Cell Structure 3

Structures and Functions of organelles

• Compartmentalization and division of labour within the cell are even
more obvious with an electron microscope than with a light
microscope.

• Some of the cell components with their structures and functions are
mentioned below.
 Endoplasmic reticulum
• When cells were first seen with the electron microscope, biologists were
amazed to see so much detailed structure.
• The existence of much of this had not been suspected.
• ER was particularly extensive system of membranes running through
cytoplasm.
• The membranes of the ER form flattened
compartments called sacs or cisternae. These sacs are
interconnected to form a complete system (reticulum)
• Molecules, particularly proteins, can be transported
through the ER separate from the rest of the
cytoplasm. The ER is continuous with the
outer membrane of the nuclear envelope.
Types of ER
1. RER [Rough endoplasmic reticulum]
2. SER [Smooth endoplasmic reticulum]
RER
• RER is called rough endoplasmic reticulum because it is covered with
many tiny organelles called ribosomes
• These are just visible as black dots .
• Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis. They can be found free in
the cytoplasm as well as on the RER.
• Proteins formed by ribosomes on the RER enters the sac and move
through them.
• Small sacs called vesicles can break off from the ER and join together to
form golgi bodies.
 SER
• SER has a smooth appearance because it lacks ribosomes.
• It has a completely different function to RER.
• It makes lipids and steroids, such as cholesterol and the reproductive
hormones oestrogen and testosterone.
• SER is also a major storage site for calcium ions. Calcium ions are
involved in muscle contraction.
• In the liver, SER is involved in drug metabolism.
 Lysosome
• Lysosomes are simple spherical sacs, surrounded by a single
membrane.
• In animal cells they are usually 0.1–0.5 µm in diameter. In plant cells
the large central vacuole may act as a lysosome, although lysosomes
similar to those in animal cells are also seen in the cytoplasm.
• Lysosomes contain digestive enzymes (Hydrolytic enzymes). The
enzymes are called hydrolases because they carry out hydrolysis
reactions.

• These enzymes must be kept separate from the rest of the cell to
prevent damage.

• Lysosomes are responsible for the breakdown (digestion) of unwanted

substances and structures such as old organelles or even whole cells.

• Hydrolysis works fastest in an acid environment so the contents of

lysosomes are acidic, pH 4–5 compared with 6.5–7.0 in the surrounding
cytoplasm.
• Among the 60+ enzymes contained in lysosomes are proteases, lipases
and nucleases which break down proteins, lipids and nucleic acids
respectively.
• The enzymes are synthesised on RER and delivered to lysosomes via the
Golgi apparatus.
• The activities (Function) of lysosomes can be split into the four categories
discussed below:
a. Getting rid of unwanted cell components Lysosomes can engulf and
destroy unwanted cell components, such as molecules or organelles,
that are located inside the cell.
b. Endocytosis: Material may be taken into the cell by endocytosis, for
example when white blood cells engulf bacteria. Lysosomes may
fuse with the endocytic vacuoles formed and release their enzymes
to digest the contents.
c. Exocytosis: Lysosomal enzymes may be released from the cell for
extracellular digestion. An example is the replacement of cartilage by
bone during development. The heads of sperms contain a special
lysosome, the acrosome, for digesting a path through the layers of
cells surrounding the egg just before fertilization.

d. Self-digestion: The contents of lysosomes are sometimes released

into the cytoplasm. This results in the whole cell being digested (a
process called autolysis). This may be part of normal development, as
when a tadpole tail is reabsorbed during metamorphosis or when a
uterus is restored to its normal size after pregnancy.
 Ribosomes
• Ribosomes are very small, membraneless and are not visible with a light
microscope. At very high magnifications using an electron microscope
they can be seen to consist of two subunits: a large and a small subunit.
• The sizes of structures this small are often quoted in S units (Svedberg
units). S units are a measure of how rapidly substances sediment in a
high speed centrifuge (an ultracentrifuge). The faster they sediment, the
higher the S number.
• Their three-dimensional structure has now been
worked out (Figure 1.25).
• Ribosomes are a cell structure that makes protein. Protein is needed for
many cell functions such as repairing damage or directing chemical
processes. Ribosomes allow all the interacting molecules involved in protein
synthesis, such as mRNA, tRNA, amino acids and regulatory proteins, to
gather together in one place .

• Ribosomes can be found floating within the cytoplasm or attached to the

endoplasmic reticulum.

• The location of the ribosomes in a cell determines what kind of protein it

makes. If the ribosomes are floating freely throughout the cell, it will make
proteins that will be utilized within the cell itself.

• When ribosomes are attached to endoplasmic reticulum, it is referred to as

rough endoplasmic reticulum or rough ER. Proteins made on the rough ER
are used for usage inside the cell or outside the cell.
• A ribosome is made from complexes of RNAs and proteins and is,
therefore, a ribonucleoprotein.
• Around 37 to 62% of RNA is comprised of RNA and the rest is proteins.
• Each ribosome is divided into two subunits:
• A smaller subunit which binds to a larger subunit and the mRNA
pattern, and
• A larger subunit which binds to the tRNA, the amino acids, and the
smaller subunit.
TYPES:
• Prokaryotes have 70S ribosomes respectively subunits comprising the
little subunit of 30S and the bigger subunit of 50S.
• Eukaryotes have 80S ribosomes respectively comprising of little (40S)
and substantial (60S) subunits.
• The two subunits fit together and work as one to translate the mRNA
into a polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.
• During protein synthesis, when multiple ribosomes are attached to
the same mRNA strand, this structure is known as polysome.
• The existence of ribosomes is temporary, after the synthesis of
polypeptide the two sub-units separate and are reused or broken up.
 Functions of Ribosomes
• The ribosome is a complex molecular machine, found within all
living cells, that serves as the site of biological protein
synthesis (translation).
• Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified
by messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules.
 Cilia and Flagella
• Cilia (singular: cilium) and flagella (singular: flagellum) have identical
structures.

