Leopoldo Yoshinari Alves Moreira
Dr. JANA MARCETTE
Biology Survey
09/15/2014

Cell Structure report – Mitochondria

All living organisms on Earth are divided into cells. The main concept of cell theory is that cells are the basic structural unit for all organisms. Cells are small compartments that hold the biological equipment necessary to keep an organism alive and successful. So, I would think that cell structures would be all the parts that makes a cell work and maintain the living organism alive. Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. They are organelles that act like a digestive system that takes in nutrients, breaks them down, and creates usable energy for the cell.
Mitochondria are a membrane bound cellular structure and is found in most of the eukaryotic cells. The way that the mitochondria works is the matrix is filled with water and enzymes. Those proteins take food molecules and combine them with oxygen. The mitochondria are the only place in the cell where oxygen can be combined with the food molecules. After the oxygen is added, the material can be digested. They are working organelles that maintain the cell with full energy.
The most important function of the mitochondria is to produce energy. The simpler molecules of nutrition are sent to the mitochondria to be processed and to produce charged molecules. These charged molecules combine with oxygen and produce ATP molecules. This process is known as oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondria help the cells to maintain proper concentration of calcium ions within the compartments of the cell. Also, the main function of the mitochondria is to provide usable energy, but also it helps in building certain parts of blood and hormones like testosterone and estrogen.
The Mitochondria works with the chloroplast, because cellular respiration and photosynthesis are coupled reactions. The chloroplast performs photosynthesis, which produces oxygen and sugar, and the mitochondria use the oxygen and sugar to produce water and carbon dioxide. It also connects pretty much with all the other organelles, because the mitochondria have an important function of providing usable energy, it can interact with the Golgi that is responsible for packing and sending off the proteins and Lipids, and Lysosomes that is responsible to recycling the protein and Lipids as well.
There are some diseases that can be caused when the mitochondria does not work the way it should, for instance, it can cause loss of motor control, muscle of weakness and pain, cardiac disease, liver disease, these are some of the bad things that could happen if you have a disease out of mitochondria disorders. These are some of the all diseases that can be caused by Mitochondria malfunction.