Links
Zoologger: The cyanobacteria destined to be organelles
Unicellular Cyanobacterium Symbiotic with a Single-Celled Eukaryotic Alga
Inner Life of a Cell – YouTube
Objectives
- Identify the main structures of a eukaryotic cell and their function
- Describe the components of the cytoskeleton and their functions
- Discuss the extracellular structures in animal and plant cells
Key points
- structure/function of all cellular components: nucleus, ribosomes, ER, Golgi, lysosome, peroxisome, vacuole, vesicles, mitochondria, chloroplast
- protein synthesis and processing
- secretion
- structure/function of cytoskeleton: microtubules, microfilaments, intermediate filaments
- extracellular structures, especially plant cell walls
- endosymbiotic theory
In-class activities
- Work in groups to map the cell and its components
- Read the article Zoologger: The cyanobacteria destined to be organellesand answer the following questions:
- What observation led the researchers to suspect the cyanobacterium formed a symbiosis with another organism?
- What property does the cyanobacterium have that the alga needs?
- What are the implications of this work for agriculture?