The structure and function of the various organelles within animal and plant

cells
Many of the organelles found within cells are membrane-bound, this means that they have
their own surrounding membranes to separate them from the rest of the contents of the cell.
They have the same structure as the main cell membrane. The organelles form separate
compartments within the cell, a process called compartmentalisation.
Structure
The nucleus is the largest organelle in
the cell. When stained, it shows
darkened patches known as chromatin. It
is surrounded by a nuclear envelope.
This is a structure made of two
membranes with fluid between them. A
lot of holes, called nuclear pores, go
right through the envelope. These holes
are large enough for relatively large
molecules to pass through. There is a
dense, spherical structure, called the
nucleolus, inside the nucleus
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) consists of a
series of flattened membrane-bound sacs
called cisternae. They are continuous
with the outer nuclear membrane. Rough
ER is studded with ribosomes, smooth ER
does not have ribosomes

The Golgi apparatus is a stack of

membrane-bound sacs, which looks very
much like a pitta bread

A single mitochondrion is spherical or

sausage-shaped. It has two membranes
separated by a fluid-filled space. The
inner membrane is highly-folded to form
cristae. The central part of the
mitochondrion is the matrix
Chloroplasts are only found in plant cells,
and have two membranes separated by a
fluid-filled space. The inner membrane is
continuous, with an elaborate network of
flattened membrane sacs called
thylakoids. A stack of thylakoids is a
granum (plural: grana). Chlorophyll
molecules are present on the thylakoids
membranes and in the intergranal
membranes
A lysosome is a spherical sac surrounded
by a single membrane

Function
The nucleus stores the majority of the cells
genetic material. The chromatin consists of
DNA and proteins. It contains the instructions
for making proteins. Some of these proteins
regulate the cells activities. When a cell
divides, chromatin condenses into visible
chromosomes. The nucleolus makes RNA
and ribosomes. These pass into the
cytoplasm and proteins are assembled at
them
Rough ER transports proteins that were made
on the attached ribosomes. Some of these
proteins may be secreted from the cell. Some
will be placed on the cell surface membrane.
Smooth ER is involved in making the lipids
that the cell needs
The Golgi apparatus is responsible for
receiving proteins and modifying them. It
receives proteins from the ER and may add
sugar molecules to them. It then packages
the modified proteins into vesicles that can
be transported. Some modified proteins go to
the cell surface so they can be secreted
Mitochondria are the site where ATP is
produced during respiration. ATP is
sometimes called the universal carrier
energy as it drives most of the cellular
processes

These are the site of photosynthesis in

plant cells. Light energy is used to drive the
reactions, in which carbohydrate molecules
are made from carbon dioxide and water

These contain powerful digestive enzymes

which are there to break down materials. For

www.asbiology101.wordpress.com

example, white blood cell lysosomes help to

break down invading microorganisms; and
the specialised lysosome in the head of a
sperm cell helps penetrate the female egg
cell
The nucleus and endoplasmic
reticulum

Mitochondrion
Golgi apparatus

Chloroplast
There are some organelles which are non membrane-bound
Structure
A ribosome is a tiny organelle that
consists of two subunits. They can be
found in the cytoplasm or attached to
the ER making rough ER
Centrioles are small tubes of protein
fibres (microtubules) which are present
only in animal cells and cells of some
protoctists. They are found in a pair next
to the nucleus

Function
Ribosomes are the site of protein synthesis
in the cell (where new proteins are made).
They act as an assembly line where coded
information (mRNA) from the nucleus is used
to assemble proteins from amino acids
These are used in cell division, they form
fibres known as spindle which move the
chromosomes during nuclear division

www.asbiology101.wordpress.com