Lecture 8: Endomembrane System Flashcards

Flashcards about the endomembrane system

Vacuoles

Organelles found in plants and fungi, derived from the ER and Golgi, used for storage, recycling, and breaking down macromolecules.

Central Vacuole

A large vacuole in plant cells that expands the cell, stores ions and organic compounds, and contains hydrolytic enzymes.

Hydrolytic Enzymes

Enzymes within vacuoles that break down macromolecules, similar to the function of lysosomes in animal cells.

Lysosomes

Membranous sacs of hydrolytic enzymes used to digest macromolecules, produced through the endomembrane system.

Phagocytosis

A process where cells ingest food or bacteria by invagination of the membrane, forming a food vacuole that fuses with a lysosome for digestion.

Autophagy

A process where old or damaged organelles are enclosed in membranes and digested by lysosomes for recycling of components.

Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Diseases caused by enzyme deficiencies in lysosomes, leading to the accumulation of undigested substances and cellular damage (e.g., Tay-Sachs disease).

Endomembrane system origin of hydrolytic enzymes

Hydrolytic enzymes are proteins made on ribosomes attached to the ER, travel through the Golgi, and bud off into vesicles that form lysosomes.

Macrophage

Immune system cells that use phagocytosis and lysosomes to digest bacteria and other foreign substances.