A metabolic process in which carbon (usually derived from carbon dioxide) is incorporated into organic compounds (usually carbohydrates).

The rigid or semi-rigid envelope lying outside the cell membrane of plant, fungal, most prokaryotic cells and some protozoan parasites, maintaining their shape and protecting them from osmotic lysis. In plants it is made of cellulose and, often, lignin; in fungi it is composed largely of polysaccharides; in bacteria it is composed of peptidoglycan; in protozoan parasites such as Giardia species, it's made of carbohydrates and proteins.

The membrane surrounding a cell that separates the cell from its external environment. It consists of a phospholipid bilayer and associated proteins.

A protein complex that catalyzes the first step in long-chain fatty acid biosynthesis. For example, in E. coli the complex is heterohexameric and composed of biotin carbonyl carrier protein, biotin carboxylase and the acetate CoA-transferase complex.

All of the contents of a cell excluding the plasma membrane and nucleus, but including other subcellular structures.

A semiautonomous, self replicating organelle that occurs in varying numbers, shapes, and sizes in the cytoplasm of virtually all eukaryotic cells. It is notably the site of tissue respiration.

A specialized eukaryotic organelle that consists of a filiform extrusion of the cell surface and of some cytoplasmic parts. Each cilium is largely bounded by an extrusion of the cytoplasmic (plasma) membrane, and contains a regular longitudinal array of microtubules, anchored to a basal body.