Cell Structure and Function II: Cell Compartmentalization

Vocabulary flashcards covering cellular compartmentalization, organelles, nuclear contents, DNA arrangements, and protein synthesis processes.

Intracellular Fluid (cytosol)

The liquid component contained within the interior of the cell.

Nonmembranous organelles

Organelles not enclosed by a membrane, including the cytoskeleton, centrioles, and ribosomes.

Membranous organelles

Organelles surrounded by phospholipid membranes, including the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, secretory vesicles, and lysosomes.

Plasma membrane

The outer boundary of the cell, composed of a phospholipid bilayer.

Compartmentalization

The separation of chemical activities within the cell or between the cytoplasm and organelle interiors due to the barrier properties of membranes.

Double membranes

A structural arrangement where a membrane is enclosed by another membrane, present in the nucleus and mitochondrion.

Nucleus

The control center and most prominent organelle of the cell, usually the only organelle visible with a basic light microscope.

Nucleoplasm

The thick fluid contained in the nucleus, acting as the cytoplasm of the nucleus.

Transcription factors

Proteins located in the nucleus that are often responsible for organizing DNA or regulating transcription.

Chromosomes

Structures of DNA visible at the time of cell division, totaling 23 pairs (46 total), with one copy of each pair inherited from each parent.

Chromatin

The uncoiled, loose form of DNA present in the nucleus when the cell is not dividing.

Nucleoli

Dark clusters or spots in the nucleus involved in ribosome synthesis and assembly.

Histone proteins

Nuclear proteins around which DNA is wrapped to help organize the DNA within the nucleus.

Gene

A small segment on a chromosome that contains the instructions to produce a unique protein.

Transcription

The process of using DNA as a template to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) corresponding to a particular gene.

RNA polymerase

The enzyme required during transcription to synthesize messenger RNA (mRNA) from a DNA template.

RNA processing

The nuclear modification of mRNA before the modified mRNA leaves the nucleus through a nuclear pore.

Translation

The process occurring at the ribosome where mRNA is used as a template to synthesize a protein based on nucleotide sequence.

Messenger RNA (mRNA)

The only type of RNA among the three involved in protein synthesis that carries the recipe for making proteins.