Cells

Small building units of life which makes living

organisms.
Cells come in different shapes and sizes.
Unicellular organisms are living organisms that are
made out of only one cell.
Multicellular organisms are living organisms that
are made up of many cells.
A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only
inside the living cells of other organisms. Viruses can
infect all types of life forms,
from animals and plants to microorganisms,
including bacteria and archaea.
Virus particles (known as virions) consist of two or three
parts: i) the genetic material made from
either DNA or RNA, long molecules that carry genetic
information; ii) a protein coat that protects these genes;
and in some cases iii) an envelope of lipids that
surrounds the protein coat when they are outside a cell.
The shapes of viruses range from simple helical and
icosahedral forms to more complex structures. The
average virus is about one one-hundredth the size of the
average bacterium. Most viruses are too small to be seen
directly with an optical microscope.
A virus is also called an Intracellular Obligate Parasite.
A cell is made up of a tiny mass of living matter called
Protoplasm.

 Protoplasm is made out of everything found in a cell (e.g

nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane)
A cell wall is not living matter, so it is dead matter.
A cell wall is a rigid layer of a complex polysaccharides
found, on the outer surface of the plasma membrane, in
plant cells, is called cell wall, which is one of the most
important characteristic feature of plants. If plants
cell wall is digested by cellulase and pectinase enzymes
the result is cells free of cell wall. It is called
protoplast and it is always spherical is shape. Using
compound microscopes it is possible to distinguish
different wall layers by specific stains. They are
middle lamellae, primary wall, secondary and tertiary
wall.
Protoplasm is the living contents of a cell that is
surrounded by a plasma membrane. It is a general term
for the cytoplasm. Protoplasm is composed of a mixture of
small molecules such as ions, amino acids,
monosaccharides and water, and macromolecules such
as nucleic
acids, proteins, lipids and polysaccharides. In eukaryotes
the protoplasm surrounding the cell nucleus is known as
the cytoplasm and that inside the nucleus as
the nucleoplasm. In prokaryotes the material inside the

plasma membrane is the bacterial cytoplasm, while

in Gram-negative bacteria the region outside the plasma
membrane but inside the outer membrane is
the periplasm.
A macromolecule is a very large molecule commonly
created by polymerization of smaller subunits. In
biochemistry, macromolecules are the three
conventional biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, and
carbohydrates),[2] as well as non-polymeric molecules with
large molecular mass such as lipids and macro cycles.
The individual constituent molecules of polymeric
macromolecules are called monomers(mono=single,
meros=part).
Gram-negative bacteria are a class of bacteria that do
not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram
staining method of bacterial differentiation,[1] making
positive identification possible. The
thin peptidoglycan layer of their cell wall is sandwiched
between an inner cell membrane and a bacterial outer
membrane. In Gram staining, the outer lipid-based
membrane of gram-negative bacteria is removed by an
alcohol solution. The alcohol also decolorizes the then
exposed peptidoglycan layer by dissolving away the
previously applied crystal violet.
A counterstain (safranin or fuchsine) is then added which
recolorizes the bacteria red or pink.
Gram-positive bacteria have a thicker peptidoglycan layer
in their cell wall outside the cell membrane, which retains

the crystal violet stain during the alcohol wash, so long as

it is timed correctly. The counter stain may also be
absorbed by gram-positive bacteria but the darker crystal
violet stain predominates visually.
The five kingdoms are Plants, Animals, Protista,
Fungi and Monera.
Monera are Individuals are single-celled, may or
may not move, have a cell wall, have no
chloroplasts or other organelles, and have no
nucleus. Monera are usually very tiny, although
one type, namely the blue-green bacteria, look like
algae. They are filamentous and quite long, green,
but have no visible structure inside the cells. No
visible feeding mechanism. They absorb nutrients
through the cell wall or produce their own by
photosynthesis.
Protista are single-celled and usually move by cilia,
flagella, or by amoeboid mechanisms. There is
usually no cell wall, although some forms may
have a cell wall. They have organelles including a
nucleus and may have chloroplasts, so some will
be green and others won't be. They are small,
although many are big enough to be recognized in
a dissecting microscope or even with a magnifying
glass. Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis,
ingestion of other organisms, or both.
Fungi are multicellular, with a cell wall, organelles
including a nucleus, but no chloroplasts. They have

