Cell Organelles - Golgi Apparatus - "The delivery system of the cell"

Camillo Golgi first described it. It consists of a system of membrane-bound vesicles arranged approximately parallel to each other in stacks (5-8 flat, hollow sacs) called cisternae.

• These membranes often have connections with the membranes of the ER.
• The material synthesised near the ER is packaged and dispatched to various targets inside and outside the cell through the Golgi apparatus.
• Sometimes, complex sugars may be made from simple sugars in the Golgi apparatus.
• Its functions include storing, modifying, and packaging products in vesicles.
• Inside the cisternae, proteins are chemically modified by enzymes.
• The modified proteins are then packed into new vesicles. These vesicles leave from the maturation side of the Golgi.
• The Golgi complex acts like a packaging centre, organising and distributing substances in the cell.

Golgi Complex

1. The Golgi complex is the secretory organ of the cell.
2. It modifies, sorts, and packs materials synthesized in the cell (enzymes, mucus, proteins, pigments, etc.) and dispatches them to various targets like plasma membrane, lysosome, etc.
3. It produces vacuoles and secretory vesicles.
4. It helps in the formation of the cell wall, plasma membrane, and lysosomes.

1. The Golgi apparatus, also called dictyosomes in plant cells, is found as stacks of flattened membrane sacs.
2. It consists of cisternae, vesicles, and vacuoles.
3. Involved in the synthesis and secretion of enzymes, hormones, and other substances.
4. Plays a role in the packaging and transport of cellular products.
5. In animal cells, it helps form the acrosome of sperm cells.