Organelle

Related Topics:
Organelles

In cell biology, an organelle is a discrete structure of a cell having specialized functions. There are many types of organelles, particularly in the eukaryotic cells of higher organisms. An organelle is to the cell what an organ is to the body (hence the name organelle, the suffix -elle being a diminutive). Organelles were historically identified through the use of microscopy, and were also identified through the use of cell fractionation.

A few large organelles probably originated from endosymbiont bacteria:

mitochondria (in almost all eukaryotes)
plastids (in plants and algae)
- chloroplasts
- amyloplasts
- chromoplasts
- elaioplasts
- etioplasts
- leucoplasts
- rhodoplasts

Eukaryotic organelles

Eukaryotes are the most structurally complex known cell type, and by definition are in part organized by smaller interior compartments, that are themselves enclosed by lipid membranes that resemble the outer most cell wall. The larger organelles, such as the nucleus and vacuoles, are easily visible with moderate magnification (although sometimes a clear view requires the application of chemicals that selectively stain parts of the cells); they were among the first biological discoveries made after the invention of the microscope.

Not all eukaryotic cells have all of the organelles listed below, and occasionally, exceptional species of cells are missing organelles which might otherwise be considered universal to eukaryotic cells (such as mitochondria). There are also occasional exceptions to the number of membranes surrounding organelles, listed in the tables below (e.g. some which are listed as double-membraned are sometimes found with single or triple membranes).

***Major eukaryotic organelles***
Organelle	Main function	Structure	Organisms	Notes
chloroplast (plastid)	photosynthesis	double-membrane compartment	plants, protists	has some genes
endoplasmic reticulum	modification and folding of new proteins and lipids	single-membrane compartment	all eukaryotes
Golgi apparatus	sorting and modification of proteins	single-membrane compartment	most eukaryotes
mitochondrion	energy production	double-membrane compartment	most eukaryotes	has some genes
vacuole	storage & homeostasis	single-membrane compartment	most plants & fungi
nucleus	DNA maintenance & transcription to RNA	double-membrane compartment	all eukaryotes	has bulk of genome

Organelles which have double-membranes and their own DNA are believed by many biologists of having originally come from incompletely consumed or invading prokaryotic cells, which were adopted as a part of the invaded cell through endosymbiosis.

Originally, the word organelle referred to large lipid bags within cells; later, as other cell parts were discovered, the meaning was extended to also include smaller parts of cells.

***Other eukaryotic organelles and cell components***
Organelle	Main function	Structure	Organisms
acrosome	helps spermatoza fuse with ovum	single-membrane compartment	many animals
centriole	anchor for cytoskeleton	Microtubule protein	animals
cilium	movement in or of external medium	Microtubule protein	animals, protists, few plants
glyoxysome	conversion of fat into sugars	single-membrane compartment	plants
hydrogenosome	energy & hydrogen production	double-membrane compartment	a few unicellular eukaryotes
lysosome	breakdown of large molecules	single-membrane compartment	most eukaryotes
melanosome	pigment storage	single-membrane compartment	animals
mitosome	not characterized	double-membrane compartment	a few unicellular eukaryotes
myofibril	muscular contraction	bundled filaments	animals
nucleolus	ribosome production	protein-DNA-RNA	most eukaryotes
parenthesome	not characterized	not characterized	fungi
peroxisome	oxidation of protein	single-membrane compartment	all eukaryotes
ribosome	translation of RNA into proteins	RNA-protein	eukaryotes & prokaryotes
vesicle	miscellaneous	single-membrane compartment	all eukaryotes

Other related structures:

Prokaryotic organelles

Prokaryotes are not as structurally complex as eukaryotes, and do not have any compartments enclosed by lipid membranes. In the past they were often viewed as having little internal organization, but slowly details are emerging about prokaryotic internal structures. One contributing discovery was that at least some prokaryotes have microcompartments, which are compartments enclosed by proteins.

***Prokaryotic organelles and cell components***
Organelle	Main function	Structure	Organisms
carboxysome	carbon fixation	protein-shell compartment	some bacteria
flagellum	movement in external medium	protein filament	some prokaryotes
magnetosome	magnetic orientation	inorganic crystal, protein	magnetotactic bacteria
nucleoid	DNA maintenance & transcription to RNA	DNA-protein	prokaryotes
plasmid	DNA exchange	circular DNA	some bacteria
ribosome	translation of RNA into proteins	RNA-protein	eukaryotes & prokaryotes

References

Alberts, Bruce et al. (2002). The Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th ed., Garland Science, 2002, ISBN 0-8153-3218-1.
Kerfeld, Cheryl A et al., Protein Structures Forming the Shell of Primitive Bacterial Organelles, Science 309:936-938 (5 August 2005).

Cell biology

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Eukaryotic organelles

Prokaryotic organelles

See also

References