Organelle

Organelle
Details
Pronunciation/ɔːrɡəˈnɛl/
Part ofCell
Identifiers
Latinorganella
MeSHD015388
THH1.00.01.0.00009
FMA63832
Anatomical terms of microanatomy

In cell biology, an organelle is a specialized subunit, usually within a cell, that has a specific function. The name organelle comes from the idea that these structures are parts of cells, as organs are to the body, hence organelle, the suffix -elle being a diminutive. Organelles are either separately enclosed within their own lipid bilayers (also called membrane-bounded organelles) or are spatially distinct functional units without a surrounding lipid bilayer (non-membrane bounded organelles). Although most organelles are functional units within cells, some function units that extend outside of cells are often termed organelles, such as cilia, the flagellum and archaellum, and the trichocyst (these could be referred to as membrane bound in the sense that they are attached to (or bound to) the membrane).

Organelles are identified by microscopy, and can also be purified by cell fractionation. There are many types of organelles, particularly in eukaryotic cells. They include structures that make up the endomembrane system (such as the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus), and other structures such as mitochondria and plastids. While prokaryotes do not possess eukaryotic organelles, some do contain protein-shelled bacterial microcompartments, which are thought to act as primitive prokaryotic organelles;[1] and there is also evidence of other membrane-bounded structures.[2] Also, the prokaryotic flagellum which protrudes outside the cell, and its motor, as well as the largely extracellular pilus, are often spoken of as organelles.

  1. ^ Kerfeld CA, Sawaya MR, Tanaka S, Nguyen CV, Phillips M, Beeby M, Yeates TO (August 2005). "Protein structures forming the shell of primitive organelles". Science. 309 (5736): 936–8. Bibcode:2005Sci...309..936K. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1026.896. doi:10.1126/science.1113397. PMID 16081736. S2CID 24561197.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Murat 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).