Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
A sa about mitochondria
Essay on functions of mitochondria
A sa about mitochondria
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: A sa about mitochondria
Division and Fusion in Mitochondria
Mitochondria are essential organelles in many cells. Each component of mitochondria have distinct roles that they must partake in for the sake of the cell’s survival. Mitochondria have their own genetic system that encodes directions for the mitochondria’s different processes. Oxidative phosphorylation, an activity that is necessary to the cell takes place within the mitochondria, along with electron transport. Mitochondria also take part in processes that benefit themselves, including fusion and division (Hales, 2010). Therefore, the processes of mitochondria are important not only to the mitochondria itself, but also to the whole cell overall.
Cellular Biology Knowledge
In order to understand this material, previous knowledge from a cellular biology class is important to have. Prior classes and readings explained the structure and functions of mitochondria. The structure of mitochondria shows that it has two membranes; an outer membrane that is permeable to ions and small molecules because of porins, and an inner membrane, impermeable to ions and small molecules, that forms in cristae in order to increase surface area. Mitochondria house critical functions of the cell, including ATP synthesis through oxidative phosphorylation. An understanding of the composition, membranes, and permeability of this organelle is essential in comprehending readings on the fusion and division of networks in mitochondria and building upon previously studied information. It is necessary to understand key concepts about mitochondria in order to grasp the overall view of this organelle.
Mitochondrial Networks
In the early 1930s, it was first discovered that mitochondria form interconnected networks of tubules that a...
... middle of paper ...
...ions and divisions of mitochondria (Hales, 2010). By understanding what causes the disease, further research can be done to figure out how to treat the specific mitochondria and neurons involved. Therefore, mitochondrial fusion and division is necessary in discovering effective medical treatments that have not yet become available. These mitochondrial treatments can then be dispensed and used to help all people affected by diseases caused by mitochondrial mutations.
References
Hales, K. G. (2010). Mitochondrial Fusion and Division. Nature Education. 3(9):12
Cooper, G. M., Hausman, R. E. (2013). Bioenergetics and Metabolism. The Cell: A Molecular
Approach (6th ed. ). (421-457). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Youle, R. J., van der Bliek, A. M. (2012). Mitochondrial Fission, Fusion, and Stress. Science.
337(6098), 1062-1065. [DOI:10.1126/science.1219855].
The ATP is used for many cell functions including transport work moving substances across cell membranes. It is also used for mechanical work, supplying the energy needed for muscle contraction. It supplies energy not only to heart muscle (for blood circulation) and skeletal muscle (such as for gross body movement), but also to the chromosomes and flagella to enable them to carry out their many functions. A major role of ATP is in chemical work, supplying the needed energy to synthesize the multi-thousands of types of macromolecules that the cell needs to exist. ATP is also used as an on-off switch both to control chemical reactions and to send messages.
AGEs alter the mechanical properties of cells and tissues by crosslinking intracellular and extracellular proteins. They also bind to cell surface receptors called receptor for AGEs (RAGE), thus interrupting various cellular processes. Through laboratory experiments, scientists have shown that glycation of mitochondrial proteins, lipids and DNA may induce mitochondrial dysfunction due to a decrease in ATP production and increased free radical formation. The mitochondria are specialized...
Recently mitochondrial transplants, mitochondrial donations, also referred to mitochondrial replacement has become a predominant topic in the medical community, chiefly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mitochondrial transplants would mean that couples who want to have a child, but the mother has defective mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA) could receive mitochondria from a donation. Therefore, the child would not be born with a mitochondrial disease. People who are diagnosed with mitochondrial disease have a life expectancy of nine months to fifty years, depending on when the person developed the disease. Both sides of this argument have valid opinions. Matt Ridley and Françoise Baylis wrote
Aconitase catalyzes the conversion of citrate to isocitrate in the mitochondria and cytosol. In the mitochondria, aconitase is required for the TCA cycle to continue. In the case of high mitochondrial ROS production, aconitase becomes oxidized and no longer functions...
