Golgi Bodies: Structure and Functions

Every organism’s basic structural and functional units are cells. A cell is a unit of protoplasm that is connected by plasma or cell membrane and has a nucleus. The cytoplasm and nucleus are both made up of protoplasm, which is a soul component. Mitochondria, Golgi bodies, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, plastids and lysosomes are all organelles found in the cytoplasm. However, the membrane-bound cell organelles including Golgi bodies are not found in the prokaryotic cells.

They are divided into two categories: prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Prokaryotic cells can be found in species belonging to the Bacteria and Archaea domains. Eukaryotic cells, on the other hand, are found in fungi, animals and plants. There are some structural and functional distinctions between these two types of cells. Nonetheless, eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells share several fundamental characteristics, such as-.

1. The plasma membrane, also commonly known as the cell membrane, separates the cells. It protects the cells by acting as a selective barrier.
2. Within the cells, there is a jelly-like natural substance, called cytosol, which performs several activities.
3. DNA can be found in the chromosomes of a cell. This section is involved in the expression of traits and heredity.
4. Ribosomes are found in all cells and are responsible for the production of the protein that is essential for cellular functioning.

Golgi body

Camillo Golgi (1898) discovered heavily pigmented reticular structures surrounding the nucleus for the first time. After him, these bodies were given the name Golgi bodies. Golgi’s bodies are membrane-bound structures that come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They are found in 3 to 7 numbers around the nucleus in animal cells. They can, however, be found in large numbers in plant cells. Their number could be as high as 100 in some cells.

The Golgi body’s structure is as follows

1. A Golgi body is made up of a stack of membrane sacs called cisternae that are the same thickness as the endoplasmic reticulum. In a single cell, there may be hundreds of such stacks.
2. They are made up of many flat, disc-shaped sacs or cisternae with a diameter of 0.5 µm to 1.0 µm.
3. The lipid-protein composition of the membrane is identical to that of the plasma membrane. These are piled one on top of the other.
4. The membrane stack of the cisterna divides the interiors from the cytoplasm.
5. They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes.
6. The Golgi cisternae are placed circularly close to the nucleus, with discrete convex cis face, also known as forming face, and concave trans, which means maturing face, that is different but yet related.
7. The cis face is frequently seen nearer the endoplasmic reticulum, and the name cis denotes on the same side. The other side is referred to as the trans face. It produces vesicles, which break off and migrate to other locations.

Functions

1. The Golgi apparatus receives the majority of the transport vesicles that exit the endoplasmic reticulum. Endoplasmic reticulum vesicles integrate with the cis face of the Golgi apparatus and migrate to the maturing face. As a result, the Golgi apparatus functions as a warehouse where chemicals like glycoproteins and glycolipids are synthesized, collected from some of the other cell organelles, sorted, and delivered to other destinations.
2. The endoplasmic reticulum’s secreted substances are also modified in the Golgi apparatus before being sent to the appropriate destinations, such as the sugars are added to proteins to structure glycoproteins, and the very first amino acid, methionine, is withdrawn from recently created proteins to create a functional protein.
3. Sugars are converted into cell wall components by enzymes in the Golgi body in plants.
4. Lysosomes are also made from Golgi vesicles.