Question

In animal cells, hydrolytic enzymes, which break apart cellular molecules by hydrolysis, are packaged to prevent general destruction of cellular components. Which of the organelle functions in this compartmentalization?

A) chloroplast
B) glyoxysome
C) central vacuole
D) Golgi apparatus
E) lysosome

Answer 1

The lysosome is the organelle responsible for containing hydrolytic enzymes in animal cells, ensuring these enzymes do not damage other cellular components.

Step-by-step explanation:

The organelle in animal cells that functions in the compartmentalization of hydrolytic enzymes to prevent general destruction of cellular components is the lysosome. Lysosomes are like the cell’s garbage disposal, containing around 40 different hydrolytic enzymes such as lipases, proteases, and nucleases.

These enzymes are active at a much lower pH than the rest of the cell, which is why the interior of a lysosome is more acidic. Lysosomes perform crucial functions such as autophagy, digestion of foreign material, and breakdown of cellular waste, and even participate in apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death.