List of basic cell biology topics

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Light micrograph of a moss's leaf cells at 400X magnification.

Cell biology (formerly cytology, from the Greek kytos, "container") is an academic discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level. Cell biology research extends to both the great diversity of single-celled organisms like bacteria and the many specialized cells in multicellular organisms like humans.

Cells and the Cell Theory are fundamental concepts in biology. Cells are the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. Cells are the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is sometimes called the building block of life. The word cell comes from the Latin cellula, meaning, a small room. The descriptive name for the smallest living biological structure was chosen by Robert Hooke in a book he published in 1665 when he compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small rooms monks lived in.

The following list of topics is provided as an overview of and introduction to cell biology:

Essence of cell biology

Main article: Cell biology

• Cell -The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living.
• Cell theory - Theory which states that all organisms are composed of one or more cells. All cells come from preexisting cells. Vital functions of an organism occur within cells, and all cells contain the hereditary information necessary for regulating cell functions and for transmitting information to the next generation of cells.
• Cell biology - (formerly cytology) The study of cells.
• Cell division - The process of one parent cell separating into one or more daughter cells.
• Endosymbiotic theory - The evolutionary theory that certain eukaryotic organelles originated as separate prokaryotic organisms which were taken inside the cell as endosymbionts.
• Cellular respiration - The metabolic reactions and processes that take place in a cell or across the cell membrane to get biochemical energy from fuel molecules and the release of the cells' waste products.
• Lipid bilayer - A membrane composed of lipid molecules (usually phospholipids). The lipid bilayer is a critical component of all biological membranes, particularly cell membranes.

Aspects of cells

• Homeostasis - The property of either an open system or a closed system, especially a living organism, that regulates its internal environment so as to maintain a stable, constant condition.
• Life - A condition of growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally.
• Microscopic - A term used to described those objects, like cells, which are too small to be seen easily by the naked eye and which require a lens or microscope to see them clearly.
• Unicellular - Organisms which are composed of only one cell.
• Multicellular - Organisms consisting of more than one cell, and having differentiated cells that perform specialized functions.
• Tissues - A collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism.
• Cellular differentiation - A concept in developmental biology whereby less specialized cells become a more specialized cell type in multicellular organisms.

Types of cells

By organism

• Eukaryote - Organisms whose cells are organized into complex structures enclosed within membranes, including plants, animals, fungi, and protists.
  • Animal cell - Eukaryotic cells belonging to kingdom Animalia, characteristically having no cell wall or chloroplasts.
  • Plant cell - Eukaryotic cells belonging to kingdom Plantae and having chloroplasts, cellulose cell walls, and large central vacuoles.
  • Fungal hypha - The basic cellular unit of organisms in kingdom fungi. Typically tubular, multinucleated, and with a chitinous cell wall.
  • Protista - A highly variable kingdom of eukaryotic organisms which are mostly unicellular and not plants, animals, or fungi.
• Prokaryote - A group of organisms whose cells lack a cell nucleus, or any other membrane-bound organelles, including bacteria and archaea.
  • Bacterial cells - A prokaryotic cell belonging to the mostly unicellular Kingdom eubacteria.
  • Archea cell - A cell belonging to the prokaryotic and single-celled microorganisms in Kingdom Archea..

By function

Main article: List of distinct cell types in the adult human body

• Gamete - A haploid reproductive cell. Sperm and ovums are gametes. Gametes fuse with another gamete during fertilization (conception) in organisms that reproduce sexually.
  • Sperm - Male reproductive cell (a gamete).
  • Ovum - Female reproductive cell (a gamete).
• Zygote - A cell that is the result of fertilization (the fusing of two gametes).
  • Egg - The zygote of most birds and reptiles, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. The largest existing single cells currently known are (fertilized) eggs.
• Meristemic cell - Undifferentiated plants cells analogous to animal stem cells.
• Stem cell- Undifferentiated cells found in most multi-cellular organisms which are capable of retaining the ability to reinvigorate themselves through mitotic cell division and can differentiate into a diverse range of specialized cell types.
• Germ cell - Gametes and gonocytes, these are often . Germ cells should not be confused with "germs" (pathogens).
• Somatic cell - any cells forming the body of an organism, as opposed to germline cells.

