Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I have a question. Do the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus look the same in shape and colour?

Dear Musi,

I recommend you to compare the pictures of endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus that are found on the Internet or a textbook.

RicaC

Dear Musi,
The colors that we see in simplified textbook drawings of cells are false colors that are used only to make the structures very clear to our eyes in the diagram. Even when a cell is observed under the microscope, something (usually proteins with fluorescent tags, but sometimes dyes) needs to be present in order for us to see an organelle in a specific color.

The Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi do have different structures, although it is easy to be confused as they both look like stacks (like pancakes ) overall. They may appear similar (and they do work together in many cellular processes like protein transport and secretion), but using advanced microscopic technology if we zoom in to see finer details, then we can appreciate the fine differences between the two.

In short, if you are just drawing a diagram of a cell overall to show the different organelles, they can be represented in a very similar way. However I would keep something different - for example the color, or how tight the stacks are - to tell them apart. You can also draw small circles (called 'vesicles') near the Golgi just like a dollop of cream next to the Golgi pancakes.

Hope this is helpful!
Madhuja

Also, one identifying factor between the two is that the endoplasmic reticulum is usually very near to the nucleus and often 'attached' to the periphery of the nucleus. The golgi stacks are not normally directly in contact (or in close proximity) of the nucleus. This can also be a helpful distinction between the two.