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What Is a Cell?
Trees in a forest, fish in a river, horseflies on a farm, lemurs in the jungle, reeds in a pond,
worms in the soil — all these plants and animals are made of the building blocks we call
cells. Like these examples, many living things consist of vast numbers of cells working in
concert with one another. Other forms of life, however, are made of only a single cell, such
as the many species of bacteria and protozoa. Cells, whether living on their own or as
part of a multicellular organism, are usually too small to be seen without a light
microscope.

Cells share many common features, yet they can look wildly different. In fact, cells have
adapted over billions of years to a wide array of environments and functional roles. Nerve
cells, for example, have long, thin extensions that can reach for meters and serve to
transmit signals rapidly. Closely fitting, brick-shaped plant cells have a rigid outer layer that
helps provide the structural support that trees and other plants require. Long, tapered
muscle cells have an intrinsic stretchiness that allows them to change length within
contracting and relaxing biceps.

Still, as different as these cells are, they all rely on the same basic strategies to keep the
outside out, allow necessary substances in and permit others to leave, maintain their
health, and replicate themselves. In fact, these traits are precisely what make a cell a cell.

What Defines a Cell?

Cells are considered the basic units of

life in part because they come in
discrete and easily recognizable
packages. That's because all cells are
surrounded by a structure called the cell
membrane — which, much like the
walls of a house, serves as a clear
boundary between the cell's internal and
external environments. The cell
membrane is sometimes also referred to
as the plasma membrane.

Cell membranes are based on a

framework of fat-based molecules called
phospholipids, which physically
prevent water-loving, or hydrophilic, Figure 1: Transport proteins in the cell membrane
A plasma membrane is permeable to specific molecules that a
substances from entering or escaping cell needs. Transport proteins in the cell membrane allow for
the cell. These membranes are also selective passage of specific molecules from the external

studded with proteins that serve various

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functions. Some of these proteins act as environment. Each transport protein is specific to a certian
molecule (indicated by matching colors).
gatekeepers, determining what © 2010 Nature Education All rights reserved.
substances can and cannot cross the
membrane. Others function as markers,
identifying the cell as part of the same organism or as foreign. Still others work like
fasteners, binding cells together so they can function as a unit. Yet other membrane
proteins serve as communicators, sending and receiving signals from neighboring cells
and the environment — whether friendly or alarming (Figure 1).

Within this membrane, a cell's interior environment is water based. Called cytoplasm, this
liquid environment is packed full of cellular machinery and structural elements. In fact, the
concentrations of proteins inside a cell far outnumber those on the outside — whether the
outside is ocean water (as in the case of a single-celled alga) or blood serum (as in the
case of a red blood cell). Although cell membranes form natural barriers in watery
environments, a cell must nonetheless expend quite a bit of energy to maintain the high
concentrations of intracellular constituents necessary for its survival. Indeed, cells may use
as much as 30 percent of their energy just to maintain the composition of their cytoplasm.

What Other Components Do Cells Have?

As previously mentioned, a cell's cytoplasm is home to numerous functional and structural
elements. These elements exist in the form of molecules and organelles — picture them as
the tools, appliances, and inner rooms of the cell. Major classes of intracellular organic
molecules include nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, all of which are
essential to the cell's functions.

Nucleic acids are the molecules that contain and help express a cell's genetic code.
There are two major classes of nucleic acids: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and
ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA is the molecule that contains all of the information required
to build and maintain the cell; RNA has several roles associated with expression of the
information stored in DNA. Of course, nucleic acids alone aren't responsible for the
preservation and expression of genetic material: Cells also use proteins to help replicate
the genome and accomplish the profound structural changes that underlie cell division.

Proteins are a second type of intracellular organic molecule. These substances are made
from chains of smaller molecules called amino acids, and they serve a variety of functions
in the cell, both catalytic and structural. For example, proteins called enzymes convert
cellular molecules (whether proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, or nucleic acids) into other
forms that might help a cell meet its energy needs, build support structures, or pump out
wastes.

Carbohydrates, the starches and sugars in cells, are another important type of organic
molecule. Simple carbohydrates are used for the cell's immediate energy demands,
whereas complex carbohydrates serve as intracellular energy stores. Complex
carbohydrates are also found on a cell's surface, where they play a crucial role in cell
recognition.

Finally, lipids or fat molecules are components of cell membranes — both the plasma
membrane and various intracellular membranes. They are also involved in energy storage,
as well as relaying signals within cells and from the bloodstream to a cell's interior (Figure
2).