Basic cellular anatomy

• Cellular compartment - All closed parts within a cell whose lumen is usually surrounded by a single or double lipid layer membrane.
• Organelles - a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is separately enclosed within its own lipid membrane or traditionally any subcellular functional unit.

Organelles

• Cell nucleus - a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material, organized as multiple long linear DNA molecules in complex with a large variety of proteins, such as histones, to form chromosomes.
• Mitochondrion - a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Often called "cellular power plants", mitochondria generate most of cells' supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body's main source of energy.
• Chloroplast - organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis.
• Lysosome - organelles that contain digestive enzymes (acid hydrolases). They digest excess or worn-out organelles, food particles, and engulfed viruses or bacteria.
• Vesicle - a relatively small intracellular, membrane-enclosed sac that stores or transports substances .
• Golgi apparatus - a eukaryotic organelle that process and package the macromolecules such as proteins and lipids that are synthesized by the cell; it is a part of the endomembrane system.
• Endoplasmic reticulum - an organelle composed of and interconnected network of tubules, vesicles and cisternae.
  • Smooth endoplasmic reticulum - sections of endoplasmic reticulum which are not studded with ribosomes which is connected to the nuclear envelope. It is has functions in several metabolic processes, including synthesis of lipids, metabolism of carbohydrates and calcium concentration, drug detoxification, and attachment of receptors on cell membrane proteins.
  • Rough endoplasmic reticulum - sections of the endoplasmic reticulum which are studded with protein-manufacturing ribosomes giving it a "rough" appearance (hence its name). Its primary function is the synthesis of enzymes and other proteins.
• Peroxisome - ubiquitous organelles in eukaryotes that participate in the metabolism of fatty acids and other metabolites. Peroxisomes have enzymes that rid the cell of toxic peroxides.
• Vacuole - membrane-bound compartments within some eukaryotic cells that can serve a variety of secretory, excretory, and storage functions.
• Nucleolus - a roughly spherical sub-organelle of the cell nucleus. Its main function is to produce and assemble ribosome components (i.e. RNA, proteins).
• Ribosome - complexes of RNA and protein that are found in all cells. Ribosomes build proteins from the genetic instructions held within messenger RNA.
• Centrosome - the main microtubule organizing center of animal cells as well as a regulator of cell-cycle progression.

Structures

• Cell membrane - (also called the plasma membrane, plasmalemma or "phospholipid bilayer") is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cells; it contains a wide array of functional macromolecules.
• Cell wall - a fairly rigid layer surrounding a cell, located external to the cell membrane, which provides the cell with structural support, protection, and acts as a filtering mechanism.
• Cytoskeleton - is a cellular "scaffolding" or "skeleton" contained within the cytoplasm it is composed of three types of fibers: microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules.
• Centriole - A barrel shaped microtubule structure found in most eukaryotic cells other than those of plants and fungi.
• Spindle fiber - The structure that separates the chromosomes into the daughter cells during cell division.
• Cytoplasm - a gelatinous, semi-transparent fluid that fills most cells, it includes all cytosol, organelles and inclusions.
• Cytosol - is the internal fluid of the cell, and where a portion of cell metabolism occurs.
• Inclusions - chemical substances found suspended directly in the cytosol.
• Chromosome - organized structures of DNA and proteins that are found in cells.
• Plasmid - an extrachromosomal DNA molecule separate from the chromosomal DNA and capable of sexual replication, it is typically ring shaped and found in bacteria.

