ThestructureandcycleofProkaryoticandEukaryoticcells ProkaryoticCells Prokaryotesaretheearliesandmostprimitiveformsoflifeonearth.Theyinclude bacteriaandarchaeans.Theyareabletoliveandthriveinvarioustypesof environmentsincludingextreamhabitatssuchashydrothermalvents,hotsprings, swamps,wetlands,andthecutsofanimals.Theyarecellsthathavenonucleus, mitochondria,oranyothermembranebound organelles.Mostprokaryotesareunicellular organisms,althoughafewsuchasmyxobacteriahave multicellularstagesintheirlifecyclesorcreatelarge colonieslikecyanobacteria.Cellsinthemonera kingdomsuchasbacteriaandcyanobacteria(also knownasblueGreenalgae)areprokaryotes.

. ProkaryoticcellsinsteadofhavingchromosomalDNA, theirgeneticinformationisinacircularloopcalleda plasmid.Theyfeaturethreemajorshapes;rodshaped, sphericalandspiral.Insteadofgoingthroughelaborate replicationprocesseslikeeukaryotes,bacterialcells dividebybinaryfission. Structure Therearefourmainstructuressharedbyallprokaryoticcells,bacterialorArchaean: 1. Theplasmamembrane:Prokaryoticcellscanhavemultipleplasmamembranes.

Prokaryotesknownas"gramnegative bacteria,"forexample,oftenhave twoplasmamembraneswithaspace betweenthemknownastheperiplasm.Asin allcells,theplasmamembraneinprokaryotic cellsisresponsibleforcontrollingwhatgets intoandoutofthecell.Aseriesofproteins stuckinthemembrane(poorfellas)alsoaid prokaryoticcellsincommunicatingwiththe surroundingenvironment.Amongother things,thiscommunicationcaninclude sendingandreceivingchemicalsignalsfrom otherbacteriaandinteractingwiththecellsof eukaryoticorganismsduringtheprocess ofinfection. 2. Cytoplasm:Thecytoplasminprokaryoticcellsisagellike,yetfluid,substanceinwhichall oftheothercellularcomponentsaresuspended.Jelloforcells.Itisverysimilarto theeukaryoticcytoplasm,exceptthatitdoesnotcontainorganelles.Recently,biologists havediscoveredthatprokaryoticcellshaveacomplexandfunctionalcytoskeletonsimilarto thatseenineukaryoticcells.Thecytoskeletonhelpsprokaryoticcellsdivideandhelpsthe cellmaintainitsplump,roundshape.Asisthecaseineukaryoticcells,thecytoskeletonisthe frameworkalongwhichparticlesinthecell,includingproteins,ribosomes,andsmallringsof DNAcalledplasmids,movearound. 3. Ribosomes:Justlikeineukaryoticcells,prokaryoticribosomesbuildproteinsby translatingmessagessentfromDNA.

4. Geneticmaterial(DNAandRNA):Allprokaryoticcellscontainlargequantities
ofgeneticmaterialintheformofDNAandRNA.Becauseprokaryoticcells,bydefinition, donothaveanucleus,thesinglelargecircularstrandofDNAcontainingmostofthegenes neededforcellgrowth,survival,andreproductionisfoundinthecytoplasm.TheDNAtends tolooklikeamessofstringinthemiddleofthecell

Someprokaryoticcellsalsohaveotherstructureslikethecellwall,pili(singular pillus),andflagella(singularflagellum).Eachofthesestructuresandcellular componentsplaysacriticalroleinthegrowth,survival,andreproductionof prokaryoticcells. CellCycle Theprokaryoticgrowthcycleisarelativelystraightforwardprocess.Essentially, prokaryoticorganismsgrowuntilreachingacriticalsizeandthendivide,onlyto repeattheprocessoverandoveragain.Therateofgrowthanddivisioninbacterial cellsisgreatlydependentonenvironmentalfactors,suchasnutrientavailabilityand temperature.Underoptimalenvironmentalconditions,bacterialpopulationscan growexponentiallyinsizeatveryrapidrates,insomeinstancesincreasingfrom severalindividualstoseveralmillionorbillionindividualsinamatterofhoursor days. Binaryfissionisanasexualformofreproductionthatproduces2identicalcopies (clones)ofacell.Bacterialcoloniesconsistofmillionsofidenticalbacterialcells calledclonesthatarisefromasingleparentcellduringbinaryfission.Thetime requiredforabacterialcelltogrowanddivideiscalledgenerationtime.Thelength ofthegenerationtimeisameasureofthegrowthrateofthemicrobe.The averagegenerationtimeforbacteriais3060minutes.However,somepathogenic bacteria,suchasSalmonellaenteritidis,candoubleevery2030minutes.

EukaryotesCells Eukaryoteisanorganismwhosecellscontaincomplexstructuresenclosed withinmembranes.Thedefiningmembraneboundstructurethatsetseukaryotic cellsapartfromprokaryoticcellsisthenucleus,ornuclearenvelope,withinwhich thegeneticmaterialiscarried.Thepresenceofanucleusgiveseukaryotestheir name,whichcomesfromtheGreek(eu,"good")and(karyon,"nut"or "kernel").Mosteukaryoticcellsalsocontainothermembraneboundorganellessuch asmitochondria,chloroplastsandtheGolgiapparatus.Alllargecomplexorganisms areeukaryotes,includinganimals,plantsandfungi.Thegroupalsoincludes manyunicellularorganisms. Structure AnimaleukaryotecellPlanteukaryotecell Animalcell Ananimalcellisaformofeukaryoticcellthatmakesupmanytissuesinanimals.The animalcellisdistinctfromothereukaryotes,mostnotablyplantcells,asthey lackcellwallsandchloroplasts,andtheyhavesmallervacuoles.Duetothelackofa rigidcellwall,animalcellscanadoptavarietyofshapes,andaphagocyticcellcan evenengulfotherstructures.Therearemanydifferentcelltypes. Plantcell Furtherinformation:Plantcell Plantcellsarequitedifferentfromthecellsoftheothereukaryoticorganisms.Their distinctivefeaturesare: Alargecentralvacuole(enclosedbyamembrane,thetonoplast),which maintainsthecell'sturgorandcontrolsmovementofmoleculesbetween thecytosolandsap Aprimarycellwallcontainingcellulose,hemicelluloseandpectin,deposited bytheprotoplastontheoutsideofthecellmembrane;thiscontrastswiththe cellwallsoffungi,whichcontainchitin,andthecellenvelopesofprokaryotes,in whichpeptidoglycansarethemainstructuralmolecules

Theplasmodesmata,linkingporesinthecellwallthatalloweachplantcellto communicatewithotheradjacentcells;thisisdifferentfromthefunctionally analogoussystemofgapjunctionsbetweenanimalcells. Plastids,especiallychloroplaststhatcontainchlorophyll,thepigmentthat givesplantstheirgreencolorandallowsthemtoperformphotosynthesis Higherplants,includingconifersandfloweringplants(Angiospermae)lack theflagellaeandcentriolesthatarepresentinanimalcells

Fungalcell FungalHyphaeCells 1Hyphalwall2Septum3Mitochondrion4Vacuole5Ergosterolcrystal6 Ribosome7Nucleus8Endoplasmicreticulum9Lipidbody10Plasmamembrane 11Spitzenkrper12Golgiapparatus Fungalcellsaremostsimilartoanimalcells,withthefollowingexceptions: Acellwallthatcontainschitin Lessdefinitionbetweencells;thehyphaeofhigherfungihaveporous partitionscalledsepta,whichallowthepassageofcytoplasm,organelles,and, sometimes,nuclei.Primitivefungihavefewornosepta,soeachorganismis essentiallyagiantmultinucleatesupercell;thesefungiaredescribed ascoenocytic. Onlythemostprimitivefungi,chytrids,haveflagella. Othereukaryoticcells Eukaryotesareaverydiversegroup,andtheircellstructuresareequallydiverse. Manyhavecellwalls;manydonot.Manyhavechloroplasts,derivedfromprimary, secondary,oreventertiaryendosymbiosis;andmanydonot.Somegroupshave uniquestructures,suchasthecyanellesoftheglaucophytes,thehaptonemaof thehaptophytes,ortheejectisomesofthecryptomonads.Otherstructures,such aspseudopods,arefoundinvariouseukaryotegroupsindifferentforms,suchasthe loboseamoebozoansorthereticuloseforaminiferans. CellCycle Nucleardivisionisoftencoordinatedwithcelldivision.Thisgenerallytakesplace bymitosis,aprocessthatallowseachdaughternucleustoreceiveonecopyofeach chromosome.Inmosteukaryotes,thereisalsoa processofsexualreproduction,typicallyinvolving analternationbetweenhaploidgenerations, whereinonlyonecopyofeachchromosomeis present,anddiploidgenerations,whereintwoare present,occurringthroughnuclearfusion (syngamy)andmeiosis.Thereisconsiderable variationinthispattern,however. Eukaryoteshaveasmallersurfaceareatovolume ratiothanprokaryotes,andthushavelower metabolicratesandlongergenerationtimes.In somemulticellularorganisms,cellsspecializedfor metabolismwillhaveenlargedsurfaceareas,such

asintestinalvili. Therestepsofmitosisare: 1. Interphase 2. Prophase 3. Metaphase 4. Anaphase 5. Telophase 6. Cytokinesis