no mechanisms for locomotion. Fungi range in size

from microscopic to very large (such as
mushrooms). Nutrients are acquired by absorption.
For the most part, fungi acquire nutrients from
decaying material.
Plants are multicellular and most don't move,
although gametes of some plants move using cilia
or flagella. Organelles including nucleus,
chloroplasts are present, and cell walls are present.
Nutrients are acquired by photosynthesis (they all
require sunlight).
Animals are multicellular, and move with the aid of
cilia, flagella, or muscular organs based on
contractile proteins. They have organelles including
a nucleus, but no chloroplasts or cell walls. Animals
acquire nutrients by ingestion.
Chitin (C8H13O5N)n is a long-chain polymer of a Nacetyl glucosamine, a derivative of glucose, and is
found in many places throughout the natural world.
It is a characteristic component of the cell
walls of fungi, the exoskeletons of arthropods such
as crustaceans (e.g., crabs, lobsters and shrimps)
and insects, the radulae of mollusks, and
the beaks and internal of cephalopods,
including squid and octopuses. The structure of
chitin is comparable to the polysaccharide
cellulose, forming crystalline Nano fibrils or
whiskers. In terms of function, it may be compared

to the protein keratin. Chitin has also proven useful

for several medical and industrial purposes. In
butterfly wing scales, chitin is often organized into
stacks of Nano-layers or Nano-sticks made of chitin
Nano crystals that produce various iridescent
colors by thin-film interference: similar, analogous
structures made of keratin are found in iridescent
bird plumage.
Peptidoglycan, also known as murein, is a polymer
consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a
mesh-like layer outside the plasma membrane of
most bacteria, forming the cell wall. The sugar
component consists of alternating residues of
linked N-acetyl glucosamine and N-acetylmuramic
acid. Attached to the N-acetylmuramic acid is a
peptide chain of three to five amino acids. The
peptide chain can be cross-linked to the peptide
chain of another strand forming the 3D mesh-like
layer.[1] Some Achaea have a similar layer of
pseudo peptidoglycan or pseudomurein, where the
sugar residues are -(1,3) linked N-acetyl
glucosamine and N-acetyltalosaminuronic acid.
That is why the cell wall of Achaea is insensitive to
lysozyme.[2] Peptidoglycan serves a structural role
in the bacterial cell wall, giving structural strength,
as well as counteracting the osmotic pressure of
the cytoplasm. A common misconception is that
peptidoglycan gives the cell its shape; however,

whereas peptidoglycan helps maintain the

structural strength of the cell, it is actually the
MreB protein that facilitates cell shape [citation
needed]. Peptidoglycan is also involved in binary
fission during bacterial cell reproduction.
The peptidoglycan layer is substantially thicker in
Gram-positive bacteria (20 to 80 nanometers) than
in Gram-negative bacteria (7 to 8 nanometers),
with the attachment of the S-layer. Peptidoglycan
forms around 90% of the dry weight of Grampositive bacteria but only 10% of Gram-negative
strains. Thus, presence of high levels of
peptidoglycan is the primary determinant of the
characterization of bacteria as gram-positive. In
Gram-positive strains, it is important in attachment
roles and serotyping purposes. For both Grampositive and Gram-negative bacteria, particles of
approximately 2 nm can pass through the
peptidoglycan.
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula,
a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of
several hundred to many thousands of linked Dglucose units. Cellulose is an important structural
component of the primary cell wall of green plants,
many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some
species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms.
Cellulose is the most abundant organic polymer on
Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fiber is 90%,

that of wood is 4050% and that of dried hemp is

approximately 45%.
Cellulose is mainly used to produce paperboard
and paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a
wide variety of derivative products such as
cellophane and rayon. Conversion of cellulose from
energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosic
ethanol is under investigation as an alternative fuel
source. Cellulose for industrial use is mainly
obtained from wood pulp and cotton.
Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites,
can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic
micro-organisms that live in their guts, such as
Trichonympha. In humans, cellulose acts as a
hydrophilic bulking agent for feces and is often
referred to as a "dietary fiber".