Molecules

• DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses.
• RNA -Ribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid made from a long chain of nucleotide , in a cell it is typically transcribed from DNA.
• Enzymes - Enzymes are protiens that catalyze (i.e. accelerate) the rates of specific chemical reactions within cells.

Biological activity of cells

Cellular metabolism

• Metabolic pathway - A series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell which ultimately lead to sequestering of energy.
• Glycolysis - The foundational process of both aerobic and anaerobic respiration, glycolysis is the archetype of universal metabolic processes known and occurring (with variations) in many types of cells in nearly all organisms.
• Citric acid cycle - Also known as the Krebs cycle, an important aerobic metabolic pathway.
• Alcoholic fermentation - The anaerobic metabolic process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose, are converted into cellular energy and thereby producing ethanol, and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products.
• Lactic acid fermentation - An anaerobic metabolic process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose, are converted into cellular energy and the metabolic waste product lactic acid.
• Electron transport chain - a biochemical process which associates electron carriers (such as NADH and FADH₂) and mediating biochemical reactions that produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is a major energy intermediate in living organisms. Typically occurs across a cellular membrane.
• Photosynthesis - The conversion of light energy into chemical energy by living organisms.
  • Calvin cycle - A series of biochemical reactions that takes place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms. It is one of the light-independent reactions or dark reactions.
• Chemosynthesis - The biological conversion of one or more carbon molecules (usually carbon dioxide or methane) and nutrients into organic matter using the oxidation of inorganic molecules (e.g. hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulfide) or methane as a source of energy, rather than sunlight, as in photosynthesis.
• ATP - A multifunctional nucleotide that is most important as a "molecular currency" of intracellular energy transfer.
• NADH - A coenzyme found in all living cells which serves as an important electron carrier in metabolic processes.
• Pyruvate - Is the "energy-molecule" output of the aerobic metabolism of glucose known as glycolysis.
• Glucose - an important simple sugar used by cells as a source of energy and as a metabolic intermediate. Glucose is one of the main products of photosynthesis and starts cellular respiration in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Cellular reproduction

An illustration of the stages of mitosis in a human cell from Gray's Anatomy.

• Interphase - The stages of the cell cycle that prepare the cell for division.
• Binary fission - The process of cell division used by prokaryotes.
• Cell cycle - The series of events that take place in a eukaryotic cell leading to its replication.
• Meosis - The process of cell division used to create gametes in sexually reproductive eukaryotes.
• Mitosis - In eukaryotes, the process of division of the nucleus and genetic material.
  • Prophase - The stage of mitosis in which the chromatin condenses into a highly ordered structure called chromosomes and the nuclear membrane begins to breakup.
  • Metaphase - The stage of mitosis in which condensed chromosomes, carrying genetic information, align in the middle of the cell before being separated into each of the two daughter cells.
  • Anaphase - The stage of mitosis when chromatids (identical copies of chromosomes) separate as they are pulled towards opposite poles within the cell.
  • Telophase - The stage of mitosis when the nucleus reforms and chromosomes unravel into longer chromatin structures for reentry into interphase.
• Cytokinesis - The process cells use to divide their cytoplasm and organelles.

Miscellaneous cellular processes

• Osmosis - the diffusion of water through a cell wall or membrane or any partially-permeable barrier from a solution of low solute concentration to a solution with high solute concentration.
• Passive transport - Movement of molecules into and out of cells without the input of cellular energy.
• Active transport - Movement of molecules into and out of cells with the input of cellular energy.
• Phagocytosis - the process a cell uses when engulfing solid particles into the cell membrane to form an internal phagosome, or "food vacuole."
• Programmed cell death - The death of a cell in any form, mediated by an intracellular program (ex. Apoptosis or Autophagy).
• Apoptosis - a series of biochemical events leading to a characteristic cell morphology and death, which is not caused by damage to the cell.
• Autophagy - The process whereby cells "eat" their own internal components or microbial invaders.
• Cell senescence - The phenomenon where normal diploid differentiated cells lose the ability to divide after about 50 cell divisions.
• Cell signaling - Regulation of cell behavior by signals from outside.
• Adhesion - Holding together cells and tissues.
• Cell movement - Any of various methods employed by the cell to allow locomotion including Chemotaxis, Contraction, cilia and flagella
• Cytoplasmic streaming - flowing of cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells.
• Transcription - Fundamental process of gene expression through turning DNA segment into a functional unit of RNA.
• DNA repair - The process used by cells to fix damaged DNA sections.
• Sub-lethal damage

