even higher resolution are la"eled ?&&.&, ?&&.-, ?&&.), etc. Traditionally, the short arm (p) is displayed on top of the long arm (?). +ee !igure &'.'8 for the "anding pattern of the entire human chromosomes. )aryotype )aryotype is the representation of entire metaphase chromosomes in a cell, arranged in order of si*e.

!igure &'.'). The karyotype of human somatic cells. ( human somatic cell contains two sets of homologous chromosomes, which may "e divided into two types< autosomes and se, chromosomes. (utosomes are further divided into seven groups< ( to G. =uring the metaphase of cell division, each chromosome has "een duplicated. Therefore, this karyotype consists of A- chromosomes.

Chromosome "umbers

( germ cell (sperm or egg) contains only one set of chromosomes. #t "elongs to haploid, represented as -n. #omatic cells (cells other than germ cells) of sexually reproducing organisms are diploid, denoted "y .n. #n humans, the haploid chromosome num"er is -), "ut the diploid chromosome num"er is 56. Ta"le &'.'&. .hromosome num"ers of common species.

E,tremes
#mallest number The female of a su"species of the ant, Myrmecia pilosula, has one pair of chromosomes per cell. #ts male has only one chromosome in each cell. /argest number #n the fern family of plants, the species Ophioglossum reticulatum has a"out 6)2 pairs of chromosomes, or -.01 chromosomes per cell.

Organelles in the Cytoplasm

$y definition, organelles are the mem"rane'"ound structures in a cell. The nucleus is an example. 3ther organelles are located in the cytoplasm such as mitochondria2 chloroplasts2 endoplasmic reticulum2 %olgi apparatus2 pero,isomes2 lysosomes2 3acuoles and glyo,isomes. 4itochondria (n eukaryotic cell contains many mitochondria, occupying up to a ?uarter of the cytoplasmic volume. The si*e of a mitochondrion is a"out &.8'- m in length, 2.8'& m in diameter, approximately the same as E. coli. #t has two mem"ranes< outer mem"rane and inner mem"rane. /itochondria also have their own =;( (represented as mt=;(),

which encodes some of the proteins and R;(s in mitochondria. 1owever, most proteins operating in mitochondria still originate from nuclear =;(. The ma0or role of mitochondria is to produce '(P (adenosine triphosphate), which carries high energy to power most cellular processes. +uch energy is stored in the phosphoanhydride "onds of (T (!igure from 4odish et al.). =uring (T hydrolysis, the "ond is "roken, releasing :.) kcalBmole of energy. /any cellular processes can utili*e the released energy "y coupling with the (T hydrolysis. #n animal cells, the ma0or sources for the synthesis of (T are fatty acids and glucose. 3xidation of an &7'car"on fatty acid can make &56 (T molecules. $y contrast, oxidation of one glucose molecule (6 car"ons) can generate only )6 (T molecules. The generation of (T involves a series of electron transport. #nevita"ly, electrons may leak from the electron transport chain, producing free radicals. This has "een suggested to "e the ma0or mechanism involved in the aging process. +ee C/itochondria, (poptosis and (gingC. #ite of 5nterest

Chloroplasts 4ike mitochondria, a chloroplast also contains "oth outer and inner mem"ranes on its surface. #nside the chloroplast, there are many thylakoids, each is enclosed "y a mem"rane. Chlorophylls are located on the thylakoid mem"rane to a"sor" light for photosynthesis. #n the first step of photosynthesis, light energy is used to split water into hydrogen ions and oxygen molecules. The generated hydrogen ions will create a concentration gradient across the thylakoid mem"rane. /ovement of hydrogen ions through the mem"rane is coupled to (T synthesis. The overall reactions can "e written as

4ike mitochondria, chloroplasts also have their own =;(, "ut most chloroplast proteins are still encoded "y nuclear =;(.

Endoplasmic reticulum

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can "e divided into rough E* and smooth E*. The ma0or role of rough ER is to process the newly synthesi*ed peptides from ri"osomes. Therefore, the surface of rough ER is usually associated with ri"osomes and thus appears CroughC. +mooth ER is involved in the synthesis and meta"olism of lipids. 1epatocytes are a"undant in smooth ER. %olgi apparatus Golgi apparatus is a ma0or site for sorting and modifications of proteins and lipids. (fter proteins are sorted at rough ER, they are enclosed in transport 3esicles and carried to the Golgi apparatus. +ome proteins could "e modified into glycoproteins and then transported to other destinations.

Pero,isomes eroxisomes contain en*ymes for degrading amino acids and fatty acids. These reactions produce harmful hydrogen peroxide. 1ence, peroxisomes also contain catalase to convert hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen<