How Mitochondria And Chloroplasts Work Together

Mitochondria are important because they allow our bodies to function by converting oxygen that we breathe in and the nutrients we ingest from food to energy we can use in the form of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate). This is done through aerobic respiration (requires oxygen), without the many mitochondria we have in our body we would not have sufficient energy from anaerobic respiration for our metabolic requirements. (Link its importance to its other functions- what would happen if it could not perform its functions e.g. lack of regulation of apoptosis and cancer- links to essays overall argument).

Mitochondrion’s most important job is to produce energy through cellular respiration. Mitochondria does this by taking in nutrients from the cell itself, breaking it down and then turning it into energy. Then, the energy gathered is utilised by the cell to carry out various functions, hence this organelle is also known as the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell. Its purpose is to keep the cell full of energy.

With the use of a light microscope and an electron microscope, scientists discovered that organelles in a eukaryotic cell do not actually float around freely. They discovered the cytoskeleton, which is key towards a cell’s structure and activity. (112) It is extremely dynamic and important for the cells, as provides a secure hold on many organelles and cytosolic enzyme molecules. In addition, it can bend the plasma membrane inward to form either food or other phagocytic vesicles. It is also involved with cell motility with its interaction with motor proteins. This correlates towards movements and changes in a cell’s location. This is the result of the cytoskeleton working with motor proteins by using it as “feet” to walk to a different location. It is a network of fibers that is composed of microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments. (113) Out of the fibers it is composed of, microtubules are the thickest, microfilaments are the thinnest and intermediate filaments are diameters in a middle range. Microfilaments maintains cell shape, changes in shape, muscle contraction, cytoplasmic streaming, cell motility and division for animal cells. (113) Microfilaments are made through a twisted double chain

Mitochondria: a word many people have used in their vocabulary, but one that most people fail to understand. Why is the mitochondria famously known as the powerhouse of the cell? It is because of its energy production. The mitochondria is responsible for the large majority of the production of ATP(adenosine triphosphate for those who actually care). ATP is the molecule that provides energy for most of the body’s functions. This organelle also aids in the processes of cellular differentiation(the changing of one cell type to another) and cell death(literal programmed, predetermined death of a cell). The mitochondria is made up of several different regions that help the organelle to function properly. These regions include the outer membrane,

Photosynthetic eukaryotes use chloroplast to convert light energy from sun into chemical energy (ATP to NADPH). This is then stored in sugars (happens in dark reactions) and other fuels. This reaction underpins all life on earth. Light energy travelling from the sun has visible lights which consist of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo while invisible lights are ultraviolet and infrared light. In this study spinach leaves consisting living chloroplast will be isolated to investigate photosynthesis. This will be used to analyse the structure and the function of eukaryotic organelles that are crucial for the survival of all life on this planet-chloroplasts (Lilley et

Chloroplasts are organelles found only in plant cells and the cells of certain protists. Cells containing chloroplasts already contain mitochondria (other energy-producing organelles), but chloroplasts provide another method of producing energy. Chloroplasts use light (typically solar) energy to produce energy in a form usable for the cell. They convert the light energy to chemical energy in a process called photosynthesis. Light energy is stored in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color, within disks called thylakoids.

The most prominent cytoplasmic alterations were to the mitochondria. Paracrystalline inclusions were found in many of the mitochondria. These inclusions, are very rare or are non existent in the interfibrillar mitochondria. Each crystalloid is enclosed by a single membrane and at low magnification appeared to be parallel linear densities measuring .34nmin thickness. Higher magnification revealed that the laminae of the crystalloids consisted of linearly arranged dots that were ~34nm in diameter. Some mitochondria, both SSM and IFM, lacked crystalloid inclusions and had few cristae, these particular mitochondria were confined to the organelle periphery where they paralleled the limiting membranes, this left a large area absent of any membranes in the inner compartment. These zones had a variety of different appearances, some mitochondria where completely electron-lucent, others possessed farinaceous material that varied in density, which depended on concentration and packing of electron-dense particles.

It is believed that the mitochondria have originated from incorporated α-purple bacteria. During its evolution, the endosymbiont transferred many of its essential genes to the nuclear genome. But still the mitochondrion, carries hallmarks of its bacterial ancestor. For instance, mitochondria use an N-formylmethionyl-tRNA (fMet-tRNA) as initiator of protein synthesis.

Both chloroplasts and mitochondria contain circular DNA knowns as chloroplast DNA and mitochondrial DNA respectively, signifying that both organelles have prokaryotic origins. The presence of mitochondria in eukaryotes allows for ATP synthesis through the electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation (Chinney et al, 2003), thus enabling eukaryotes to satisfy their high metabolic requirements, particularly in animals. The production of large amounts of ATP energy allows for the sustenance of life in a wide variety of environmental conditions as they are able to produce the energy required. The unique double membrane of the mitochondria suggest that it was formed as a result of primary symbiosis, and are homologous to plastids. Similarly chloroplasts enable eukaryotes to take advantage of sunlight as a natural resource, which allows the process of photosynthesis, where the reaction of carbon dioxide and water is converted to glucose and oxygen gas (Cogdell, 2013), using light energy produced by the sun with the aid of chlorophyll. This conversion of light energy into chemical energy forms the primary source of all energy accessible by the animal consumers on land, through the producers - the plants. At the cellular level, protists are the most simple examples of endosymbiosis. In the amoeba Paulinella chromatophora it contains two chromatophores, derived from once free living cyanobacteria (Wernegreen,

Chloroplasts are very interesting organelles, thought to have once been independently functioning cells. It is believed that they were once cyanobacteria floating around in the primordial soup. These bacteria underwent respiration on their own in the absence of molecular oxygen until the ozone layer was formed and oxygen gas could exist on earth. Once this occurred, eukaryotic organisms started to flourish and they engulfed the bacteria. Once the bacteria were engulfed these prokaryotic organisms over time with evolution became what we now know today as the chloroplast. Chloroplast today are organelles within cells that have double membranes. They function in the plant to not only capture light from the sun and turn it into carbohydrates for the plant

Cells are surrounded with a boundary known as the cell surface membrane and as well as holding the cell together, being semi-permeable, it controls the movement of materials across it. Within the cell are a number of structures each which have specific functions. These structures are known as organelles. The cell surface membrane and the membranes of any of the membrane bound organelles described below are made of the same material, a double layer of phospholipid molecules. Within the cell surface membrane, the intracellular space known as the cytoplasm, contains all the organelles and a fluid known as cytosol. Within the cytosol is a network of microtubules and fibres called the cytoskeleton. This cytoskeleton’s main functions are to give support to the cell helping to maintain its shape and aid the movement of organelles. Most cell organelles and structures are common to both animal and plant cells but there are some differences as outlined in the table below.

The cytoskeleton becomes a very important role in our body when the shapes of the cells need to be maintained and organelles need to move within the cells. Because there are different shapes of cells for different organs based on their roles, the cytoskeleton provides support by determining and maintaining the structures and shapes of the proteins through its networks within the cytoplasm.

The mitochondria serves a main purpose of creating ATP for the cell. ATP or adenosine triphosphate which is used as energy throughout the cell. The matrix part of the cell is where the citric acid cycle takes place, which is what makes ATP. The inner membrane keeps the matrix in place and allows the ATP to channel through the mitochondria. The ATP created is then later used as chemical energy in the rest of the cell. Essentially, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are two different types of processes that create energy. Cellular Respiration is “the oxidation of glucose to produce ATP (Tortora and Derrickson, 2011, p. 1027).” This process occurs in all living organisms. In comparison, Photosynthesis is “the conversion of sunlight into a chemical form of energy. In the cyanobacteria, the process takes place in special thylakoid membranes, which contain chlorophyll or chlorophyll-like pigments. Among eukaryotes, photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplasts of such organisms as diatoms, dinoflagellates and green algae. (Pommerville, 2014, p. 185)”.

Ever since the incredible discovery of the mitochondria and chloroplast, scientists were trying to understand why both organelles resembled bacteria. Before Margulis’s research, scientists were uncertain whether the mitochondria was a free organism or how exactly did eukaryotic cells became complex and vital over time. However, we now know that organelles like the mitochondria and the chloroplast are dependent on other organelles within the cell to perform their essential functions. The