SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Name: RUREMEKEDZO TARIRO KUHUDZAI

Reg Number: C19137242W
Programme: BSFST
Course Code: CUAP101
Level: 1,1
Due Date: 09 April 2019
Question:
Write an essay justifying the following statement “Mitochondria and chloroplasts are
descended from free living bacterial ancestors through a process of endosymbiosis’’

According to Merriam Webster symbiosis is the living together in more or less intimate
association or close union of two dissimilar organisms .This therefore means that it occurs
when two different species benefit from living and working together. This therefore means that
endosymbiosis is when one of the organism lives in another and these two organisms typically
live as a single organism. Endosymbiosis therefore explains how organelles such as the
mitochondria and chloroplasts arose within eukaryotic cells .
From the American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine endosymbiosis is a theory stating that the
eukaryotes evolved through a process whereby different types of free living prokaryotes
became incorporated inside larger prokaryotic cells and eventually developed into
mitochondria and chloroplasts. This can be explained through the process of phagocytosis
where a large host cell would ingest bacteria and easily become dependent on one another for
survival resulting in a permanent relationship .This theory is thereby evidenced by how both the
mitochondria and chloroplasts cannot live outside the cell.
According to www.ettemalab.org all mitochondria and mitochondria derived organelles are
descendants from a single alphaproteobacterial and cyanobacterial ancestors and its host was a
prokaryote .Lynn Margulis 1967 and 1981 also explains how mitochondria are the result of
endocytosis of aerobic bacteria .He also explains how chloroplasts are the result of endocytosis
of photosynthetic bacteria .In both cases this endocytosis was done by large anaerobic bacteria
who would not otherwise be able to exist in an aerobic environment .This arrangement became
a mutually beneficial relationship for both cells.
Margulis original hypothesis proposed that aerobic bacteria where ingested by anaerobic
bacteria and each had a survival advantage as long as they continued their partnership .The
aerobic bacteria would handle the toxic oxygen for the anaerobic bacteria and the anaerobic
bacteria would ingest food and protect the endosymbiote .Although the prokaryotic cell was
ingested or engulfed it was never consumed because of the fact that they had to benefit from
one another .The result for this partnership was a cell with a double membrane bound
organelle .The inner lipid bilayer would have been the bacterial cell’s plasma membrane ,and
the outer lipid bilayer coming from the cell that would have engulfed it.
There is a lot of evidence showing that both mitochondria and chloroplasts are descendants of
free living bacterial ancestors .This is shown by how the mitochondria and chloroplasts both
have striking similarities to the bacterial cells .Firstly the two organelles have their own DNA
and divide independently of the cell they live in this means that their DNA is different from that
which is in the nucleus .This DNA is used to make their own proteins and enzymes required for
their functions .Both organelles reproduce like bacteria ,replicating their own DNA and directing
their own division through binary fusion.
Another similarity that exists between chloroplasts and mitochondria and bacterial cells is that
both organelles are surrounded by a double membrane .This is further evidence that each was
ingested by a primitive host .The inner lipid bilayer would have been the bacteria’s cell plasma
membrane and the outer lipid bilayer would come from the cell that would have engulfed it
.Another evidence on the double phospholipid cell is that both purple aerobic bacteria and
photosynthetic bacteria only have one phospholipid bilayer but when they enter another cell
via endocytosis they are bound by a vesicle which forms the second layer .This then goes back
to the process of endocytosis in endosymbiosis.
The functions of the two organelles is also another justification to how they exist from free
living bacterial ancestors .Mitochondria share similar characteristics with purple aerobic
bacteria .These two both make use of oxygen in the production of ATP and they both do this by
using the Kreb’s Cycle and oxidative phosphorylation .Both the bacteria and the mitochondria
transfer chemical energy from food to ATP.
Chloroplasts on the other hand are also similar to photosynthetic bacteria in the way they
produce energy .Both of them have similar chlorophyll that harness light energy to convert it
into chemical energy This shows that both of them perform oxygenic photosynthesis in that
they use carbon dioxide in making their own food by using energy from the sun and water as an
electron donor and releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
Furthermore another evidence that shows that these organelles exist from free living bacterial
ancestors is their size as compared to that of prokaryotic cells .Their sizes support the
endosymbiotic hypothesis in that for the mitochondria , chloroplasts and prokaryotic cells their
sizes range from one to ten microns .This therefore shows that there isn’t much of a big
difference in their sizes.
In conclusion the above information has clearly shown how both the mitochondria and
chloroplasts are descended from free living bacterial ancestors through the process of
endosymbiosis .Their similarities in structure and function to that of the prokaryotic cell has
also shown their commonness in their background and origin.
REFERENCES:
www.fossilmuseum.net
Lynn Margulis 1967 and 1981
Ib.bioninja.com.au
www.ettemalab.org
www.quora.com
Collins Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu