Structure of Mitochondria (With Diagram) | Botany

In this article we will discuss about the structure of mitochondria with its function. This will also help you to draw the structure and diagram of mitochondria.

1. Mitochondria are commonly called the “Power house” of the cell.

2. Benda (1897) was the first to coin the term mitochondrion.

3. Usually, mitochondria are 0.5 to 1 n in diameter and 3-6n in length. They, however, vary in their size and are also capable of changing their size.

4. They are generally rod shaped but may be in the form of granules or spherical bodies.

5. Their number may vary from 50 to 50,000 in different kinds of cells.

6. They are surrounded by two membranes, i.e., outer membrane and inner membrane (Fig. 293). Both these membranes are separated by a narrow gap known as perimitochondrial space.

7. The inner membrane of mitochondria has large number of invaginations towards the inner cavity, known as cristae which increase the mitochondrial surface.

8. Chemically, the mitochondria are lipoprotein-aceous in nature. They consist of about 60-65% proteins and 35-40% lipids, mainly phospholipids. The presence of RNA and a little amount of DNA has also been reported.

Functions of mitochondria are under mentioned:

(i) Power house of the cell:

They manufacture and store the energy in the form of ATP for various functions of the cell.

(ii) They are the respiratory centres of the cell.

(iii) They help in fat metabolism.

(iv) They help in several enzymatic activities.