The Golgi apparatus is an cell organelle, and it’s function can be best described as an hybrid between an assembly line and a logistics center. It sits close to the nucleus, and is needed to modify proteins into glycoproteins (proteins with different sugars attached) and then to transport these to the cell surface for integration into the cell membrane.
It consists of a stack of chambers made out of lipid membranes, and by the magic of having a different pH and different enzymes in the chambers, can selectively attach a “tree” of different sugars onto proteins. One important thing everyone has heard of that gets constructed here is the blood type! It depends on if only a basic sugar structure (0), or one or both of the attachments (A, B, AB) are attached onto surface proteins.
Something else that gets done here is the creation of “location tags”, which are used as a shipping label and to make sure that proteins are brought to the correct destination in the cell; you want to make sure your proton pumps for integration in lysosomes (which need a very low pH to help with degradation of all the stuff the cell doesn’t wanna deal with) really land at lysosomes and not for example the cell membrane.
It also provides the “transport vehicles”, the so called vesicles. They are created by budding off of the Golgi membrane, creating little lipid bubbles which contain the membrane-bound cargo and the shipping labels. These vesicles are also what is used for cell secretion, simply by merging with the cell wall and emptying their contents to the exterior when merging.
It is fascinating, and it is mindbogglingly complex to boot. But if you are interested in cell biology in general, i can really recommend the book i referenced. I’ll send you a DM with a link if you wanna take a look.
too late lol, already sent you the link, now you will be hooked. I really liked the book - at least my older edition was taking care that it was still understandable
you know, i’m currently writing a series of articles about the fundamentals of biochemistry and genetics as well. i already have a few articles but they’re mostly in german.
for example: consider how important gene regulation is: in every complex organism, there’s different cell types because each cell is regulated. so, most of the function of each cell is regulated, and regulation is not a small phenomenon but one that makes the cell what it is, so a rather significant part. yet it often comes short in many books about cellular biology.
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The Golgi apparatus is an cell organelle, and it’s function can be best described as an hybrid between an assembly line and a logistics center. It sits close to the nucleus, and is needed to modify proteins into glycoproteins (proteins with different sugars attached) and then to transport these to the cell surface for integration into the cell membrane.
It consists of a stack of chambers made out of lipid membranes, and by the magic of having a different pH and different enzymes in the chambers, can selectively attach a “tree” of different sugars onto proteins. One important thing everyone has heard of that gets constructed here is the blood type! It depends on if only a basic sugar structure (0), or one or both of the attachments (A, B, AB) are attached onto surface proteins.
Something else that gets done here is the creation of “location tags”, which are used as a shipping label and to make sure that proteins are brought to the correct destination in the cell; you want to make sure your proton pumps for integration in lysosomes (which need a very low pH to help with degradation of all the stuff the cell doesn’t wanna deal with) really land at lysosomes and not for example the cell membrane.
It also provides the “transport vehicles”, the so called vesicles. They are created by budding off of the Golgi membrane, creating little lipid bubbles which contain the membrane-bound cargo and the shipping labels. These vesicles are also what is used for cell secretion, simply by merging with the cell wall and emptying their contents to the exterior when merging.
This is only a short overview - there’s a lot more going on than i want to put in a comment here. As always, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgi_apparatus is a good starting point; i learnt most of what i know about this from Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter - Molecular Biology of the Cell
very fascinating stuff. i must admit that i’ve looked way too little into it so far.
It is fascinating, and it is mindbogglingly complex to boot. But if you are interested in cell biology in general, i can really recommend the book i referenced. I’ll send you a DM with a link if you wanna take a look.
hmm, i’m gonna read up on the biochemical basics first i think.
too late lol, already sent you the link, now you will be hooked. I really liked the book - at least my older edition was taking care that it was still understandable
thank you :)
you know, i’m currently writing a series of articles about the fundamentals of biochemistry and genetics as well. i already have a few articles but they’re mostly in german.
for example: consider how important gene regulation is: in every complex organism, there’s different cell types because each cell is regulated. so, most of the function of each cell is regulated, and regulation is not a small phenomenon but one that makes the cell what it is, so a rather significant part. yet it often comes short in many books about cellular biology.