CELL- THE BASIC UNIT OF LIFE

 Study of cell is called Cytology.

 Term cytology was proposed by Hertwig.
 Term Cytogenetics was proposed by H.J Muller.
 Robert Hooke is considered as the father of cytology.
 Swanson is considered as the father of modern cytology.
 Swanson – Author of book “The Cell”.
 A.K Sharma – Indian cytologist.
 Biologists who are concerned with the study of cell are called cytologists.

Cell Biology

 Today the word cytology has been replaced by cell biology.

 Cell biology is a broader term.
 The study of structure, development, biochemistry, reproduction, physiology, evolution, genetics
and functioning of cells is called cell biology.

OR

 The study of cell with molecular and metabolic aspect is called cell biology.

DISCOVERY OF CELL

 Cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in1665.

 In 1665, Robert Hooke examined a thin piece of cork under his microscope and found honey comb
like structures.
 He gave term cell to these structures.
 The word cell is derived from a Latin word “cellulae” which means little room or compartment.
 Robert Hooke published this observation in his book “Micrographia or Some Physiological
Descriptions Of Minutae Made By Magnifying Glasses With Observations And Inquires Thereupon”
in 1665.
 His investigation led the foundation of cytology – father of cytology.
 The description of cell is given in chapter 18 “Observe XVII : of the Schematisme or Texture of Cork
and of the cells and Pores of some other Frothy Bodies.”
 Robert Hooke thought that these cells were passages for the conduction of fluids.
 Actually Robert Hooke discovered suberised cell wall not living cell.
 Robert Hooke :- born in 1635 and died in 1703 was an English botanist.
 Antonne Von Leeuwenhoek :- born in 1632 and died in 1723 was a Dutch Microbiologist and
Microscopist.
 Leeuwenhoek first time discovered a free living cell in 1674 in the form of bacteria and named it
Wild Animalcules.
 He observed rod like structures.
 Leeuwenhoek also discovered sperm (1678) ,RBC'S and protozoa.
CELL THEORY

 The idea of cell theory was given by a French scientist Rene Joachim Henri Dutrochet in 1824.He first time
indicate that tissues are formed by the union of cells.
 However the credit for formulating the cell theory was given to Schleiden and Schwann.

 Jacob Mathias Schleiden - born in 1804 and died in 1881 was a German Botanist.
 Theodore de Schwann - born in 1810 and died in 1882 was a British Zoologist.

 In 1838 Schleiden proposed that all plants are composed of cells. Plant cells have essentially similar
structure of cell wall, nucleus and surrounding jelly.
 In 1838-1839 Schwann observed that animal cells lack cell wall.He found that the interior of both plant
cell and animal cell is almost similar.
 Schleiden and Schwann compared their findings and finally formulated cell theory in 1839.
 Schleiden and Schwann jointly published cell theory in their paper “ Microscopical Researches On The
Similarity Of Structure And Growth In Animals And Plants ”.

According to cell theory

The body of all living organisms is composed of cells.So therefore cell is the basic structural
and functional unit of all living organisms.

 Schwann defined cell as a membrane enlocked nucleus containing structure.

 Cell membrane – discovered by Schwann.
 Schwann proposed cell hypothesis i,e. body of plants and animals is formed of cells.
 However cell theory failed to explain the formation of new cells.
 Schleiden believed that new cells develop by the budding of nucleus.
 Schwann thought that new cells develop spontaneously.
  Rudolf Virchow a German Scientist modified cell theory in 1858.He demonstrated that new cells develop
by the division of pre-existing cells – Omnis Cellula e Cellula.This is also known as Law of cell lineage,
Principle of cell lineage or Theory of cell lineage.
 Omnis cellula e cellula :-
 Year of announcement - 1855
 Year of publishment - 1858

 This fact was experimentally proved by Louis Pasteur in 1862.He performed Swan neck flask experiment
and discarded Theory of Abiogenesis Origin of Life.He finally stated that Omne vivum ex vivo – life
originates from pre-existing life.
 In 1862 Louis Pasteur conducted Broth experiment which rejected the idea of spontaneous generation
even for microbes.
 A sterile broth would spoil only if micro-organisms could invade from the external environment.

