Download Plant Cell Structures

Plant Cell Structures!
Slash organelles…
By Lauren
The key organelles in a cell, that we will be looking at, are the
nucleus, the nucleolous, golgi bodies, ribosomes,
lysosomes, the Endoplasmic Reticulum (rough and smooth),
mitochondria,
microtubules, cytoplasm and plasma membrane as well as
plastids,
vacuole and chloroplasts....
Click on the parts you want to look at...
The Nucleus
The nucleus is the brain of cells. Chances are, that if something
happens in a cell, the nucleus knows about it. It is only present in
eukaryotic cells (because prokaryotic cells don’t have a nucleus) and
there is only one nucleus in each cell. Usually, it is round and its the
largest organelle in the cell. It is surrounded by a membrane, called the
nuclear envelope which is just like the cell membrane that surrounds
the cell. The envelope has holes all over it, called nuclear pores, that
allow certain things to pass in and out of the nucleus. Attached to the
nucleus is the endoplasmic reticulum.
Although it may not always be
in the centre of the cell.
You will see it as a dark round
patch like the picture to the
left.
Golgi Bodies/Apperatus
It gathers simple molecules and combines them to make
molecules that are more complex. It then takes those big
molecules, puts them in little bags pretty much, and
either stores them or sends them out of the cell. It is also
the organelle that builds lysosomes (cell digestion
machines).
Some of these will eventually end up embedded in the plasma membrane.
Other proteins moving through the Golgi will be secreted like digestive enzymes.
Ribosomes
Cells have to make proteins. Those proteins might be used as enzymes or as
for other stuff in the cell. When you need to make proteins, you check out the
ribosomes. Ribosomes are the protein builders of the cell. They are like real
tiny construction guys in a cell, so remember it that way... Ribosomes =
Builders.
Ribosomes are found in many places around the cell. You might find them
floating in the cytoplasm, all free on their own. Those floating ribosomes
make proteins that will be used inside of the cell. Other ribosomes are found
on the endoplasmic reticulum. Endoplasmic reticulum with attached
ribosomes is called rough. It looks real bumpy under a microscope and not
smooth like the other ER. Those attached ribosomes make proteins that will
also be used inside the cell and proteins made for sending out of the cell .
Lysosomes
Lysosomes hold enzymes that were created
by the cell. The purpose of the lysosome is
to digest things. They might be used to
digest food or break down the cell when it
dies.
A lysosome is basically a transporter of enzymes after
they have been made by the ER and been through the
Golgi apparatus.
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Smooth ER
Ribosomes
Smooth ER
The endoplasmic reticulum is repsonible for the production of the
protein for most of the cell's organelles. The ER contains heaps of
folds,but the membrane forms just one sheet enclosing a single closed sac.
There are two types of ER. Rough, which is
coated with ribosomes, and smooth,
which...isn't. Rough ER is the site of protein
synthesis. The smooth ER is where the vesicles
carrying newly synthesized proteins (from the
rough ER) are sent off.
Mitochondria are sometimes called the “powerhouses” of the cell. They
basically act like a digestive system that takes in nutrients, breaks them
down, and creates energy.
This the making of the cells energy, and is known also as cellular
respiration. Most of the chemical reactions involved in cellular
respiration happen in the mitochondria. A mitochondrion is shaped
perfectly to help it in its work. It has two membranes, and the inner one
is filled with water, as in the picture.
Mitochondria are TINY. You would probably find several thousand
mitochondria in a cell, if you counted... The number depends on what
the cell needs to do.
Mitochondria
Microtubules
Microtubules are conveyer belts inside the cells. They move
along vesicles like the lysosomes etc.
Plastids
Plastids are organelles that only exist in plant cells and photosynthetic
protists. They are found in the cytoplasm of the cell and have a double
membrane surrounding them.
The primary function of plastids is to store molecules. One molecule
that they store is pigment; pigments give fruits and vegetables an
orange or red color when they are ripe. Plastids also store
photosynthetic products for plants that continue to grow year after
year
Cytoplasm
The Cytoplasm is the fluid that fills a cell.. The fluid in the
cytoplasm is also called cytosol, and the cell organelles are
suspended in it. The cytoplasm has many different molecules
dissolved in solution. You'll find enzymes, fatty acids, sugars,
and other acids that are needed to keep the cell working.
Waste products are also dissolved in here before they are
taken in by vacuoles or sent out of the cell.
Cell Membrane
Okay, so the cell membrane is like a plastic bag
and a tiny version of a sieve combined.…It
holds ALL of the bits and pieces inside the cell
securely, and keeps all of the nasty outside
things out of the cell.
It is SEMI PERMIABLE, and so lets some things
in and some things out.
Vacuoles
Vacuoles are really big storage bubbles found in plant cells (They are found in animal cells too, but not as big). Vacuoles
store water, food or any other nutrients a cell needs to survive. They even store waste products so the rest of the cell is
protected from all the nasty stuff. Eventually, those waste products would be sent out of the cell.
The structure of vacuoles is simple. There is a membrane that surrounds a mass of fluid. In that fluid are water, nutrients or
waste products. The tiny water bags help to support the plant, and the diagram shows that when the vacuole is full of
water and nutrients, the cell and plant are full and happy. But when the cell does not have enough water, the vacuole wilts
and so does the plant.
Chloroplasts
Chloroplasts are the food producers of the cell. They are
only found in plant cells , (and some protists). Every green
plant you see is working to convert the energy of the sun into
sugars. Plants are the basis of all life on Earth. They create
sugars, and the byproduct of that process is the oxygen that
we breathe. That process all happens in the chloroplast, pretty
much. Mitochondria work in the opposite direction to
chloropasts, and break down the sugars and nutrients that the
cell receives.
This diagram shows the
relationships between the
Nucleus, the ER, the
proteins and the Golgi
Apparatus.
The ER is responsible for moving proteins and other carbohydrates to the Golgi Apperatus, to
the Plasma Memebrane, to the lysosomes, or wherever else needed...
The enzyme proteins are first created in the rough endoplasmic reticulum.
Those proteins are put in a little vesicle and sent to the Golgi apparatus. The
Golgi then does its work to create the digestive enzymes and pinches off a
small, very specific vesicle. That vesicle is a lysosome. From there the
lysosomes float in the cytoplasm until they are needed, or sent out of the cell.
How this all fits together!?
So, in the end, all of these organelles in the plant cell have to work together to keep the cell
functioning. If one link in the chain is broken, then the cell wont work properly.
The end.