Abstract
Living systems are in a state of continuous change. The molecules and molecular aggregates which form a cell have a life-time generally very much shorter than that of the cell itself. The continuous synthesis and degradation (turnover) that can be described in a system under steady state conditions as dynamic equilibrium (see p. 41) means that the cell is a structure of material which is extremely dynamic. In addition to this, the cell is also characterised by the time-dependent features of growth, differentiation and morphogenesis which demand a controlled deviation from the stationary condition and place additional demands on the metabolic efficiency and on the regulatory mechanisms of the cell. In the section which follows a short overview of the mechanisms and laws governing metabolism is given.
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Further Reading
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mohr, H., Schopfer, P. (1995). The Cell as a Metabolic System. In: Plant Physiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97570-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97570-7_5
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