Two mitochondria from mammalian lung tissue displaying their matrix and membranes as shown by electron microscopy
This fluid lipid bilayer cross section is made up entirely of phosphatidylcholine.
The endomembrane system and its components
Simplified structure of a mitochondrion.
The three main structures phospholipids form in solution; the liposome (a closed bilayer), the micelle and the bilayer.
Simplified structure of a mitochondrion
Cross-sectional image of cristae in a rat liver mitochondrion to demonstrate the likely 3D structure and relationship to the inner membrane
Schematic cross sectional profile of a typical lipid bilayer. There are three distinct regions: the fully hydrated headgroups, the fully dehydrated alkane core and a short intermediate region with partial hydration. Although the head groups are neutral, they have significant dipole moments that influence the molecular arrangement.
Longitudinal section through the flagellum of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Electron transport chain in the mitochondrial intermembrane space
TEM image of a bacterium. The furry appearance on the outside is due to a coat of long-chain sugars attached to the cell membrane. This coating helps trap water to prevent the bacterium from becoming dehydrated.
Structure of a typical animal cell
Transmission electron micrograph of a chondrocyte, stained for calcium, showing its nucleus (N) and mitochondria (M).
Diagram showing the effect of unsaturated lipids on a bilayer. The lipids with an unsaturated tail (blue) disrupt the packing of those with only saturated tails (black). The resulting bilayer has more free space and is, as a consequence, more permeable to water and other small molecules.
Structure of a typical plant cell
Typical mitochondrial network (green) in two human cells (HeLa cells)
Illustration of a GPCR signaling protein. In response to a molecule such as a hormone binding to the exterior domain (blue) the GPCR changes shape and catalyzes a chemical reaction on the interior domain (red). The gray feature is the surrounding bilayer.
Fungal Hyphae cells: 1 – hyphal wall, 2 – septum, 3 – mitochondrion, 4 – vacuole, 5 – ergosterol crystal, 6 – ribosome, 7 – nucleus, 8 – endoplasmic reticulum, 9 – lipid body, 10 – plasma membrane, 11 – spitzenkörper, 12 – Golgi apparatus
Model of the yeast multimeric tethering complex, ERMES
Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) image of a lipid vesicle. The two dark bands around the edge are the two leaflets of the bilayer. Historically, similar images confirmed that the cell membrane is a bilayer
This diagram illustrates the twofold cost of sex. If each individual were to contribute the same number of offspring (two), (a) the sexual population remains the same size each generation, where the (b) asexual population doubles in size each generation.
Evolution of MROs
Human red blood cells viewed through a fluorescence microscope. The cell membrane has been stained with a fluorescent dye. Scale bar is 20μm.
Phylogenetic and symbiogenetic tree of living organisms, showing a view of the origins of eukaryotes and prokaryotes
The circular 16,569 bp human mitochondrial genome encoding 37 genes, i.e., 28 on the H-strand and 9 on the L-strand.
3d-Adapted AFM images showing formation of transmembrane pores (holes) in supported lipid bilayer
One hypothesis of eukaryotic relationships – the Opisthokonta group includes both animals (Metazoa) and fungi, plants (Plantae) are placed in Archaeplastida.
Illustration of a typical AFM scan of a supported lipid bilayer. The pits are defects in the bilayer, exposing the smooth surface of the substrate underneath.
A pie chart of described eukaryote species (except for Excavata), together with a tree showing possible relationships between the groups
Structure of a potassium ion channel. The alpha helices penetrate the bilayer (boundaries indicated by red and blue lines), opening a hole through which potassium ions can flow
The three-domains tree and the Eocyte hypothesis
Schematic illustration of pinocytosis, a type of endocytosis
Phylogenetic tree showing a possible relationship between the eukaryotes and other forms of life; eukaryotes are colored red, archaea green and bacteria blue
Exocytosis of outer membrane vesicles (MV) liberated from inflated periplasmic pockets (p) on surface of human Salmonella 3,10:r:- pathogens docking on plasma membrane of macrophage cells (M) in chicken ileum, for host-pathogen signaling in vivo.
Eocyte tree.
Schematic showing two possible conformations of the lipids at the edge of a pore. In the top image the lipids have not rearranged, so the pore wall is hydrophobic. In the bottom image some of the lipid heads have bent over, so the pore wall is hydrophilic.
Diagram of the origin of life with the Eukaryotes appearing early, not derived from Prokaryotes, as proposed by Richard Egel in 2012. This view implies that the UCA was relatively large and complex.
Illustration of lipid vesicles fusing showing two possible outcomes: hemifusion and full fusion. In hemifusion, only the outer bilayer leaflets mix. In full fusion both leaflets as well as the internal contents mix.
Schematic illustration of the process of fusion through stalk formation.
Diagram of the action of SNARE proteins docking a vesicle for exocytosis. Complementary versions of the protein on the vesicle and the target membrane bind and wrap around each other, drawing the two bilayers close together in the process.

