Ribosomes
- The ribosomes are the organelles that are not bound by any membrane.
- These are made up of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and proteins. Hence, these are ribonucleoprotein particles.
- These may be found attached to the rough endoplasmic reticulum or may be present freely in the cytoplasm.
- Each ribosome is made up of two subunits - a large subunit and a small subunit.
- The ribosomes in eukaryotic cells are of 80S type while in prokaryotic cells they are of 70S types.
- The ‘S’ denotes the Svedberg unit for sedimentation rate that measures shape, size and density of the ribosomes.
- The main function of the ribosome is to perform the translation of the mRNA to form the polypeptide chain.
In eukaryotic cells, other than the nucleus DNA is present in semi-autonomous organelles, mitochondria and chloroplasts. Ribosome and vacuole do not contain DNA.
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