Golgi Apparatus: The Golgi apparatus, or Golgi complex, functions as a factory in which proteins received from the ER are further processed and sorted for transport to their eventual destinations: lysosomes, the plasma membrane, or secretion. In addition, as noted earlier, glycolipids and sphingomyelin are synthesized within the Golgi. In plant cells, the Golgi apparatus further serves as the site at which the complex polysaccharides of the cell wall are synthesized. The Golgi apparatus is thus involved in processing the broad range of cellular constituents that travel along the secretory pathway.

The Golgi apparatus is a series of stacked membranes that are located within the cytoplasm (i.e., gel-like fluid held in the cell membrane) in all eukaryotic cells (i.e., complex cells). It can typically be found adjacent to the nucleus and rough endoplasmic reticulum (an organelle involved in protein synthesis).

Functions of Golgi Apparatus

• The function of the Golgi apparatus is processing and packaging proteins that have exited the rough endoplasmic reticulum to be further transported inside and/or outside the cell.
• In plant cells, the Golgi body also serves as the site for the synthesis of complex polysaccharides.
• The Golgi body contains Golgi stacks, which can be thought of as a series of trafficking pathways that work by modifying protein and other complex polysaccharides.
• The Golgi cisternae are a very important part of the packaging and processing that occurs in the Golgi body.
• Transport vesicles usually pick up the molecules from the rough endoplasmic reticulum and transport them to the cis face (i.e., area of the Golgi apparatus located nearby to the endoplasmic reticulum) of the Golgi stacks

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By Team Learning Mantras