Organelles Composed of Membranes

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Organelles Composed of Membranes Although all cells have membranes, eukaryotic cells have more organelles composed of membranes than do Bacteria and Archaea. Organelles are small and function much like organs function in a large organism. Some organelles are responsible for gathering cell energy, others for controlling cell activities. Plant cells have different organelles than animal cells but also share many also. The details of each membrane will be discussed in further detail. The organelles composed of membranes are the Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus, Lysosomes, Peroxisomes, Vacuoles/Vesicles, Nuclear Membrane, Mitochondria, and Chloroplast. The cell membrane is an extremely important cell part that functions as a barrier that completely surrounds the cell and serves as an animal cell's outer barrier. It is composed of a phospholipid bilayer. The phospholipid bilayer is made up of a double layer of fatty acids that have a hydrophobic interior and a hydrophilic exterior. Within the membrane are proteins and other structures that help regulate what enters or exits through the membrane. Other functions of the cell membrane include the transport of proteins which is allowing water-soluble substances to move through their interior. Some transport proteins ATP as an energy source to actively pump substances across the membrane. Signal transduction happens when a membrane protein may have a binding site with a specific shape that fits the shape of a chemical messenger, such as hormones & other extracellular substances that trigger changes in cellular activity. Another function is cell to cell recognition which occurs when some proteins serve as identification tags that are specifically recognized by other cells. The Cell Wall is a rigid structure mainly made out of the protein cellulose, a tough chemical that helps plants to maintain their shape

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