• They are whip-like, beating extensions of many eukaryotic cells.

• Each is surrounded by an extension of the cell surface membrane.

They were given different names before their structures were
discovered: flagella are long and found usually one or two per cell,
whereas cilia are short and often numerous.
• Cilia have two central microtubules and a ring of nine microtubule
doublets (MTDs) around the outside.

• This is referred to as a ‘9 + 2’ structure/arrangement of microtubules.

Each MTD contains an A and a B microtubule (Figure 1.32a).

• The wall of the A microtubule is a complete ring of 13 protofilaments

and the B microtubule attached is an incomplete ring with only 10
protofilaments (see Figure 1.32a).

• Figure 1.32a shows that each A microtubule has inner and outer arms.
• These are made of the protein dynein.

• They connect with the B microtubules of neighbouring MTDs during

beating. If you imagine the microtubule in three dimensions, there
are two rows of several hundred dynein arms along the outside of
each A microtubule.

• The whole cylindrical structure inside the cell surface membrane is

called the Axoneme.
• At the base of each cilium and flagellum is a structure called the basal
body which is identical in structure to the centriole. We now know that
centrioles replicate themselves to produce these basal bodies, and that
cilia and flagella grow from basal bodies. Figure 1.33 is a scanning
electron micrograph of cilia in the respiratory tract.
Beating mechanism
The beating motion of cilia and flagella is caused by the dynein
(protein) arms making contact with, and moving along, neighbouring
microtubules. This produces the force needed for cilia to beat. As
neighbouring MTDs slide past each other, the sliding motion is
converted into bending by other parts of the cilium.
Functions:

• Single celled organisms can therefore use the action of cilia and
flagella for locomotion.

• In vertebrates, beating cilia are found on some epithelial cells, such as

those lining the airways . Here more than 10 million cilia may be
found per mm2 . They maintain a flow of mucus which removes
debris such as dust and bacteria from the respiratory tract.
 Microvilli
• Microvilli (singular: microvillus) are finger-like extensions of the cell surface
membrane.
• They are typical of certain animal cells, such as epithelial cells.
• Epithelial cells cover the surfaces of structures. The microvilli greatly
increase the surface area of the cell surface membrane.
• This is useful, for example, for reabsorption in the proximal convoluted
tubules of the kidney and for absorption of digested food into cells lining
the gut.
 Microtubules
• Microtubules are long, rigid, hollow tubes found in the cytoplasm.
• They are very small, about 25nm in diameter. Together with actin
filaments and intermediate filaments, they make up the cytoskeleton,
an essential structural component of cells which helps to determine
cell shape.
• Microtubules are made of a protein called Tubulin.
• Tubulin has two forms, α-tubulin (alpha-tubulin) and β-tubulin (beta-
tubulin).
• α- and β-tubulin molecules combine to form dimers (double
molecules).
• These dimers are then joined end to end to form long ‘protofilaments’.

• This is an example of polymerization.

• Thirteen protofilaments then line up alongside each other in a ring to

form a cylinder with a hollow centre.

• This cylinder is the microtubule. Figure 1.24 (overleaf) shows the helical
pattern formed by neighbouring α- and β-tubulin molecules.
 Functions:
• Apart from their mechanical function of support, microtubules have a number
of other functions.

• Secretory vesicles and other organelles and cell components can be moved
along the outside surfaces of the microtubules, forming an intracellular
transport system.

• Membrane bound organelles are held in place by the cytoskeleton.

• During nuclear division, the spindle used for the separation of chromatids or
chromosomes is made of microtubules.

• Microtubules form part of the structure of centrioles.

 microtubule organizing centres (MTOCs)
• The assembly of microtubules from tubulin molecules is controlled by
special locations in cells called microtubule organizing centres
(MTOCs).
• Because of their simple construction, microtubules can be formed and
broken down very easily at the MTOCs, according to need.
• The function of the centrioles remains a mystery. Until recently, it was
believed that they acted as MTOCs for the assembly of the
microtubules that make up the spindle during nuclear division .
• It is now known that this is done by the centrosome, but does not
involve the centrioles. Centrioles found at the bases of cilia and
flagella, where they are known as basal bodies, do act as MTOCs.
 The endosymbiont theory
• In the 1960s, it was discovered that mitochondria and chloroplasts
contain ribosomes which are slightly smaller than those in the
cytoplasm and are the same size as those found in bacteria.
• Cytoplasmic ribosomes are 80S, while those of bacteria, mitochondria
and chloroplasts are 70S.
• It was also discovered in the 1960s that mitochondria and chloroplasts
contain small, circular DNA molecules, also like those found in bacteria.
It was later proved that mitochondria and chloroplasts are, in effect,
ancient bacteria which now live inside the larger cells of animals and
plants
• This is known as the endosymbiont theory.

• ‘Endo’ means ‘inside’ and a ‘symbiont’ is an organism which lives in a

mutually beneficial relationship with another organism.

• The DNA and ribosomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts are still

active and responsible for the coding and synthesis of certain vital
proteins, but mitochondria and chloroplasts can no longer live
independently.

• Mitochondrial ribosomes are just

visible as tiny dark orange dots in
the mitochondrial matrix.

Orange dots like ribosomes in mitochondria.