A glossary of cellular components

Ned Wingreen, a professor of molecular biology, has offered an introductory course that indicated some of the most important cell structures particularly in E.coli and S. cerevisiae. The general cellular structures studied include cell wall, channels and pumps, chaperones, DNA, mRNA, and ribosome. The cell wall in E.coli lies between the inner and outer membrane and is made of peptidoglycan, a macromolecule composed of cross-linked peptide and sugar strands. Nucleoid is the condensed chromosome (DNA) of the cell and prior to cell division, the chromosome is replicated, and the two chromosomes segregate to opposite halves of the cell and condense. The genetic code associates three consecutive mRNA bases with a single amino acid of the protein. Mitochondria, an organelle involved in synthesizing ATP, is derived from bacteria that became permanent residents of eukaryotic cells.