Cell Biology and Metabolism Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering organelles, cytoskeletal components, cilia, flagella, and metabolic/thermodynamic principles.

Mitochondria

Organelles that serve as the sites of cellular respiration, using oxygen ($O_2$) to generate ATP by extracting energy from sugars, fats, and other fuels.

Cristae

Infoldings of the inner membrane of a mitochondrion that increase its surface area for enzyme-driven reactions.

Mitochondrial matrix

The internal compartment enclosed by the inner mitochondrial membrane containing mitochondrial DNA, free ribosomes, and metabolic enzymes.

Chloroplasts

Disc-shaped plastids containing chlorophyll that serve as the sites of photosynthesis, converting solar energy into chemical energy to synthesize organic compounds from $CO_2$ and $H_2O$.

Granum

A stack of flattened, interconnected thylakoid sacs inside a chloroplast.

Plastids

A family of membrane-bound organelles found in plants and algae, which includes chlorophyll-containing structures responsible for photosynthesis.

Thylakoid

A flattened, interconnected membranous sac inside a chloroplast; a stack of thylakoids forms a granum.

Stroma

The dense fluid space inside the chloroplast surrounding the thylakoid membranes, containing chloroplast DNA, ribosomes, and enzymes.

Cytoskeleton

A network of protein fibres extending throughout the cytoplasm that organizes cell structures and activities, providing mechanical support, motility, and signalling functions.

Intracellular transport function of motor proteins

Attaching to vesicles and organelles to allow them to walk along cytoskeletal tracks

Microtubles

Hollow Tubes of tublin Functions: cell shape, cell motility, organelle movement, vesicle movement from ER to golgi to cell membrane and chromosome separation during cell division

Cilia

Short cellular appendages composed of microtubules that move with a back-and-forth motion to propel fluid across cell surfaces or act as signal-receiving antennae.

Flagella

A long, whip-like structure made of microtubules that moves to propel a cell.

Centrosome

A region located near the nucleus in animal cells where microtubules are initiated, containing a pair of centrioles.

Centriole

A cylinder structure within the centrosome made up of nine sets of three microtubules (triplets) arranged in a ring; centrioles exist in pairs positioned at right angles to each other.

Dyneins

Large motor proteins attached to outer microtubule doublets in motile cilia and flagella that generate bending movements using ATP energy.

Basal body

A cellular structure that anchors a cilium or flagellum, composed of nine microtubule triplets arranged in a "9 + 0" pattern.

Microfilaments

Thin solid rods, built from twisted double chain of actin subunits, form structural networks

Functions of microfilaments

Cell shape, muscle contraction, cytoplasmic streaming, cell motility and cell division

Myosin

A motor protein that interacts with actin filaments to enable muscle contraction, amoeboid movement, and cytoplasmic streaming.

Cytoplasmic streaming

A circular flow of cytoplasm within plant cells, driven by actin-myosin interactions, that speeds up the movement and distribution of materials throughout the cell.

Intermediate filaments

Fibrous proteins coiled into cables, proteins related to keratin, larger than microfilaments smaller microtubules

Intermediate filaments function

Support cell shape and function, anchor nucleus and organelles, form nuclear lamina and create permanent framework