Practice question · Multiple choice
Mitochondria and chloroplasts divide independently by fission rather than being assembled de novo by the host cell. What does this autonomy imply about how a daughter cell inherits these organelles during cell division?
Hints
- Can a cell synthesise an entirely new mitochondrion if none are present in its cytoplasm?
- How does the evolutionary origin of semi-autonomous organelles govern their mode of propagation?
Show the answer
A. They must be partitioned from the pre-existing organelles of the parent cell
Why
Because these endosymbionts arise only from binary fission of existing organelles, anucleate segregation is vital; losing them entirely is lethal since the host cannot synthesise them from scratch. Synchrony with the nucleus is not required, nor can they spontaneously generate from non-plastid precursors.
Practise Mitochondria, Plastids and the Plant Cell
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More questions on Mitochondria, Plastids and the Plant Cell
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