So therefore according to modified cell theory

 All organisms are composed of cells.

 New cells arise from pre-existing cells.
 All cells are basically similar, made of small mass of protoplasm containing a nucleus and plasma
membrane with or without cell wall.
 Activities performed by an organism are basically the sum total of activities and interactions of it’s
constituent cells.

Swan Neck Flask Experiment Omnis cellula e cellula

SCHWANN. SCHLEIDEN
MODERN CELL THEORY

Modern cell theory is also known as Cell principle or cell doctrine.

Modern cell theory states that
 All organisms are composed of cells.
 Cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life.
 Every cell consists a mass of protoplasm containing nucleus.
 Cell is the smallest biological unit in which life exists.
 A cell is capable of independent existence but it’s constituent parts or cell organelles
cannot do so.
 No organism can perform activities without cells.
 Genetic information is stored and expressed inside the cells.
 New cells arise from pre-existing cells.No cell can originate spontaneously or de novo
but came into existence by the division of already existing cells.
 Cells are basically totipotent i,e.capable of forming whole individual.Highly specialised
cells lose this capability.
 All present day cells have a common origin.
 A cell is able to maintain its vitality and individuality.
 A cell maintains its own internal environment and homeostasis.
 Life passes from one generation to next through cells
 Growth of an organism involves growth and division of it’s constituent cells.

OBJECTIONS OF CELL THEORY/MODERN CELL THEORY

Cell theory is a generalisation. It has many exceptions as under :-

 Viruses do not possess cellular machinery but they show some living properties.
 In some organisms body is not differentiated into cells but consists a number of nuclei.Such a
multinucleated body is known as Coenocyte or Syncytium. For example. Rhizopus,Mucor and vaucheria.
 There are living cells which lack nucleus. For example mammalian RBC'S,Sieve tube cells.
 Highly evolved organisms can show even those activities which are not found in their cells.For example.
Man can speak but it’s constituent cells cannot do so.
 Prokaryotic cells lack all the membrane bound cell organelles. Instead of nucleus genophore or nucleoid is
present.
 Mitochondria and chloroplast are cell organelles. They contain their own genetic material and can
reproduce in a cell.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Viruses are the biggest exception of cell theory.

 Viruses do not exist as cells - not made up of cells.
 Viruses lack protoplasm, chloroplast and mitochondria.
 Protozoa do not possess well organised cell like structure.
 Amoeba and Acetabularia ( algae ) are actually acellular instead of being unicellular.
  Jan Swamerdam first time observed red blood corpuscles of frog in 1658.
 Marcello Malpighi used term saccule or utricle to the cell in 1661.
 Nehmiah Grew :-
 Book – Anatomy of Plants.
 He described that there exists small elementary structures called cells , thus
supported the cell concept.
 F.Fontana discovered nucleolus in the skin of Eel In 1781.
 In 1809 Jean Baptiste De Lamarck stated that “ no body can have life if it’s constituent parts are not
formed of cells ”.
 Robert Brown :-
 Born in 1773 and died in 1858 was a Scottish scientist.
 He named and discovered nucleus in the cells of orchid roots in 1831.
 In 1866 , Haeckal established that nucleus is responsible for storing and transmission of hereditary
characters.
 In the beginning of 19th century , it was declared that all living organisms are formed of one or more
cells.

