Why Is Mitochondria Important?

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell that act like a digestive system which consumes nutrients, breaks them down, and manufactures energy for the cell. This chemical processes of the cell is known as cellular respiration (1). Most of cellular respiration happens in the mitochondria. Mitochondria typically float around free throughout the cell. Some cells have hundreds of mitochondria, like muscle cells, while others have little to none, like nNeurons (1). The quantity of mitochondria a cell has is dependent on how much energy they use. More mitochondria can be generated if a cell feels it is not getting enough energy to survive. Depending on what the cell needs, it is common that mitochondriaon will combine with other mitochondria or just simply get larger in size. The productivity of the mitochondria can determine its size (2). …show more content…
The outer membrane shields the organelle and represses it like a skin (3). It also allows the passage of smaller molecules that contain mitochondrion sequences. The inner membrane folds over many times and produces layered structures called cristae (4). The folding of the inner membrane increases the surface area inside the organelle. Since many of the chemical reactions happen on the inner membrane, the increased surface area creates more space for reactions to occur (4). If you have more space to work, you can get more work done. The fluid held inside of the mitochondria is called the matrix. There are also structures called granules which may control concentrations of ions. Mitochondria are special because they have their own ribosomes and DNA floating in the matrix