Mitochondria Essay

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Introduction
Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. The human body is composed of trillions of cells. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy, and carry out specialized functions. But it also contains highly organized physical structures which are called intracellular organelles. These organelles are important for cellular function. For instance Mitochondria is the one of most important organelle of the cell. Without Mitochondria more than 95% of the cell’s energy, which release from nutrients would cease immediately [Guyton et al. 2007].
Mitochondria
Mitochondria are small granular or filamentous bodies which are called the power house of the cell. They are associated with cellular respiration and are the sources of energy. In 1850, the German biologist Rudolph Kolliker first observed mitochondria as granular structures in striated muscle [Powar, C.B. 2010; Albert et al. 2010]. In 1898, the scientist Benda developed the crystal violet staining technique and called the structures mitochondria. The average length of the mitochondrion is 3-4 microns and the average diameter 0.5 to 1.0 micron. In muscles, most of the mitochondria are 2-3 microns long. Mitochondria have different shapes. The number of mitochondria is different in different types of cells of different organs. They are distributed evenly in the cytoplasm. In sperms they are present in tail, in muscles they lie between the myofibrils. Mitochondria may move freely in some cells. Where ever ATP required. Movement is less in animals than plants. In plants they change their shape and volume [Powar, C.B. 2010; Albert et al. 2010].
Mitochondria and Diseases
Mitochondrial diseases are a gro...

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... urea cycle. So if mitochondria do not function properly, not only energy production but also cell-specific products needed for normal cell functioning will also be affected [Hardin et al. 2012]. There are three more important aspects of mitochondrial which are: (i) energy production, (ii) generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and (iii) regulation of programmed cell death, or apoptosis [Wallace, D. C. 1999].

• Energy production- The most important function of mitochondria is energy production in the form of ATP. The raw materials are food materials and tissues which are broken down in catabolism. These molecules transferred to mitochondria for further processes. In inner membrane they have electrical charges then they help in producton of ATP (Phosphorylaton) by combine with oxygen (Oxidaton) through five electron transport chain complexes. So this overall

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