Question

Can mitochondria live independently?

Answer 1

In most eukaryotic species, the mitochondrion is a double membrane-bound organelle. Some multicellular organisms' cells lack mitochondria.Microsporidia, parabasalids, and diplomonads are examples of unicellular organisms that have reduced or converted their mitochondria into other structures.

Complete answer:
The existence of mitochondria is one of the main characteristics that distinguishes prokaryotes from eukaryotes. Depending on the cell's energy intake, eukaryotic cells may have anywhere from one to several thousand mitochondria. Every mitochondrion is a cell organelle that ranges in size from ovoid to worm-shaped to intricately branched and measures between 1 and 10 m in length.

Mitochondria are created when established mitochondria split. They could meld together. Interactions with the cytoskeleton cause them to travel about within the cell. Mitochondria, on the other hand, cannot live outside of the cell.

Evidence indicates that an ancestral cell with some membrane compartmentalization engulfed a free-living aerobic prokaryote, specifically an alpha-proteobacterium, billions of years ago, as the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere increased and active aerobic prokaryotes evolved, allowing the host cell to use oxygen to release energy stored in nutrients.

Alpha-proteobacteria are a wide community of bacteria that includes species that live in symbiotic relationships with plants, disease organisms that can infect humans via ticks, and a variety of free-living species that rely on light for energy. Several lines of evidence point to mitochondria being produced from this endosymbiotic occurrence. Most mitochondria resemble alpha-proteobacteria and are surrounded by two membranes, as one membrane-bound organism will engulf another into a vacuole.

The inner membrane of the mitochondria contains significant infoldings called cristae, which mimic the textured outer surface of alpha-proteobacteria. Enzymes needed for aerobic respiration are abundant in the matrix and inner membrane.

Mitochondria that perform aerobic respiration have their own genomes, which contain genes that are identical to alpha-proteobacteria. Many of the genes for respiratory proteins, on the other hand, are found in the nucleus. These genes tend to be alpha-proteobacterial in nature as compared to those in other species.Furthermore, certain genes are present in the mitochondria of some eukaryotic organisms, whereas they are located in the nucleus of others. This has been interpreted as proof that genes from the endosymbiont chromosome have been passed to the host genome. The endosymbiont's lack of genes is most definitely one of the reasons mitochondria can't survive without a host.

Note: Despite the transition of genes between mitochondria and the nucleus, mitochondria maintain a large amount of genetic material that is special to them. One possible reason for mitochondrial regulation of certain genes is that transporting hydrophobic proteins across the mitochondrial membrane and ensuring that they are delivered to the correct location is difficult, which implies that these proteins must be produced within mitochondria.