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Eukaryotic Compartmentalization

Eukaryotic Compartmentalization

One of the distinguishing features of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, that carry out specialized functions. Since biological membranes are only selectively permeable to solutes, they help create a compartment with controlled conditions inside an organelle. These microenvironments are tailored to the organelle's specific functions and help isolate them from the surrounding cytosol.
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...

Eukaryotic Compartmentalizations

Eukaryotic Compartmentalizations

One of the distinguishing features of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, that carry out specialized functions. Since biological membranes are only selectively permeable to solutes, they help create a compartment with controlled conditions inside an organelle. These microenvironments are tailored to the organelle's specific functions and help isolate them from the surrounding cytosol.
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...

Eukaryotic Compartmentalization

Eukaryotic Compartmentalization

One of the distinguishing features of eukaryotic cells is that they contain membrane-bound organelles, such as the nucleus and mitochondria, that carry out specialized functions. Since biological membranes are only selectively permeable to solutes, they help create a compartment with controlled conditions inside an organelle. These microenvironments are tailored to the organelle's specific functions and help isolate them from the surrounding cytosol.
For example, lysosomes in the animal cells...

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains—Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common organisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains — Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common microorganisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.

Structure of Porins

Structure of Porins

Mitochondria, chloroplasts, and gram-negative bacteria have transmembrane, beta-barrel proteins called porins to mediate the free diffusion of ions and metabolites across the membrane. Mitochondrial porin precursors contain conserved amino acid sequences called beta signals at their C-terminal. Beta signals have a motif of PoXGXXHyXHy (Po-Polar, X-Any amino acid, G-Glycine, Hy-LargeHydrophobic), which are crucial for precursor recognition to initiate precursor assembly. Beta-barrel precursors...

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Microcompartments and protein machines in prokaryotes.

Milton H Saier¹

¹Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, Calif. 92093-0116, USA. msaier@ucsd.edu

Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology

|August 8, 2013

Summary

Prokaryotic cells are complex, highly structured systems, not just

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Cell Biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Prokaryotes were historically viewed as simple 'bags of enzymes'.
Recent research reveals prokaryotes possess intricate internal structures.
This contrasts with the older, simplistic model of cellular function.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide an overview of proteinaceous microcompartments in prokaryotes.
To highlight the complexity of bacterial and archaeal cellular organization.
To complement previous work on membrane-bound organelles.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on prokaryotic microcompartments.
Focus on proteinaceous structures and their functions.
Categorization of various cellular machines and compartments.

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Main Results:

Prokaryotes contain diverse functional molecular machines.
Examples include cytoskeletons, energy transduction systems, motility apparatus, protein handling machinery, metabolosomes, circadian clocks, and proteinaceous granules/vacuoles.
These structures demonstrate sophisticated intracellular organization.

Conclusions:

Prokaryotic cells are highly organized and compartmentalized.
Proteinaceous microcompartments play crucial roles in specialized cellular functions.
The complexity of prokaryotes is far greater than previously understood.