BIOL 1010U Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Transcriptional Regulation, Alpha Helix, Cardiac Muscle
Document Summary
Textbook reference: chapter 9 in biology how life works (2nd ed. ) Coordinates activities within the cell (since there are so many cells performing different functions at the same time) Allows cells to respond to their environment and to influence the behaviour of other cells. Communication happens through chemical signals, specific to the receptors they bind to. Signals can come from outside the organism or inside the organism. The ligand binds to a very specific site on the receptor protein. This causes a conformational shape within the receptor, and therefore becomes active: responding cell: receptor proteins are contained within the responding cell, or on the responding cell. These four essential elements are universal, the process of cell signaling occurs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Physiological changes, such as a rapid heartbeat, are a consequence of the. Quorum sensing is a process in which bacteria are able to determine whether they are at a high or low population density.