Dr. Evert Nikolaus DVM
Feb 20, 2025
What does a mitochondria look like?:D?
What does a mitochondrion look like? Could you describe its appearance? For example, is it gel-like or does it have other distinctive features?
7 Answers
Mitochondria are oval-shaped and have a “squiggly” line going through the middle. Sometimes there will actually be ribosomes attached to them but in most diagrams they are an orange color. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell they store the ATP that is needed to start reactions in a cell.
Mitochondria are small compartments partitioned by membranes and found exclusively in complex cells. These organelles are often called the “power plants” of the cell because their main job is to make energy. Mitochondria are highly unusual–they contain their own genetic material and protein-making machinery enwrapped in a double membrane. Many scientists believe mitochondria were once free-living bacteria that colonized complex cells sometime during evolution. Besides their role in energy production, mitochondria participate in a natural process called programmed cell death–or PCD–during development. Scientists do not completely understand PCD, or how obsolete cells self-destruct. Researchers hope to answer that question by studying PCD in a number of creatures, including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the mustard plant, Arabidopsis thaliana.
I would describe it as a rounded rectangle, kind of looks like a pill, and there are internal membranes, like the one here:
http://pingrybiology.pbwiki.com/f/p0014498-mitocho…
well not as complex as the other one but you will be able to understand it its a 3d oval shape with horizontal lines going across it, that should be sufficient if your drawing it =P
bean-shaped
with double membrane folds (to increase surface area) called the cristae, the space inside is called the mitochondrial matrix.
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