Vacuole Structure and function | Video 10

Описание: Vacuoles are large vesicles derived from the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. Thus, vacuoles are an integral part of a cell’s endomembrane system. Like all cellular membranes, the vacuolar membrane is selective in transporting solutes; as a result, the solution inside a vacuole differs in composition from the cytosol. Vacuoles perform a variety of functions in different kinds of cells. Food vacuoles, formed by phagocytosis, Many unicellular eukaryotes living in fresh water have contractile vacuoles that pump excess water out of the cell, thereby maintaining a suitable concentration of ions and molecules inside the cell. In plants and fungi, certain vacuoles carry out enzymatic hydrolysis, a function shared by lysosomes in animal cells. (In fact, some biologists consider these hydrolytic vacuoles to be a type of lysosome.) In plants, small vacuoles can hold reserves of important organic compounds, such as the proteins stockpiled in the storage cells in seeds. Vacuoles may also help protect the plant against herbivores by storing compounds that are poisonous or unpalatable to animals. Some plant vacuoles contain pigments, such as the red and blue pigments of petals that help attract pollinating insects to flowers. Mature plant cells generally contain a large central vacuole.