The scientists who counted up all the protein molecules of a single cell answered to this question: 42 million protein molecules are in a single cell.
Protein molecules are the bricks of life
It is already known that cells are the basic structures that form every living creature on the planet. Of the same high importance are the protein molecules from each cell. That idea led a team of scientists at the University of Toronto to count all the protein molecules that exist within a cell.
Proteins are essential for the growth and recovery of all tissues. In addition, they are indispensable in the processing of nutrients by the cells. That’s why scientists consider that the proteins are the bricks of life and that without them, the life, as we know it, can’t exist.
How many proteins are in a single cell depends on different factors
Scientists used the data from 21 analyses conducted on one of the classic cellular models in biology, a single-cell yeast species known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The researchers calculated that an S. Cerevisiae cell contains 5,858 proteins which means that 42 million protein molecules are found in a yeast cell.
However, the total number of proteins of a cell is variable as it depends on external factors such as environment and stress factors. Moreover, the protein molecules aren’t evenly shared by the proteins as some proteins may contain between 1,000 and 10,000 molecules, while other may only present a few.
Studying protein molecules may be helpful in future treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists have already linked Alzheimer’s Disease to cell’s proteins abnormal functioning, therefore studying protein molecules in the cell may be helpful in treating such diseases.
Moreover, the researchers that discovered how many protein molecules are in a single cell are thinking they opened the path to future studies on human cells’ proteins content.
