• Question: what is the function of a mitochondria

    Asked by cornelius on 15 Nov 2021.
    • Photo: Frankie Macrae

      Frankie Macrae answered on 15 Nov 2021:

      I’m so glad you asked this, mitochondria are my favourite organelle!
      The main purpose of the mitochondria is to produce the energy our cells need to function. They do this by a process called oxidative phosphorylation which basically oxidises nutrients to produce energy in the form of ATP.
      They also have other roles in the cell that aren’t as well understood like programmed cell death (apoptosis) and in the development of some tumours (tumorigenesis).
      They are really interesting from a genetics point of view as they have their own DNA which is much smaller than the ‘normal’ DNA in the nucleus of our cells. Their own DNA codes for most of the enzymes that they use for oxidative phosphorylation. BUT there are other enzymes and proteins that the mitochondria need to function that are encoded in the DNA in the nucleus.
      Mitochondrial diseases are genetic diseases where there are mutations in the mitochondrial genes or the nuclear genes that affect these proteins and enzymes. If you’d like to know more, I actually wrote an article a few years ago about mitochondrial genetic disease: https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/science-features/finding-genetic-diagnosis

      tl;dr Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell

    • Photo: Madeleine Heep

      Madeleine Heep answered on 15 Nov 2021:

      It is the power house of your cell and very important for providing energy for all the things a cell needs to do!

    • Photo: Thomas Nicol

      Thomas Nicol answered on 15 Nov 2021:

      Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. Their main role is to produce energy for the cell in the form of ATP.

      They do however have many other roles which are less well understood. They also have their own DNA which encodes many of the proteins that are required for the machinery that makes ATP – known as the electron transport chain. However, some of this machinery is encoded in the nuclear genome an the evolution of mitochondria and how this dual genome system came about is a fascinating topic.

    • Photo: Magdalena Sutcliffe

      Magdalena Sutcliffe answered on 15 Nov 2021:

      Mitochondria generate energy from products of breakdown of the food that we eat. They can generate electrochemical potential and use it to synthesise a molecule of ATP, which is a universal short-term energy storage and source in all cells.
      But since others covered this topic really well, I’d like to tell you my favourite fact about mitochondria.
      Mitochondria used to be free living microorganisms (or technically their ancestors used to be). A vey long time ago (in an evolutionary scale) a proto-mitochondrion (this is singular of mitochondria) was absorbed or ingested by another cell and instead of simply being eaten, became an internal symbiont that started producing energy for the host cell. This is why mitochondria have some of their own DNA but also ribosomes (the structures that produce proteins in the cells). This theory is called “endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria” and is now the most commonly accepted explanation on where mitochondria come from.

    • Photo: Yasmin Dickinson

      Yasmin Dickinson answered on 19 Nov 2021:

      A single cell contains many different organelles, all of which carry out a different important function.

      The mitochondria have the important role of generating chemical energy needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions. In cells, energy is in the form of a compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is then used to provide energy to drive many processes in living cells such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation and chemical synthesis. ATP is made within the mitochondria.

      Here are some cool facts about the mitochondria:
      1) They can quickly change shape and move around the cell when needed.
      2) As well as ATP, the mitochondria produce small amounts of carbon dioxide.
      3) If you look at the structure of the mitochondria, it looks a little like a bacterium no? Mitochondria are actually very similar to some bacteria. Because of this, some scientists have a theory that mitochondria descended from specialised bacteria and were absorbed by more complex cells.
      4) When cells need more energy, the mitochondria can reproduce by growing larger and then dividing. If the cell needs less energy, some of the mitochondria will die or become inactive.
      5) Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother. This means your mitochondrial DNA is exactly the same as your mothers, and grandmas, and great grandmas!!

      I hope this helped 🙂

Comments