Because the body, namely the “brain, heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and skeletal muscle, demand a finely tuned capacity for energy and lots of it, these tissues possess more mitochondria” (parkridge). When the mitochondria are not properly functioning for these organs, cell damage can occur.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Dir. Robert Wiene. Perf. Werner Krauss, Friedrich Feher, and Condrad Veidt. Decla-Bioscop AD, 1920.
Gardiner, L. (2004). Organelles of Eukaryotic Cells. In Windows to The Universe. Retrieved December 8, 2013, from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Life/cell_organelles.html.
Oxygen is an essential component for cellular metabolic processes. As a result of normal cellular metabolism, oxidative products i.e. oxygen free radicals or reactive oxygen species are produced. In eukaryotic cells energy is generated in mitochondria as a result of aerobic respiration and this oxidative metabolism is responsible for formation of various compounds. Nearly all of these compounds are advantageous but a small proportion could be lethal if produced in higher concentration. During normal conditions small quantities of oxidative products are necessary for certain sub cellular events, including enzyme activation, formation of disulfide bond during the folding of new proteins, signal transduction and gene expression etc. (Yu etal., 2002; Droge, 2002). Oxidative stress can be defined as the excessive production of ROS which are not adequately removed from the body, because of reduced antioxidant defense system or the ROS increases beyond the capacity of antioxidants. The balance between oxidants and antioxidants is vital because oxidative stress can cause oxidative damages to N.A, lipids and proteins. The most important ROS are superoxide anion (O2−), singlet oxygen (O2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and highly reactive hydroxyl radical (OH-). Whereas, antioxidant defense system is responsible to give protection against ROS. These antioxidants can scavenge and destroy ROS. The major antioxidant enzymes are catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) PON ….. and glutathione system (Sies, 1985; Valko et al., 2007; Halliwell and Gutteridge, 1990).
8. Becker W. M, Hardin J, Kleinsmith L.J an Bertoni G (2010) Becker’s World of the Cell, 8th edition, San Francisco, Pearson Education Inc- Accessed 23/11/2013.
The mitochondria produces food for the cell by converting energy the cell needs. The mitochondria and the nucleus are two organelles within a cell that have many of the same similarities. Both organelles are made of two membranes. These layers isolate within the organelle all things considered, yet have protein channels that permit things to go in and out. Both contain DNA material that conveys qualities that encode for proteins. Both have qualities that make ribosomes, the machines that read the guidelines in RNA to make
The mitochondria is an organelle which is generally an oval shape and is found inside the cytoplasm and is again apart of the eukaryotic cells. The main function of the mitochondria is to complete cellular respiration; in simple terms it acts like a digestive system to break down essential nutrients and to convert it into energy. This energy is usually found to in ATP which is a rich molecule taken from the energy stored in food. Furthermore, mitochondria stores calcium for signalling activities; such as heat, growth and death. They have two unique membranes and mitochondria isn’t found in human cells like the red blood cells yet liver and muscle cells are filled entirely with mitochondria.
Cellular respiration and photosynthesis are important in the cycle of energy to withstand life as we define it. Cellular respiration and photosynthesis have several stages in where the making of energy occurs, and have diverse relationships with organelles within the eukaryotic cell. These processes are central in how life has evolved.
Mitochondria are organelles in cells that provide energy, and they have their own DNA. Sometimes, mitochondrial DNA has mutations in it, causing rare, deadly, and incurable diseases. Women who have defective mitochondria can pass these diseases onto their children, but mitochondrial replacement therapy allows these women to have healthy babies that are free from mitochondrial disease. Mitochondrial replacement therapy is helpful and useful for women with defective mitochondria who want to, or are attempting to, have children. The therapy is designed to prevent faulty mitochondrial DNA from being passed down because it causes deadly diseases that often have no cure.
"The general idea is an old one, that any two cells or systems of cells that are repeatedly active at the same time will tend to become 'associated', so that activity in one facilitates activity in the other" (Hebb, 1949).... ... middle of paper ... ... James, W. (1890).
... urea cycle. So if mitochondria do not function properly, not only energy production but also cell-specific products needed for normal cell functioning will also be affected [Hardin et al. 2012]. There are three more important aspects of mitochondrial which are: (i) energy production, (ii) generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and (iii) regulation of programmed cell death, or apoptosis [Wallace, D. C. 1999].