Abstract
The myriad biochemical reactions that comprise life processes are too numerous and complex to be carried out entirely by simple diffusion-mediated interactions between enzymes and substrates. Instead, sequences of biochemical reactions must be efficiently organized and integrated with other sets of reactions by the cell. Two fundamental structural elements are used by eukaryotic cells to organize and integrate these reactions: membranes and a cytoskeletal system. An elaborate system of cellular membranes, in the form of the plasma membrane, membrane-bound organelles, and the nuclear envelope, has evolved to provide reaction surfaces and to organize and compartmentalize molecules involved in specific metabolic pathways. Other cytosolic biochemical reactions, as well as the organization of membranous organelles within the cell, are regulated by interactions with the cytoskeletal system. Consequently, enzymes and proteins involved in biochemical reactions can be located in the cytosol, within membranes, on the surfaces of membranes, within the interior of membranebound compartments, or in association with the cytoskeleton. The elaboration of these structural elements has allowed for the sophisticated level of biochemical integration that exists in living eukaryotic cells.
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Holy, J. (2003). Structure and Function of Cell Organelles. In: Krawetz, S.A., Womble, D.D. (eds) Introduction to Bioinformatics. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-335-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-335-4_2
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
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