What is the Golgi apparatus? List its functions.

Hint: Golgi apparatus is a single-membranous cell structure that is found within the cell. In addition, it is concerned with the process of processing and packaging inside the cells.

Step by step answer:Golgi apparatus was first observed by Camillo Golgi. Due to this reason, it is known as the Golgi body or the Golgi complex or the Golgi apparatus. In plants, it is also known as a dictyosome. It is a single-membranous cell organelle. The Golgi body is formed by the modification of the endoplasmic reticulum.
The live Golgi complex has four parts –
1. Cisternae – These are the elongated, interlinked, tubular structures, whose both ends are swelled.
2. Tubules – These are the branched or unbranched tubular structures formed from cisternae.
3. Vesicles – These are the small rounded sac-like structures. They are formed from the tubules.
4. Golgi vacuole – These are larger than vesicles in size and formed from the vacuoles.

All these above-mentioned units are closely packed to form a complex structure known as the Golgi complex. The Golgi complex has a convex face known as the cis face and a concave face known as the trans face.
The functions of the Golgi complex are as follows –
1. Processing and packaging of cellular metabolites.
2. Formation of lysosomes.
3. To carry out the glycosylation and the glycosidation processes.
4. In sperms, the Golgi body is modified into the acrosome. The acrosome helps in dissolving the female egg cell.
5. In the root cap, the cells secrete mucilage from the Golgi body. This secretion helps in making the nearby soil humid and thus helps in the fast growth of the plant.
Note: The cis face is also known as the forming face or the entry face and the trans face is also known as the releasing face. Any substance enters the inside of the Golgi body from the cis face and comes out of it through the trans face. Due to this reason, the cis face is always towards the nuclear membrane so that the substance released from it can be processed and packaged by the Golgi body. The trans face is towards the outside to release the processed products into the cytoplasm.