REDI'S EXPERIMENT

 In 1668 , Francesco Redi ( Italian scientist ) performed an experiment to reject the concept of
spontaneous generation.
 He boiled a fresh piece of meat and placed it in two different jars.One jar was left open and other was
covered with a cloth. Days later , the open jar contained maggots whereas the covered jar contained no
maggots.
 He noted that maggots were found on the exterior surface of the covered jar.There was no simultaneous
generation of maggots inside the two jars.So therefore, Redi successfully demonstrated that maggots
came from fly eggs and finally discarded idea of spontaneous generations.
 But this finding of Redi was not accepted by the people of very time.
 In England , John Needham challenged Redi's findings.He conducted the same experiment and finally
reported the presence of maggots in the sealed bottle and announced the origin of life from non-life.
Actually Needham did not heated meat long enough to kill all the microbes.
 Lazzaro Spallanzi ( Italian scientist ) reviewed both Red’s and Needham's data and performed the same
experiment again and finally supported Redi's observation i,e rejection of spontaneous generation.
OTHER THEORIES

1. Protoplasmic Theory
 This Theory was proposed by Max Schultze in 1861.
 According to this Theory “ protoplasm is the living matter of organisms not cell ”.
2. Organismal Theory
 This Theory was proposed by Sachs in 1874.
 According to this Theory

SURFACE-VOLUME RATIO

 The size of cell is determined by three main factors

I. Nucleo-cytoplasmic Ratio
II. Surface-Volume Ratio
III. Requirement of oxygen and other nutrients
 Nucleo-cytoplasmic Ratio
 It is also called Kernplasma Ratio.
 It is defined as the ratio between size of the nucleus and the size of cytoplasm.
 It determines nuclear control over the metabolic activities of the cell.
 Suppose a cell is like a cube
 Surface area = Length×Width×6
 Volume = Length×Width×Depth

Case-1

Surface area = 1cm × 1cm × 6 = 6cm2

Volume = 1cm × 1cm × 1cm = 1cm3

Therefore, Surface-Volume Ratio = 6 : 1

CASE-2

Surface area = 2cm × 2cm × 6 = 24cm2

Volume = 2cm × 2cm × 2cm = 8cm3

Therefore, Surface-Volume Ratio = 24 : 8 = 3 : 1

Case-3

Surface area = 3cm × 3cm × 6 = 54cm2

Volume = 3cm × 3cm × 3cm = 27cm3

Therefore, Surface-Volume Ratio = 54 : 27 = 2 : 1

  Hence , it is clear that Surface-Volume Ratio decreases with the increase of cell size.
 Therefore , smaller cells are metabolically more active cells than larger cells.This is due to the following
reasons
 Higher Nucleo-cytoplasmic Ratio :- It allows the nucleus to have better control over
metabolic activities of the cytoplasm.
 Higher Surface-Volume Ratio :- Large surface area provides higher and quicker intake of
oxygen and other nutrients.Therefore waste products such as CO2 are disposed quickly.

NOTE
 To become efficient , larger cells develop some unique features like development of microvilli,
becomes flat or becomes long tubular as a result surface area increases.
 In unicelled organisms , the Surface-Volume Ratio is generally low.
 Size of cell has no relation with the size of organism.
 Surface-Volume Ratio is inversely proportional to cell size.

CELL WALL

Definition :- Cell wall is a rigid, semi-elastic, semi-transparent, non-living protective and supportive extra-cellular
covering of cell in plants, fungi, prokaryotes and some protists.

 It was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665 in dead Cork cells.

 Cell wall is the most striking difference between plant cell and animal cell i,e animal cells lack cell wall.
 In most of the plants,cell wall is made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and proteins.
 Cell wall of algae is made up of cellulose,galactans,mannans and calcium carbonate.
 Cell wall is the most important characteristic of plant cell.
 Average thickness of cell wall = 0.1—10.0 μm.
 It lies outside the plasma membrane.
 It is permeable for micromolecules.
 Cell wall does not act as physiological boundary ( main function → mechanical support ).

STRUCTURE OF CELL WALL

 The structure of cell wall is Complex in nature.It has highly intricate lattice structure.It consists of three
types of networks :-
 Network of microfibrils
 Network of pectic polysaccharides
 Network of structural proteins

 Microfibrils form first network by forming hydrogen bonds with the Xyloglucan end of hemicellulose.
 Pectic polysaccharides form second network in which first network is embedded.It is connected to
arabinogalactan end of hemicellulose.
 Structural Proteins form third network.It interweaves through other two networks producing warp and
weft structure.
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CELL WALL

 Cell wall is chemically composed of three components

 Matrix
 Microfibrils
 Depositions

I. MATRIX

 It is highly cross-linked amorphous gel-like ground substance of the cell wall.

