Question

How is rough ER different from the smooth ER? What functions do they perform in a cell?

Answer 1

Endoplasmic reticulum or ER is a membrane surrounded by organelles, found in the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell. It lacks prokaryotic cells. ER is a continuous structure that causes the formation of sacs into the cytoplasm. Sacs are flattened in shape. There are two types of Endoplasmic reticulum are found, named smooth endoplasmic reticulum and rough endoplasmic reticulum.

Complete answer:
The difference between the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum is given below:

Rough endoplasmic reticulum	Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Rough endoplasmic reticulum comprises a tubular structure that involves ribosomes on their surface, thus causes a bumpy membrane structure.	The smooth endoplasmic reticulum is found in the tubule shape within the cell cytoplasm that lack ribosome in their membrane.
The nuclear membrane originates from the rough endoplasmic reticulum.	Smooth endoplasmic reticulum originates from the branch of the rough endoplasmic reticulum.
RER is located near the cytoplasm.	The smooth endoplasmic reticulum is located close to the cell membrane.

Functions of rough ER are given below:
-The rough endoplasmic reticulum is responsible for producing and secreting some hormones and proteins. The ribosomes present on the surface of the rough endoplasmic reticulum are responsible for producing the proteins.
-Functions of smooth ER are given below: Smooth endoplasmic reticulum lacks ribosomes. It is involved in the production and metabolism of fat. It also produces steroid hormones and takes part in the detoxification process.

Note: Protein synthesis involves two stages. These are transcription and translation. Transcription is the formation of mRNA from the DNA sequence. Generated mRNAs are then translated to protein sequences by the ribosomes found on the rough endoplasmic reticulum membrane surface. This process is called translation.