Organelle Functions

Smooth ER

synthesizes lipids, steroids, and carbohydrates, detoxifies harmful substances, stores calcium ions, and manufactures new cell membranes

• lacks ribosomes, allowing for specialized functions like steroid hormone production in the ovaries and testes, and drug detoxification in the liver 

Rough ER

protein synthesis, folding, modification, and transport.

• Ribosomes on its surface produce proteins destined for secretion, delivery to other organelles like the Golgi apparatus, or insertion into the cell membrane

Golgi Apparatus

modifies, sorts, and packages proteins and lipids received from the endoplasmic reticulum for their final destinations, such as secretion from the cell, insertion into the plasma membrane, or delivery to lysosomes

Mitochondria

produce energy in the form of ATP through cellular respiration

Lysosomes

acts as the cell's digestive and recycling system, using hydrolytic enzymes to break down waste materials, cellular debris, and worn-out organelles

Vesicle

transport, storage, and secretion of molecules within a cell

Ribosomes in the Cytosol

responsible for synthesizing proteins that will function within the cytosol itself, such as enzymes for metabolism or structural proteins for the cell's internal framework

Vacuole

storage of water, nutrients, and waste products, maintaining turgor pressure in plant cells for rigidity, and facilitating endocytosis and exocytosis for transporting substances into and out of the cell

Ribosomes

synthesize proteins by translating messenger RNA (mRNA) into a sequence of amino acids