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Sacramento State Department of Biological Sciences
Cell and Molecular Biology Concentration Key Concepts and Skills
KEY CONCEPT 1: All life on Earth is cellular and exists in an aqueous environment,
including the internal environments of multicellular organisms. The principle
chemicals of cellular life are essentially related to the chemistry of water.
KEY CONCEPT 2: The structure of cellular membranes provides a selectively
permeable barrier in the aqueous environment. Large eukaryotic cells have adapted
this function into a complex endomembrane system and also require a complex
cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix.
KEY CONCEPT 3: Single celled and multicellular organisms molecularly sense their
extracellular environments. Multicellular organisms also use intercellular
communications to coordinate the activities of their component cells.
KEY CONCEPT 4: All cellular organisms must convert energy derived from the sun via
coordinated enzyme activity to build and maintain cellular structure and function.
KEY CONCEPT 5: All life on Earth stores all of the information necessary to build its
structures and functions in the form of double-stranded DNA. This stored
information flows from DNA to RNA to protein through the highly regulated processes
of gene transcription and protein translation.
KEY CONCEPT 6: The mitotic cell cycle regulates the number of cells in a population,
and is also the point at which cell phenotype and cell quality are regulated in
multicellular organisms. The mitotic cell cycle produces daughter cells with exact
copies of the parental cell DNA.
KEY CONCEPT 7: An organism’s life cycle is the process by which it transmits its
genetic information to its offspring. Mitotic cell division produces genetically exact
offspring through asexual reproduction, while meiotic cell division produces
genetically variable offspring though sexual reproduction.
KEY CONCEPT 8: Cellular diversity, organismal diversity, and the evolution of species
arise from inexact copying and transmission of genetic information.
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Sacramento State Department of Biological Sciences
KEY SKILLS
1. Use the scientific method and scientific measurement to develop and test
hypotheses.
2. Use scientific tools, including microscopes, computers and basic cell and
molecular analysis techniques.
3. Interpret scientific literature and employ scientific communication skills.
4. Express personal values on current applications of cellular and molecular
biology.
5. Apply the concepts learned to solve problems and evaluate relevant scenarios.
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