Functions of Life in a Photosynthetic Unicellular Organism

Functions of Life in a Photosynthetic Unicellular Organism

•Homeostasis: The organism uses contractile vacuoles to manage its water content by filling up with water and expelling it through the plasma membrane.

•Reproduction: The nucleus can divide to support cell division through mitosis.

•Metabolism: Most metabolic pathways occur in the cytoplasm.

•Growth: After consuming and assimilating biomass from food, the algae will get larger until it divides.

•Response: The wave action of the cilia moves the algae in response to changes in the environment, such as towards light.

•Excretion: The plasma membrane controls the entry and exit of substances, including the diffusion out of waste oxygen.

•Nutrition: Photosynthesis occurs inside the chloroplasts to provide the algae with food.

•Surface area to volume ratio is important in the limitation of cell size.

•The cell must divide in order to restore a viable surface area to volume ratio and survive.

•Cells and tissues specialized for gas or material exchange will increase their surface area to optimize the transfer of materials.

•The rate of metabolism of a cell is a function of its mass/volume, while the rate of material exchange is a function of its surface area.

•If the metabolic rate is greater than the rate of material exchange, the cell will eventually die.

•Multicellular organisms have properties that emerge from the interaction of their cellular components.