INTRODUCTION TO CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CELLULAR ORGANIZATION

Biology is a science that studies life. It is based on the fundamental laws of nature
embodied in chemistry and physics. The field of biology today is so wide, that it has been
divided into some separate disciplines. Molecular biology is one of these disciplines. The term
molecular biology was first used in 1945 by William Astbury and was referred to the study of the
chemical and physical structure of biological macromolecules (biopolymers). By that time
biochemists had discovered many fundamental intracellular chemical reactions and explained the
importance of proteins in cell activity. In 1953, scientists identified that DNA was the
macromolecule containing the genetic information of a cell. Following this discovery, the new
field of molecular genetics appeared. In the late 1970, a new method recombinant DNA
technology was elaborated. This provided new tools and, in time, information about all cells
became available at an extraordinary rate. As the molecular mechanisms of life have become
clearer, the underlying similarities became more impressive than the differences. Biologists are
confident that a limited number of general principles, summarizing common molecular
mechanisms, will eventually explain even the most complex life processes in terms of chemistry
and physics.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING CELLS

There are certain common characteristics of all living organisms: growth, reproduction,
homeostasis, metabolism, sensitivity, and energy acquisition.
1. Growth and development. Even single-celled (unicellular) organisms grow. When first
formed by cell division, the cells are small, and must grow and develop into mature cells.
Multicellular organisms pass through a more complicated process of differentiation and
organogenesis.
2. Reproduction. All living things must be able to reproduce. Through reproduction the
species continues to survive. All their hereditary characteristics that determine a species and
make it suitable for a particular environment are transmitted to their offspring.
3. Homeostasis. It is the maintenance of a constant internal environment in terms of
temperature, pH, water concentrations etc. An organism adjusts its metabolism to maintain stable
internal conditions for an effective functioning of the organism.
4. Metabolism. All living beings must have a metabolism, the ability to carry out chemical
reactions and exchange substances.
5. Sensitivity is the ability to respond to stimuli (both internal and external).
6. Energy acquisition and release. One view of life is that it is a struggle to acquire energy
(from sunlight, inorganic chemicals or another organisms), and release it in the process of
forming ATP.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Life on Earth is incredibly extensive and, to make it easier to study, biologists have broken
living systems up into generalized hierarchical levels:
molecules
cells
tissues
organisms
populations
communities
ecosystems
biosphere
 Introduction to Molecular Biology. PL1

The focus of this course is on the fundamentals of life; that is, the properties that are held
in common among all living things. We will concentrate almost exclusively on the molecular and
cellular levels.

CELL MORPHOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL UNITY OF LIFE

Cells are the structural units of all living beings (with the possible exception of viruses).
All cells have the following characteristics in common.
CELL MEMBRANE that separates the chaos outside a cell from the high degree of
organization within the cell. A cell without a cell membrane is not a cell.
CONTAINS DNA as its genetic material. All cells contain several varieties of RNA
molecules and proteins; most of them are enzymes.
All cells are composed of the same BASIC CHEMICALS: carbohydrates, proteins,
nucleic acids, minerals, fats and vitamins.
All cells REGULATE the flow of nutrients and wastes that enter and leave the cell.
All cells REPRODUCE and are the result of reproduction.
All cells require a SUPPLY OF ENERGY.
All cells are HIGHLY REGULATED by ELABORATING SENSING SYSTEMS
(chemical noses) that allow them to be aware of every reaction and many of the environmental
conditions around them; this information is continually PROCESSED to make metabolic
decisions.

The above criteria are the minimal requirements of life. Two general cell types have
evolved: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Current data supports the theory that prokaryotes
represent the initial or primitive (the simplest) cell type on earth and that eukaryotic cell types
evolved from them. There is strong data to support the idea that eukaryotes evolved from
aggregates of prokaryotic cells that became interdependent upon one another and eventually
merged (fused) into a single larger cell. Eukaryotic cells are structurally and biochemically more
complex than prokaryotes. They contain many membrane-bound organelles (cell structures with
specific molecular organization and distinct functions), whereas prokaryotic cells contain no
organelles.

COMPARATIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF PROKARYOTES AND EUKARYOTES

The both cell types do have DNA as genetic material (thus also possessing different RNAs,
ribosomes and proteins), have an exterior membrane (plasma membrane), and are very diverse.
Prokaryotes are bacteria and blue green algae (Kingdom Monera). Prokaryotes are cells
ribosomes without a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. They have
genetic material, which is however not enclosed
within a membrane. The genetic material is a
single circular DNA situated in the cytoplasm.
The prokaryotic DNA is associated with
proteins, which can be easily separated. The
reproduction of prokaryotes is through binary
fission (no sexual process takes place).
Nevertheless, there is a way for the exchange of
genetic information through transfer of
plasmids (short circles of DNA that pass from
one bacterium to another). Often plasmids carry
genes of resistance to antibiotics. The prokaryotes do not engulf
Bacterium Structure solids nor do they have centrioles. The membrane of prokaryotes
lacks cholesterol. Prokaryotes have a cell wall made up of peptidoglycan. The cytoplasm of

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prokaryotes is motionless. Any internal membranes are elaborations of the plasma membrane
and are known as mesosomes. The mesosome is believed to play the role of ATP synthesis or
energy center of prokaryotic cell.
Eukaryotes form the remaining four kingdoms: Protista (ex.: Protozoa like Amoeba or
Trypanosoma; Algal Protists such as Euglena or Chlamydomonas; and Fungus-like Protists,
which include species of Myxomycota or slime molds), Fungi (yeasts, rusts, smuts, puffballs,
truffles, molds), Plantae (plants), and Animalia (animals and humans). These are cells with a
nucleus an organelle where the genetic material is surrounded by an envelope (double
membrane). The genetic material is encoded by linear DNA molecules that in complex with
proteins form multiple chromosomes. Eukaryotes also contain membrane-bound organelles
(Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus (GA), lysosomes, peroxisomes, mitochondria,
vesicles, endosomes) and some non-membranous organelles (ribosomes, nucleolus, cenrioles).
The most complex eukaryotes are composed of plant and animal cells. Plants vary from
animal cells in that they have large vacuoles, cell wall, chloroplasts, and a lack of lysosomes,
centrioles, pseudopods, and flagella or cilia. Animal cells do not have the chloroplasts, and may
or may not have cilia, pseudopods or flagella, depending on the type of cell.

VIRUSES
A virus is a submicroscopic infection particle composed of a protein coat and a nucleic
acid core. The diameter of viral particles is 20-30 nm. Thus, they are much smaller than any
prokaryotic cell. Viruses, like cells, carry genetic information encoded in their nucleic acid, and
can undergo mutation and reproduce; however they cannot carry out metabolism.
Viruses are obligated intracellular parasites, meaning that they require host cells to
reproduce. In the viral life cycle, a virus infects a cell, allowing the viral genetic information to
direct the synthesis of new virus particle by the cell. Outside the cell they can only be in non-
replicative state, as they lack enzymes necessary for complete reproduction of virus particle.
There are many kinds of viruses. Viruses are classified by the type of nucleic acid they
contain and the shape of their protein capsule. They can be: DNA containing and RNA-
containing. DNA-containing viruses can be spiral, octahedral, complex without envelope,
complex with envelope. RNA containing viruses have RNA instead of DNA and the enzyme
reverse transcriptase. Once inside the host cell, reverse transcription (making DNA from RNA)
is accomplished by the reverse transcriptase. This new DNA is incorporated into the host DNA,
where it transcribes new viral RNA genomes, as well as the RNA to synthesize new reverse
transcriptase and protein capsules.
Viruses cause a variety of diseases among all groups of living organisms. Viral diseases
include the flu, common cold, herpes, measles, chicken pox and encephalitis.
Bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) invade the host cell and begin replicating
viruses, eventually lysing or bursting the host cell, realizing the new viruses.