 It consists of water ( 30–60% ), hemicellulose ( 5–15% ), pectin ( 2–8% ), proteins ( 1–2% ) and lipids ( 0.5–
3.0% ).

PECTIN

 It is polymer of glucoronic and galacturonic acids.

 It determines hydration, elasticity, growth of cell wall and orientation of microfibrils.
 It is filler substance of the matrix.

HEMICELLULOSE

 It is a heteropolysaccharide of Xylans, mannans,glucomannans, galactans, Xyloglucans and

arabinogalactans.
 It binds microfibrils to the matrix.
 Microfibrils with Xyloglucan end.
 Pectin with arabinogalactan end.

Glycoproteins

 Glycoproteins or structural proteins control orientation of microfibrils.

 Some proteins act as enzymes to control metabolic activities of the cell wall.
 A special class of proteins called Expansin or Extensin ( Mc Queen Mason et-al 1992 ) breaks the cross
links between microfibrils and hence causes expansion of cell wall through addition of new microfibrils.

LIPIDS

 These transport hydrophobic substances across the cell wall.

II. MICROFIBRILS

 These are structural elements of cell wall.

 Microfibrils provide rigidity to the cell wall.
 Average length = 0.5 – 7.0 μm and average thickness = 10 – 25 nm.
 Many chains of Cellulose form a bundle.
 A bundle of 100 Cellulose chains forms the elementary fibril called Micelle.
 Each chain of Cellulose contains about 3000 glucose molecules.
 When 20 micelles combine together, they form a fibril of 250 °A thick known as microfibril.
 Plant microfibrils are formed of cellulose.
 Fungal microfibrils are made up of chitin.
  250 microfibrils form a fibril or macrofibril.
 Macrofibrils are visible under microscope.
 Cellulose ( 8°A ) → Micelle ( 100°A ) → Microfibril ( 250°A ) → Macrofibril ( 250000°A ).

CELLULOSE

 Cellulose was discovered by a French Chemist Anselme Payen.

 Organic compound.
 Polysaccharide.
 Polymer of beta-D-glucose.
 Main component of plant cell wall.
 Most abundant organic molecule.
 Tunicates are the only one group of animals to create and use Cellulose.
 Some acetic acid bacteria are also known to synthesise cellulose.
 An estimated annual production of cellulose produced by plants = 1.5 × 109 tonnes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 Plant cell wall — Cellulose

 Fungal cell wall — Chitin
 Bacterial cell wall — Peptidoglycan
 Chitin — Polymer of glucosamine
 Chitin — Second most abundant organic molecule
 The smallest structural unit of cell wall is elementary fibril called Micelle.
 Cellulose is the primary structural component of green plants.
 Lignin + Cellulose → Lignocellulose.
 Lignocellulose → Most common biopolymer on earth.
III. CELL WALL DEPOSITIONS
 These are extra materials present in cell wall.

Cutin

 Polymer of fatty acids.

 Wax like material.
 Found in epidermal walls.
 Reduces epidermal or surface transpiration i,e loss of water.
 Strengthening and binding agent.
 Layer of Cutin is called Cuticle.

Suberin

 Polymer of fatty acids.

 Found in the walls of Cork and endodermal cells.
 Makes cell wall impermeable to water → reduces rate of transpiration.

LIGNIN

 Polymer of Coniferyl alcohol.

 Water insoluble.
 Provides strength and hardness to the cell wall
 Major component of secondary cell wall of Sclerenchyma tissue , Xylem vessels and Xylem tracheids.

Layers of cell wall

 The whole cell wall of a cell ( plant cell ) is basically consisted of three wall layers viz; primary wall layer ,
secondary wall layer and tertiary wall layer.

Primary wall

 It is first formed wall after the formation of middle lamella.