A mitochondrion is a double-membrane-bound organelle found in most eukaryotic organisms.

- Mitochondrion

Eukaryotic cells typically contain other membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria and Golgi apparatus; and chloroplasts can be found in plants and algae.

- Eukaryote

They have two surrounding membranes, each a phospholipid bi-layer; the inner of which is folded into invaginations called cristae where aerobic respiration takes place.

- Eukaryote

In contrast, eukaryotes have a range of organelles including the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum.

- Lipid bilayer

4 related topics with Alpha

Overall

Onion (Allium cepa) root cells in different phases of the cell cycle (drawn by E. B. Wilson, 1900)

Cell (biology)

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Basic structural and functional unit of life forms.

Basic structural and functional unit of life forms.

Onion (Allium cepa) root cells in different phases of the cell cycle (drawn by E. B. Wilson, 1900)
Structure of a typical prokaryotic cell
Structure of a typical animal cell
Structure of a typical plant cell
Detailed diagram of lipid bilayer of cell membrane
A fluorescent image of an endothelial cell. Nuclei are stained blue, mitochondria are stained red, and microfilaments are stained green.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Human cancer cells, specifically HeLa cells, with DNA stained blue. The central and rightmost cell are in interphase, so their DNA is diffuse and the entire nuclei are labelled. The cell on the left is going through mitosis and its chromosomes have condensed.
Diagram of the endomembrane system
Prokaryotes divide by binary fission, while eukaryotes divide by mitosis or meiosis.
An outline of the catabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats
An overview of protein synthesis.
Within the nucleus of the cell (light blue), genes (DNA, dark blue) are transcribed into RNA. This RNA is then subject to post-transcriptional modification and control, resulting in a mature mRNA (red) that is then transported out of the nucleus and into the cytoplasm (peach), where it undergoes translation into a protein. mRNA is translated by ribosomes (purple) that match the three-base codons of the mRNA to the three-base anti-codons of the appropriate tRNA. Newly synthesized proteins (black) are often further modified, such as by binding to an effector molecule (orange), to become fully active.
Staining of a Caenorhabditis elegans highlights the nuclei of its cells.
Stromatolites are left behind by cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae. They are the oldest known fossils of life on Earth. This one-billion-year-old fossil is from Glacier National Park in the United States.
Robert Hooke's drawing of cells in cork, 1665

Cells are of two types: eukaryotic, which contain a nucleus, and prokaryotic cells, which do not have a nucleus, but a nucleoid region is still present.

The eukaryotic DNA is organized in one or more linear molecules, called chromosomes, which are associated with histone proteins. All chromosomal DNA is stored in the cell nucleus, separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane. Some eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria also contain some DNA.

This membrane serves to separate and protect a cell from its surrounding environment and is made mostly from a double layer of phospholipids, which are amphiphilic (partly hydrophobic and partly hydrophilic).

The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), is a single-celled prokaryote

Organism

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Organism is any organic, living system that functions as an individual entity.

Organism is any organic, living system that functions as an individual entity.

The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli), is a single-celled prokaryote
An amoeba is a single-celled eukaryote
Polypore fungi and angiosperm trees are large multicellular eukaryotes.
Precambrian stromatolites in the Siyeh Formation, Glacier National Park. In 2002, a paper in the scientific journal Nature suggested that these 3.5 Gya (billion years old) geological formations contain fossilized cyanobacteria microbes. This suggests they are evidence of one of the earliest known life forms on Earth.
LUCA may have used the Wood–Ljungdahl or reductive acetyl–CoA pathway to fix carbon.

