• GOLGI APPARATUS (GOLGI BODY or GOLGI COMPLEX)

(pg 24 fig. 1.26) – Discovered by Camillo Golgi in 1898.

It consists of a stack of flattened membrane-bound fluid-filled sacs called cisternae.

At one end of the stack new cisternae are constantly being formed by fusion of vesicles containing proteins made from ER, while the
other end of the cisternae constantly breaks up into Golgi vesicles.

In the Golgi apparatus, the proteins are processed, modified and packed to form the required products. The products are then
transported by vesicles that bud off from the Golgi apparatus to other parts of the cell or out of the cell (secretion).

Golgi apparatus is well-developed in secretory cells (e.g. in pancreas cells producing pancreatic juice) and neurons.

Functions of Golgi apparatus:

- To transport and chemically process and modify the materials contained within it.
- To produce glycoproteins (by adding carbohydrate chains to proteins) and glycolipids (by adding carbohydrate chains to lipids).
- To produce secretory enzymes, e.g. digestive enzymes of the pancreas.
- To produce and secrete mucin. Mucin forms mucus in solution and is secreted by goblet cells in the gut and the respiratory system.
- To synthesise and release vesicles containing new cell walls needed during cell division of plant cells.
- To form lysosomes.

• LYSOSOMES (pg 24 fig. 1.27)

They are tiny spherical vesicles bound by a single membrane with no internal structure.
They are about 0.1-0.5 µm in diameter and contain hydrolytic/digestive enzymes (hydrolases) such as proteases, lipases and
nucleases in acid solution. They isolate hydrolytic enzymes from the rest of the cell to prevent damage to the cell and the organelles.
They are abundant in secretory cells and in phagocytic white blood cells.
In plant cells the large central vacuoles may act as lysosomes.
Functions of lysosomes:
- To breakdown unwanted structures such as worn-out organelles (e.g. mitochondria) within the cell (autophagy).
- In autolysis (self-destruction of whole cell by the release of the contents of lysosomes within the cell.) e.g. in mammary glands after
lactation.
- To digest material which the cell consumes from the environment by endocytosis . e.g. the digestion of bacteria in WBCs.
- To release enzymes outside the cell (exocytosis) in order to break down other cells, e.g. in the reabsorption of tadpole tails during
metamorphosis.
- Heads of sperm have a special type of lysosome, the acrosome, containing hydrolytic enzymes to digest a path to the ovum (egg) for
fertilization.

• VACUOLES - They are fluid-filled sac bounded by a single membrane.

In animal cells, small vacuoles (e.g. phagocytic vacuoles, food vacuoles) are present and are temporary.
In mature plant cells, a large central vacuole surrounded by the tonoplast membrane is usually present. The tonoplast membrane is
selectively permeable and controls exchange between the vacuole and the cytoplasm. The vacuole of plant cells contains cell sap, a
concentrated solution of mineral salts, sugars, amino acids, enzymes, wastes (e.g. tannins) and sometimes pigments.

Functions of vacuoles:
- The sugars and amino acids may act as a temporary food reserve.
- The pigments (e.g. anthocyanins) are of various colours and may colour the petals to attract insects for pollination, or fruits to facilitate
dispersal by animals.
- To temporarily store organic wastes which are removed when the leaves fall.
- They occasionally contain hydrolases and can act as lysosomes.
- They support herbaceous plants and parts of woody plants by providing osmotic system which creates a pressure potential.
- They allow osmotic uptake of water by osmosis which is important in cell expansion during cell growth.

• RIBOSOMES – (pg 23 fig. 1.25)

They are minute organelles (about 22nm in diameter) and are made up of rRNA and protein.
They lack membrane and consist of two parts: a smaller subunit and a larger subunit.
Ribosomes are manufactured in the nucleoli.
Two populations of ribosomes exist: free and ER-bound ribosomes.
Two types of ribosomes exist: 70S and 80S ribosomes.
The 70S ribosomes are slightly smaller and are found in mitochondria, chloroplasts and prokaryotes while the 80S ribosomes occur in
the cytoplasm of eukaryotes.

Function of ribosomes: The site of protein synthesis. They make proteins which are then transported by RER throughout the cell.

• STORAGE GRANULES
Starch grains occur within chloroplasts and the cytoplasm of plant cells.
Glycogen granules occur throughout the cytoplasm of animal cells.
Oil or lipid droplets are found within the cytoplasm of both plant and animal cells.