 It lies inner side of the middle lamella.
 It is thin , elastic and capable of growth.
 Thickness = 0.1 — 3.0 μm.
 It grows by Intussusception i,e addition of materials inside the existing wall.
 Microfibrils of primary wall are loose, wavy and short ( 0.75 μm ).
 It occurs in all types of plant cells.

Secondary wall

 It is second wall layer that lies inner side to the primary wall.
 It is formed in some specialised cells such as Tracheids, Vessel elements, Fibres,Collenchyma etc.
 It is usually thick ( 4–10 μm ) and non-elastic layer.
 It grows by Accretion i,e deposition of materials over the surface of existing wall.
 Microfibrils of secondary wall are long ( 4–7 μm ), parallel, straight and closely packed.
 Secondary wall is further divided into three layers viz; S1 , S2 and S3.
 S2 usually thicker.
 Secondary wall of latex tube cells of Euphorbia milli has more than three layers.
 Other components → Lignin , Suberin and Cutin.
NOTE

 Extension is absent in Secondary wall except in Collenchyma cells.

 In Collenchyma cells , 2° wall is thin and thick at certain places to form pits.This provides elasticity and
allows further limited growth.
 Some cells are consisted of primary wall only such as leaf cells , fruit cells , cells of pith and cortex.

Tertiary wall

 It is third wall layer that occurs in few cells ( gymnosperms ).

 Main component → Xylan.
 It lies inner side to the secondary wall.
 It differs from primary and secondary walls through morphology and staining properties.

MIDDLE LAMELLA

 It is a thin intercellular cementing layer between two adjacent cells.

 It is the first formed layer from cell plate between the newly formed daughter cells at the time of
cytokinesis.
 It is chiefly composed of Calcium pectate and Magnesium pectate.
 It lies outside the primary wall → connects primary wall of two adjacent cells.
 It is the outermost layer of plant cell.
 The softening of ripened fruits is caused due to partial solubilisation of pectin present in the middle
lamella by the activity of pectolysing enzymes.
Plasmodesmata ( Singular-Plasmodesma )

 Gk.plasma → form , desma → bond

 Plasmodesmata are cytoplasmic or protoplasmic bridges or connections between adjacent plant cells.
 It maintains continuity of cytoplasm from cell to cell.
 First time observed by Strasburger in 1901.
 Plasmodesmata is a fine cytoplasmic channel lined by plasma membrane and is often associated with
some tubules of endoplasmic reticulum called Desmotubule.
 All the protoplasts of a living system are linked through plasmodesmata to form a contineous connecting
system called Symplasm.
 Plasmodesmata are useful to transfer stimuli , nutrients and other materials between adjacent cells.

Cell Wall Formation

 Cell wall is the product of cytoplasm.

 Endoplasmic reticulum , Golgi complex and Microtubule play an important role in cell wall formation.
 The process of cell wall formation usually takes place in a dividing cell immediately after nuclear division.
 At the time of cell wall formation , Golgi body releases some vesicles filled with cell wall material.
 These vesicles are known as Phragmoplast which migrate from periphery to the equator region of the
cell.
 These vesicles get arranged on the equator and finally separates the two daughter parts of the cytoplasm
through a discontineous cell plate.
 Phragmoplast is the precursor of cell plate which ultimately produces cell wall.
 Phragmoplast are related with cytokinesis.
 Term Phragmoplast → Errera.

Cell Coat

 It is also called glycocalyx.

 In some protists and animal cells , there is an external covering outside the plasma membrane known as
cell coat or glycocalyx.
 Term glycocalyx proposed by Bennet.
 It is made up of glycolipids and glycoproteins.
 It protects the underlying plasma membrane.
 Calcium salt provide strength to cell coat.

LIFE SPAN OF CELLS Every cell has definite life span.It depends upon the genetic clock of cells as well as
environmental conditions.

 Bacterial cells → Life span of few hours.

 Neutrophils → Life span varies from 10 – 12 hours.
 Muscle and Nerve cells → Life long
 Enterocytes or lining cells of intestine → Life span 2 – 4 days.
 Red blood cells → Life span of 120 days.
 Genetically controlled death of cell is called Apoptosis.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

 Middle lamella can be dissolved by strong acids.