A unicellular organism may be either a prokaryote or a eukaryote.

Eukaryotic organisms are characterized by the presence of a membrane-bound cell nucleus and contain additional membrane-bound compartments called organelles (such as mitochondria in animals and plants and plastids in plants and algae, all generally considered to be derived from endosymbiotic bacteria).

A bilayer of phospholipids makes up the membrane of cells that constitutes a barrier, containing everything within a cell and preventing compounds from freely passing into, and out of, the cell.

(A) Electron micrograph of Halothiobacillus neapolitanus cells, arrows highlight carboxysomes. (B) Image of intact carboxysomes isolated from H. neapolitanus. Scale bars are 100 nm.

Organelle

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Organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function.

Organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function.

(A) Electron micrograph of Halothiobacillus neapolitanus cells, arrows highlight carboxysomes. (B) Image of intact carboxysomes isolated from H. neapolitanus. Scale bars are 100 nm.
Structure of Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans, showing an anammoxosome and intracytoplasmic membrane

Organelles are either separately enclosed within their own lipid bilayers (also called membrane-bound organelles) or are spatially distinct functional units without a surrounding lipid bilayer (non-membrane bound organelles).

There are many types of organelles, particularly in eukaryotic cells.

They include structures that make up the endomembrane system (such as the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus), and other structures such as mitochondria and plastids.

Bacteria

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Bacteria (singular bacterium, common noun bacteria) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell.

Bacteria (singular bacterium, common noun bacteria) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell.

Rod-shaped Bacillus subtilis
Phylogenetic tree of Bacteria, Archaea and Eucarya. The vertical line at bottom represents the last universal common ancestor.
Bacteria display many cell morphologies and arrangements
The range of sizes shown by prokaryotes (Bacteria), relative to those of other organisms and biomolecules.
Structure and contents of a typical Gram-positive bacterial cell (seen by the fact that only one cell membrane is present).
An electron micrograph of Halothiobacillus neapolitanus cells with carboxysomes inside, with arrows highlighting visible carboxysomes. Scale bars indicate 100 nm.
Helicobacter pylori electron micrograph, showing multiple flagella on the cell surface
Bacillus anthracis (stained purple) growing in cerebrospinal fluid
Many bacteria reproduce through binary fission, which is compared to mitosis and meiosis in this image.
A culture of ''Salmonella
A colony of Escherichia coli
Helium ion microscopy image showing T4 phage infecting E. coli. Some of the attached phage have contracted tails indicating that they have injected their DNA into the host. The bacterial cells are ~ 0.5 µm wide.
Transmission electron micrograph of Desulfovibrio vulgaris showing a single flagellum at one end of the cell. Scale bar is 0.5 micrometers long.
The different arrangements of bacterial flagella: A-Monotrichous; B-Lophotrichous; C-Amphitrichous; D-Peritrichous
Streptococcus mutans visualised with a Gram stain.
Phylogenetic tree showing the diversity of bacteria, compared to other organisms. Here bacteria are represented by three main supergroups: the CPR ultramicrobacterias, Terrabacteria and Gracilicutes according to recent genomic analyzes (2019).
Overview of bacterial infections and main species involved.
Colour-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells
In bacterial vaginosis, beneficial bacteria in the vagina (top) are displaced by pathogens (bottom). Gram stain.
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the first microbiologist and the first person to observe bacteria using a microscope.

Unlike cells of animals and other eukaryotes, bacterial cells do not contain a nucleus and rarely harbour membrane-bound organelles.

This involved the engulfment by proto-eukaryotic cells of alphaproteobacterial symbionts to form either mitochondria or hydrogenosomes, which are still found in all known Eukarya (sometimes in highly reduced form, e.g. in ancient "amitochondrial" protozoa).

In contrast, Gram-negative bacteria have a relatively thin cell wall consisting of a few layers of peptidoglycan surrounded by a second lipid membrane containing lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins.