Question

What is a vacuole and its function?

Answer 1

Vacuoles are membrane bound cell organelles, filled with water, containing inorganic and organic molecules.

Explanation:

Vacuoles are present in all plant and fungal cells. Animal cell vacuoles are smaller in size. Most bacteria and animal cells have vacuoles.

Functions of vacuoles are :

• it maintains turgor pressure within the plant cells.
• it acts as a storage organelle.
• vacuoles in many cases contain chemicals which would otherwise react with the cytosol.
• in plants vacuoles help in maintaining the cytoplasmic pH of the cell.
• in certain fungi ( yeast ) vacuoles are involved in osmoregulation, degradative processes and storing amino acids.
• in some Cyanobacteria, vacuoles contain gases ( gas vacuoles ) that help in controlling their buoyancy.
• in animal cells vacuoles are involved in the containment, transport and disposal of some proteins and lipids to the extra cellular environment of the cell.

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