INTRODUCTION :
- Mitochondria (“Power house
of the cell”), were first discovered in 1857 by Physiologist Albert Von Kolliker, and later coined “ Bioblasts ” (life germs) by Richard Altman in 1886.
- The organelles were then again renamed “Mitochondria” by Carl Benda in 1897.
- Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles that generate most
of the chemical energy.
- The mitochondria ( derived from Greek word in which
‘Mitos’
means thread and ‘chodros’ mean
granule ) are the centres for the cellular respiration and energy
metabolism.
- Mitochondria are present in all
Eukaryotic cells and are absent in Prokaryotes, also in bacterial cell.
- Mitochondria do not have a fixed shape. It can be Cylindrical
or Rod or Spherical or Filamentous body or thread or spherical or
club or sac etc like structures present in cytoplasm of cells.
- Mitochondria is surrounded by Double-layered
Membrane. And they are Inner membrane
and Outer Membrane.
- The Inner membrane has many finger like fold structures
called Cristae.
And the fluid presents inside mitochondria is called Matrix or mitosol which contains many
enzymes and co-enzyme.
- On the inner membrane projecting into the matrix – a large
number of particles called Elementary particles which have sphrerical head and
a stalk.
- The outer membrane is smooth, Protective and it is more
permeable to small molecules. And the outer membrane contains proteins known as
Porins, which allow movement of ions into and out of the mitochondrion.
- Each Mitochondrion (singular) consists of a fluid filled
space surrounded by double membrane envelope. The space present between the two
membranes of the envelope is called Perimitochondrial space or inter-membrane space.
Question
: Why mitochondria is known as ‘Power house of
the cell’ ?
Answer
: Mitochondria is known
as ‘Power house of the cell’, because it
generates Adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) energy by oxidizing the
Carbohydrates and Fatty acids.
