The main functions of a Eukaryotic cell components part 1
Nucleus – considered to be one of the most important component of a cell. Many key processes such as DNA replication and RNA synthesis takes place in the nucleus since it contains the building block of life, DNA.
The number of nuclei in a cell can vary and generally cells with just a single nucleus are called the uninucleate cells. The cells containing 2 nuclei are called Binucleate and cells containing more than 2 nuclei are called polynucleate cells.
The nucleus is surrounded by a boundary called the nuclear envelope which contains channels for the transportation of minerals and other essentials, to carry out the chemical reactions needed in the cell. These channels are called the nuclear pores.
The nuclear membrane is a double layer structure. the outer layer has a connection to the endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm which comes in handy during the process of protein production.
The nucleus also holds several different proteins such as DNA and RNA polymerase which are synthesised in the cytoplasm and then transported to the nucleus.
Mitochondria – is the site of a cellular respiration by synthesis of the chemical form of energy, ATP (Adenosine triphosphate). Mitochondrion is distributed all around a cell but can show an abundance near to organelles where the energy requirement is high.
Mitochondria consists of double membrane system where the inner membrane forms many folds called cristae which increases the surface area of the organelle. The outer membrane contains small channels which allows diffusion of small molecules and ions to pass though in the process of cellular respiration, particularly in the electron transport chain stage.
The cellular respiration of a cell has three main stages, glycolysis, kerb cycles and the electron transport chain. Glycolysis takes place within the cell cytoplasm however the kerb cycle and the electron transport chains takes place in the mitochondria.
Ribosome – can be found within the cytoplasm or attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum of a cell.
Ribosomes perform protein synthesis with the help of enzymes such as rRNA (ribosomal RNA), mRNA (messenger RNA) and tRNA (transfer RNA). A protein is polypeptide chain of amino acids which are produced and assembled using the above names enzymes.