ARTICLE Cell organelles EXPLORE

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Every cell in your body contains organelles (structures that have specific functions). Just like organs in the
body, each organelle contributes in its own way to helping the cell function well as a whole. The nucleus,
mitochondria and chloroplasts are all organelles.

Specialised organelles

Some organelles are found only in some cell types. They have roles that are important to the specific
function of that cell type. Chloroplasts (left) are the site of photosynthesis in plant cells, storage granules
(centre) provide a storage site for proteins in secreting cells, and microvilli (right) aid absorption of
nutrients during digestion by increasing the surface area of cells in the intestinal wall.

Despite their central importance to cell function (and therefore to all life), organelles have only been
studied closely following the invention of the transmission electron microscope, which allowed them to
be seen in detail for the first time.

Core organelles

Core organelles are found in virtually all eukaryotic cells. They carry out essential functions that are
necessary for the survival of cells – harvesting energy, making new proteins, getting rid of waste and so
on. Core organelles include the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and several others. The
primary cilium (which has recently been shown to help cells sense their surroundings) may also be a core
organelle because it seems to be present on most cells.

Different types of cells have different amounts of some organelles. For instance, cells that use a lot of
energy tend to contain large numbers of mitochondria (the organelle responsible for harvesting energy
from food). That’s why very active muscle cells are often full of mitochondria.
Specialised organelles

Some cell types have their own specialised organelles that carry out functions that aren’t required by all
cells. Here are just a few of the specialised organelles that we know about:

Chloroplasts are found in plant cells and other organisms that conduct photosynthesis (such as algae).
They are the site where photosynthesis occurs.

Storage granules are found in cells that produce a lot of material for secretion (release from the cell). For
instance, some pancreas cells (which make insulin for release into the bloodstream) contain large
numbers of storage granules that store insulin until the cell receives a signal to release it.

Microvilli are tiny finger-like protrusions on the surface of a cell. Their main function is to increase the
surface area of the part of the cell in which they’re found. Cells in the intestinal wall have many microvilli
so they can absorb as many nutrients as possible from the gut.

Core cell organelles

Some organelles are found in virtually every eukaryotic cell. These organelles have key roles that are
important to all cells, such as making energy available and synthesising proteins.

Location, location, location

Within cells, organelles tend to cluster close to where they do their job. In sperm cells, for instance,
mitochondria are concentrated around the base of the tail, where they provide energy for the sperm’s
rapid ‘swim’ towards the ovum during fertilisation. In intestinal wall cells, microvilli are clustered on the
side of the cell that faces the intestinal space so that the cells maximise their surface area for absorbing
nutrients.

Zooming in on organelles

Mitochondria under the microscope

Microscopes have been crucial for our understanding of mitochondrial structure and function.
Mitochondria are visible under the light microscope although little detail can be seen. Transmission
electron microscopy (left) shows the complex internal membrane structure of mitochondria, and
electron tomography (right) gives a three-dimensional view.

Microscopes have been crucial for understanding organelles. In fact, without microscopes, we wouldn’t
even know that organelles existed! However, most organelles are not clearly visible by light microscopy,
and those that can be seen (such as the nucleus, mitochondria and Golgi) can’t be studied in detail
because their size is close to the limit of resolution of the light microscope. The detailed structure of
organelles only became clear after the development of the transmission electron microscope (TEM),
which made it possible to look at individual organelles at high resolution.

Having detailed information about organelle structure has been very important for understanding how
they work. For instance, the TEM showed that mitochondria contained two membranes and that the
inner one was highly folded inside the outer one. This helped scientists to understand how mitochondria
harvest energy from food.