Golgi Apparatus

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Golgi apparatus

The Golgi apparatus (also Golgi body or the Golgi complex) is an organellefound in most eukaryotic cells.[1] It was identified in 1897 by the Italian physicianCamillo Golgi, after whom the Golgi apparatus is named.[2]

It processes and packages macromolecules, such as proteins and lipids, after their synthesis and before they make their way to their destination; it is particularly important in the processing of proteins for secretion. The Golgi apparatus forms a part of the cellular endomembrane system.

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Evolution

The Golgi apparatus appears to have existed even in the "ancestral eukaryote" from which all modern eukaryotes evolved, even though some do not have it in the stacked form[1].

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Discovery

Due to its fairly large size, the Golgi apparatus was one of the first organelles to be discovered and observed in detail. The apparatus was discovered in 1897 by Italian physician Camillo Golgi during an investigation of the nervous system.[2]After first observing it under his microscope, he termed the structure the internal reticular apparatus. The structure was then renamed after Golgi not long after the announcement of his discovery in 1898. However, some doubted the discovery at first, arguing that the appearance of the structure was merely an optical illusion created by the observation technique used by Golgi. With the development of modern microscopes in the 20th century, the discovery was confirmed.[3]

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Structure

Found in both plant and animal cells, the Golgi is composed of stacks of membrane-bound structures known as cisternae (singular: cisterna). An individual stack is sometimes called a dictyosome (from Greek dictyon: net + soma: body),[4] especially in plant cells.[5] A mammalian cell typically contains 40 to 100 stacks.[6] Between four...