 Tertiary wall is found in Xylem tracheids of gymnosperms.
 The cell coat in protozoa is called Pellicle.
 Deposition of Lignin in cell wall is called Lignification.
 Deposition of Suberin in cell wall is called Suberization.
 Deposition of Cutin in cell wall is called Cutinization.
 Deposition of mineral salts in cell wall is called Mineralisation.
 Staining of Cellulose → Chlor-Zinc Iodide solution ( Schulz solution ).
 Staining of Pectin → Ruthenium Red
 Staining of Lignin → Safranin
 Staining of Cutin → Sudan 111 Stain
 Staining of Peptidoglycan → Crystal Violet and Iodine
 According to Cohn , the growth of cell wall is regulated by Auxin plant hormone → Cell elongation
 The outermost boundary of cell outside the protoplasm in both plant and animal cells is described as
Extra-cellular matrix (ECM ).
 ECM of plant cell → cell wall and middle lamella
 ECM of animal cell → cell coat or glycocalyx
 Outermost layer of plant cell → Middle lamella
 Outermost layer of plant cell wall → Primary wall
 Largest animal cell → egg of Ostrich = 17.5 – 15.0 cm
 Largest human cell → female egg = 10 μm in diameter
 Largest unicellular plant → Acetabularia = 10 cm
 Size of human erythrocytes → 7 μm
 Human sperm = 60 μm long
 Egg of hen = 6.0 – 4.5 cm
 Largest prokaryotic cell → Spirillum volutans = 15 μm
 Longest animal cell → Nerve cell = 90 cm
 The longest cells in human body are motor neurons.They are 4.5 feet ( 1.37 meters) long and run from
lower spinal cord to the big toe.
 Length of Chlamydomonas = 10 – 30 μm
 Diameter of Chlorella = 1.5 – 15.0 μm
 Smallest cell → Mycoplasma gallisepticum
 Cell wall less
 Placed in Kingdom-Monera
 Average diameter = 0.1 – 0.5 μm
 Also called PPLO → Pleuro-Pneumonia Like Organisms
 Smallest bacteria with cell wall → Dialister Pneumosintes
 Lignification and Cutinisation developed with the evolution of land plants.
 Ferulic acid is present in the cell wall of Monocots but absent in Dicots.
 Longest plant cell → Fibre of Hemp = 1 metre
 Fibre of Ramie = 55 cm → Boehmiria nivea → Urticaceae
 Fibre of Cotton = 4 cm
Pits

 These are unthickened areas or depressions in the secondary wall of plant cells.
 Pits of the adjacent cells usually lie opposite to each other and form pit pairs.
 A pit present on the surface cell is called blind pit.It is without its corresponding partner.
 A pit is made up of two parts → Pit chamber and Pit membrane.
 Pit chamber → It is also called pit cavity.It is actually the depression in the wall representing the
area where secondary wall is absent.Opening of the pit chamber into the cell is called pit
aperture or pit pore.
 Pit membrane or Closing membrane → It is the floor or base of the pit chamber which is formed
of primary wall and middle lamella.

Types of pits

Depending upon the shape of the pit chamber, pits are of two types

 Simple pit :- It has uniform width.

 Bordered pit :- Pit chamber is flask-shaped which narrows towards the pit aperture. In some
cases the pit membrane bears a disc-shaped thickening called torus.
Note :- Torus prevents rupturing of pit membrane during unequal pressure condition on its two
sides.Torus is pushed outwardly on the side of low pressure and fits over the pit aperture.

Functions of cell wall

 It protects protoplasm against mechanical injury.

 It provides shape to the cell.
 It acts as a barrier to the entry of pathogens into the cell.
 It provides rigidity to the cell.
 It prevents bursting of cells on endosmosis i,e counteracts osmotic pressure.
 Suberin and Cutin deposition prevents loss of water through transpiration.
 Walls of Sieve tubes,Tracheids and Vessels are specialised for long distance transport.
 Cell to cell communication is maintained through plasmodesmata.