Some cells also feature orderly arrangements of molecules called organelles. Similar to
the rooms in a house, these structures are partitioned off from the rest of a cell's interior by
their own intracellular membrane. Organelles contain highly technical equipment required
for specific jobs within the cell. One example is the mitochondrion — commonly known
as the cell's "power plant" — which is the organelle that holds and maintains the machinery
involved in energy-producing chemical reactions (Figure 3).

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Figure 2: The composition of a bacterial cell

Most of a cell is water (70%). The remaining 30% contains varying proportions of structural and functional molecules.
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Figure Detail

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Figure 3: The relative scale of biological molecules and structures

Cells can vary between 1 micrometer (μm) and hundreds of micrometers in diameter. Within a cell, a DNA double helix
is approximately 10 nanometers (nm) wide, whereas the cellular organelle called a nucleus that encloses this DNA can
be approximately 1000 times bigger (about 10 μm). See how cells compare along a relative scale axis with other
molecules, tissues, and biological structures (blue arrow at bottom). Note that a micrometer (μm) is also known as a
micron.
© 2010 Nature Education All rights reserved.
Figure Detail

What Are the Different Categories of Cells?

Rather than grouping cells by their size or shape, scientists typically categorize them by
how their genetic material is packaged. If the DNA within a cell is not separated from the
cytoplasm, then that cell is a prokaryote. All known prokaryotes, such as bacteria and
archaea, are single cells. In contrast, if the DNA is partitioned off in its own membrane-
bound room called the nucleus, then that cell is a eukaryote. Some eukaryotes, like
amoebae, are free-living, single-celled entities. Other eukaryotic cells are part of
multicellular organisms. For instance, all plants and animals are made of eukaryotic cells
— sometimes even trillions of them (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Comparing basic eukaryotic and prokaryotic differences

A eukaryotic cell (left) has membrane-enclosed DNA, which forms a structure called the nucleus (located at center of the
eukaryotic cell; note the purple DNA enclosed in the pink nucleus). A typical eukaryotic cell also has additional
membrane-bound organelles of varying shapes and sizes. In contrast, a prokaryotic cell (right) does not have
membrane-bound DNA and also lacks other membrane-bound organelles as well.
© 2010 Nature Education All rights reserved.

How Did Cells Originate?

Researchers hypothesize that all organisms on Earth today originated from a single cell
that existed some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago. This original cell was likely little more than a
sac of small organic molecules and RNA-like material that had both informational and
catalytic functions. Over time, the more stable DNA molecule evolved to take over the
information storage function, whereas proteins, with a greater variety of structures than
nucleic acids, took over the catalytic functions.

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As described in the previous section, the absence or presence of a nucleus — and indeed,
of all membrane-bound organelles — is important enough to be a defining feature by which
cells are categorized as either prokaryotes or eukaryotes. Scientists believe that the
appearance of self-contained nuclei and other organelles represents a major advance in
the evolution of cells. But where did these structures come from? More than one billion
years ago, some cells "ate" by engulfing objects that floated in the liquid environment in
which they existed. Then, according to some theories of cellular evolution, one of the early
eukaryotic cells engulfed a prokaryote, and together the two cells formed a symbiotic
relationship. In particular, the engulfed cell began to function as an organelle within the
larger eukaryotic cell that consumed it. Both chloroplasts and mitochondria, which exist in
modern eukaryotic cells and still retain their own genomes, are thought to have arisen in
this manner (Figure 5).

Figure 5: The origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts

Mitochondria and chloroplasts likely evolved from engulfed prokaryotes that once lived as independent organisms. At
some point, a eukaryotic cell engulfed an aerobic prokaryote, which then formed an endosymbiotic relationship with the
host eukaryote, gradually developing into a mitochondrion. Eukaryotic cells containing mitochondria then engulfed
photosynthetic prokaryotes, which evolved to become specialized chloroplast organelles.
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Figure Detail

Of course, prokaryotic cells have continued to evolve as well. Different species of bacteria
and archaea have adapted to specific environments, and these prokaryotes not only
survive but thrive without having their genetic material in its own compartment. For
example, certain bacterial species that live in thermal vents along the ocean floor can
withstand higher temperatures than any other organisms on Earth.

Conclusion
Cells are the smallest common denominator of life. Some cells are organisms unto
themselves; others are part of multicellular organisms. All cells are made from the same
major classes of organic molecules: nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. In
addition, cells can be placed in two major categories as a result of ancient evolutionary
events: prokaryotes, with their cytoplasmic genomes, and eukaryotes, with their nuclear-
encased genomes and other membrane-bound organelles. Though they are small, cells
have evolved into a vast variety of shapes and sizes. Together they form tissues that
themselves form organs, and eventually entire organisms.

eBooks
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Essentials of Cell Biology, Unit 1.1

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