Question

How do ribosomes and mitochondria work together?

Answer 1

Ribosomes:

1. The site of protein synthesis in the cell is the ribosome, which is an intercellular structure made up of both RNA and protein.
2. The ribosome reads the messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence and converts it into a string of amino acids that grow into lengthy chains and fold to form proteins.

Mitochondria:

1. Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles that provide the majority of the chemical energy required to fuel the cell's metabolic activities.
2. Adenosine triphosphate is a tiny molecule that stores the chemical energy created by mitochondria (ATP).

Ribosomes and Mitochondria work:

1. Protein synthesis takes place on ribosomes.
2. Mitochondrial ribosomes synthesize proteins in the mitochondria, which are controlled by mtDNA genes.
3. They produce 13 mitochondrial proteins that are necessary for oxidative phosphorylation.
4. Mitochondrial ribosomes are 55S, which distinguishes them from both bacterial (70S) and eukaryotic (60S) ribosomes (80S).