Similarities and Differences Between Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic Cells

Similarities

• They are both surrounded by a lipid-based plasma membrane.

• Both types of cells have metabolic cellular machinery.

• Both types use DNA to carry hereditary information.

• Both types of cells use ribosomes to synthesize proteins.

Differences

• Prokaryotes do not have a nucleus while eukaryotes do.

• Eukaryotes have membrane-bound organelles while prokaryotes do not.

• Eukaryotic cells are much bigger in size than prokaryotic cells.

Cell Size and the Surface Area to Volume Ratio

• Why is cell size limited?

  • Resource availability

  • Surface area to volume ratio

    • This is important because a cell with a low surface area to volume ratio cannot properly exchange substances between the intracellular and extracellular environments.

Strategies to Overcome the Surface Area to Volume Ratio Limitations

• Division of cells

• Halting growth by entering the G0 phase of the cell cycle

• Folding the membrane to increase surface area

  • This can occur in both the plasma membrane and membranes around the organelles

• Creating cells that are thin and long

• Using active transport

• Multicellularity

Epithelial vs Endothelial Cells

• Epithelial cells: cells that line the outer or inner surfaces of organs or tissues

• Endothelial cells: cells that line areas of the cardiovascular system, specifically blood vessels

Cell Fractionation

• Cells first have to be lysed

  • Lyse: to break open a cell by exposure to chemicals, enzymes, or sound waves

• Then, homogenization needs to occur

  • Homogenization: blending together the subcellular contents

• Finally, these parts need to undergo centrifugation

  • Centrifugation: using the centrifugal force to separate different parts of the cell based on density and size

    • The biggest and densest parts of the cell go to the bottom of the centrifuge tube.