MadSci Network: Cell Biology |
Hey, Serena! It looks like your question got cut off half-way through somehow, but I'll do my best to answer it. The membranes that surround all organelles are what's called "semi- permeable." That means some things go through the membrane very easily, somethings go through more slowly, and some things pretty much can't go through at all. The fatty interior of the membrane is the key, and it means that in general, the bigger and more charged that something is the harder it is to get through the membrane. The cell and organelles within the cell still need to get things through that fatty interior of the membrane, so proteins in the membrane allow large and/or charged molecules through. These proteins can allow passive transport, where things move from high concentration to low concentration (sort of like water flowing downhill), or as you say they can be involved in active tranport, which requires energy (you have to have a pump to move that water back uphill!). Since the whole purpose of organelles is to have specialized areas within the cell, they have to keep some things inside at high concentration and some things outside at high concentration. If they didn't, the inside of the organelle would be just like the inside of rest of the cell. This makes about as much sense as a house with open doors and no roof. Because some of those things will leak through the membrane on their own, the organelles need active transporters to get them back on the proper side of the membrane. So the short answer is: all organelles have active transport. I hope this answers your question. If not, try posting again with a little more information.
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