Can anybody tell me the function of an endoplasmic reticulum ? I'm doing a project for school.?

Question

And it would be really helpful if anybody could help me out

Answer 1

Two types of Endoplasmic Reticulum.

The smooth ER buds off small vesicles (bubbles of membrane that carry things) and these transport proteins and other components of the cell either to other organelles or to the cell membrane where they are driven to the outside of the cell.

The rough ER is called rough because it has little nobbles on the outside called ribosomes. These are used in making proteins. The DNA from the nucleus is copied in the form of RNA and this RNA is run through the robosome which makes sure that the protein for the DNA is put together correctly. The protein is then folded into shape within the rough ER and can be transported out like in the case of the smooth ER

Answer 2

If you go to the website I have listed as my source you can see a diagram of the endoplasmic reticulum.

The endoplasmic reticulum (endoplasmic meaning "within the cytoplasm," reticulum meaning "little net" in Latin) or ER is an organelle found in all eukaryotic cells that is an interconnected network of tubules, vesicles and cisternae that is responsible for several specialized functions: Protein translation, folding, and transport (e.g., transmembrane receptors and other integral membrane proteins) of proteins to be used in the cell membrane, or to be secreted (exocytosed) from the cell (e.g., digestive enzymes); sequestration of calcium; production and storage of glycogen, steroids, and other macromolecules.[1] The endoplasmic reticulum is part of the endomembrane system. The basic structure and composition of the ER membrane is similar to the plasma membrane.

The Endoplasmic Reticulum consists of an extensive membrane network of tubes and cisternae (sac-like structures) held together by the cytoskeleton. The membrane encloses a space, the cisternal space (or internal lumen) from the cytosol. Parts of the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane are continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope, and the cisternal space of the Endoplasmic Reticulum is continuous with the space between the two layers of the nuclear envelope (the intermembrane space).

Parts of the Endoplasmic Reticulum are covered with ribosomes (which assemble amino acids into proteins based on instructions from the nucleus). Their rough appearance under electron microscope led to their being called rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER), other parts are free of ribosomes and are called smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (sER). The ribosomes on the surface of the rough Endoplasmic Reticulum insert the freshly produced proteins directly into the Endoplasmic Reticulum, which processes them and then passes them on to the Golgi apparatus.

Answer 3

The endoplasmic reticulum is a folded membrane which form canals within the cytoplasm. Materials such as water, oxygen, food and carbon dioxide are transported through these canals to different parts of the cell.

Answer 4

There are two types of ER, rough and smooth. I don't remember much from college biology, but this might help you.
Functions of the ER:
The endoplasmic reticulum serves many general functions, including the facilitation of protein folding and the transport of synthesized proteins in sacs called cisternae.
Insertion of proteins into the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane: Integral proteins must be inserted into the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane after they are synthesized. Insertion into the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane requires the correct topogenic sequences.
Glycosylation: Glycosylation involves the attachment of oligosaccharides.
Disulfide bond formation and rearrangement: Disulfide bonds stabilize the tertiary and quaternary structure of many proteins.
Calcium storage: The smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum serves as a major storage and release site of intracellular calcium ions. This is of particular importance in striated muscles which must be able to continually contract.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoplasmic_reticulum

Answer 5

The ER is made of 2 parts, the rough ER and the smooth ER

Rough ER- has ribosomes, so it does protein synthesis and sends the proteins off to the Golgi apparatus for processing.

Smooth ER- detoxifies chemicals and drugs. Synthesizes lipids.