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4.7E: The Golgi Apparatus

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    8888
    • Boundless
    • Boundless

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    Learning Objectives
    • Describe the structure of the Golgi apparatus and its role in protein modification and secretion

    We have already mentioned that vesicles can bud from the ER and transport their contents elsewhere, but where do the vesicles go? Before reaching their final destination, the lipids or proteins within the transport vesicles still need to be sorted, packaged, and tagged so that they wind up in the right place. Sorting, tagging, packaging, and distribution of lipids and proteins takes place in the Golgi apparatus (also called the Golgi body), a series of flattened membranes.

    image
    Figure: The Golgi apparatus sorts and packages cellular products: The Golgi apparatus in this white blood cell is visible as a stack of semicircular, flattened rings in the lower portion of the image. Several vesicles can be seen near the Golgi apparatus.

    The receiving side of the Golgi apparatus is called the cis face. The opposite side is called the trans face. The transport vesicles that formed from the ER travel to the cis face, fuse with it, and empty their contents into the lumen of the Golgi apparatus. As the proteins and lipids travel through the Golgi, they undergo further modifications that allow them to be sorted. The most frequent modification is the addition of short chains of sugar molecules. These newly-modified proteins and lipids are then tagged with phosphate groups or other small molecules so that they can be routed to their proper destinations.

    Finally, the modified and tagged proteins are packaged into secretory vesicles that bud from the trans face of the Golgi. While some of these vesicles deposit their contents into other parts of the cell where they will be used, other secretory vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane and release their contents outside the cell.

    In another example of form following function, cells that engage in a great deal of secretory activity (such as cells of the salivary glands that secrete digestive enzymes or cells of the immune system that secrete antibodies) have an abundance of Golgi. In plant cells, the Golgi apparatus has the additional role of synthesizing polysaccharides, some of which are incorporated into the cell wall and some of which are used in other parts of the cell.

    Key Points

    • The Golgi apparatus is a series of flattened sacs that sort and package cellular materials.
    • The Golgi apparatus has a cis face on the ER side and a trans face opposite of the ER.
    • The trans face secretes the materials into vesicles, which then fuse with the cell membrane for release from the cell.

    Key Terms

    • vesicle: A membrane-bound compartment found in a cell.

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