Applied cell biology concepts

• Cell therapy - the process of introducing new cells into a tissue in order to treat a disease.
• Cloning - processes used to create copies of DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cells (cell cloning), or organisms.
• Cell disruption - a method or process for releasing biological molecules from inside a cell.

History of cell biology

Main article: History of cell biology and see also Cell biologists below

The history of cell biology is intertwined with the history of biochemistry and the history of molecular biology. Other articles pertaining to the history of cell biology include:

• History of cell theory, embryology and germ theory
• History of biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology
• History of the optical microscope
• Timeline of microscope technology

Cell biologists

Past

• Karl August Möbius - In 1884 first observed the structures that would later be called "organelles".
• Bengt Lidforss - Coined the word "organells" which later became "organelle".
• Robert Hooke - Coined the word "cell" after looking at cork under a microscope.
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek - First observed microscopic single celled organisms in apparently clean water.
• Hans Adolf Krebs - Discovered the citric acid cycle in 1937.
• Konstantin Mereschkowski - Russian botanist who in 1905 described the Theory of Endosymbiosis.
• Edmund Beecher Wilson - Known as America's first cellular biologist, discovered the sex chromosome arrangement in humans.
• Albert Claude - Shared the Nobel Prize in 1974 "for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells"
• Theodor Boveri - In 1888 identified the centrosome and described it as the 'special organ of cell division.'
• Peter D. Mitchell - British biochemist who was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis.

Current

• Lynn Margulis - An American biologist best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions and support of the endosymbiotic theory.
• Günter Blobel - An American biologist who won a Nobel Prize for protein targeting in cells.
• Peter Agre - An american chemict who won a Nobel Prize for discovering cellular aquaporins.
• Christian de Duve - Shared the Nobel Prize in 1974 "for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells"
• George Emil Palade - Shared the Nobel Prize in 1974 "for describing the structure and function of organelles in biological cells"
• Ira Mellman - an American cell biologist who discovered endosomes.
• Paul Nurse - Shared a 2001 Nobel Prize for discoveries regarding cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin dependent kinases.
• Leland H. Hartwell - Shared a 2001 Nobel Prize for discoveries regarding cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin dependent kinases.
• R. Timothy Hunt - Shared a 2001 Nobel Prize for discoveries regarding cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin dependent kinases.
• Geoffrey M. Cooper - Professor of cell biology at Boston University.

Closely allied sciences

• Cytochemistry - the biochemistry of cells, especially that of the macromolecules responsible for cell structure and function.

• Cytopathology - a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The most common use of cytopathology is the Pap smear, used to detect cervical cancer at an early treatable stage.
• Genetics - the science of heredity and variation in living organisms.
• Biochemistry - the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules.
• Molecular biology - the study of biology at a molecular level, including the various systems of a cell, including the interactions between DNA, RNA and protein biosynthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated.
• Developmental biology - the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop, including the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis," which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.
• Microbiology - the study of microorganisms, which are unicellular or cell-cluster microscopic organisms as well as viruses.

Cell biology lists

Main article: List of cell biology topics

• Cell type
• List of distinct cell types in the adult human body
• List of human clusters of differentiation
• List of proteins
• List of important publications in cell biology

External links

• Cells Alive - educational website.
• Cell Biology topics from University of Texas Medical Branch Cell Biology Graduate Program