[Hplusroadmap] cellular chassis

[Dan Bolser]

On 04/03/2008, Tiago Catarino <chromatinpt at gmail.com> wrote:
> In yours opinion which are the minimums cellular components to have a human
> cell? If we have different pieces which are the basics one to build a
> functional cell?

Red blood cells are functional... Don't they lack most of the major
organelles? They only exist (function) in a pre-existing cellular
context. This is why the idea of 'function' can be hard to quantify -
you always need to take context into consideration when you define
function (re: meaning).

Yeast cells are among the most basic free living eukaryotic (modern)
cells, AFAIK they have all the same organelles as human cells (as far
as organelles are defined). However human cells have more specific
cellular complexes (sometimes called micro-compartments). Not only do
we have more complexes, the ones we share with yeast are often more
complex (involving more different proteins).

Other 'simple' modern cells are the obligate intracellular parasites
(protists). They look very simple, but they are in the evolutionary
process of discarding all the machinery needed for free living.

Bacteria do all right with much less in the way of cellular machinery.
Mycoplasma genitalium is the smallest known free living bacteria, with
about 400 genes (compared to 6000 in yeast / 36,000 in humans).

Frogs have a lot of DNA and some viruses as few as four genes.

Basically, good question! Not sure if any of the above helps. Why not
look at some 'standard' cell types and identify the common cellular
components?



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