Lysosomes
Lysosomes are sometimes described as the suicidal bags of the cell chiefly because of which characteristic of their internal contents?
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About This Question
- Subject
- biology
- Chapter
- cell structure and function
- Topic
- lysosomes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Year
- 2025
Solution
Correct Answer:
They are rich in hydrolytic digestive enzymes
Lysosomes are membrane-bound vesicles formed from the packaging activity of the Golgi apparatus, and their defining feature is a content of powerful hydrolytic enzymes. As stated in NCERT Class 11, Chapter 8 (Cell: The Unit of Life), these acid hydrolases can break down carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, and when the lysosomal membrane ruptures the released enzymes can digest the cell's own components, earning lysosomes the nickname 'suicidal bags'. The option about storing oxygen is incorrect because oxygen handling is associated with respiration in mitochondria, not lysosomal storage. The choice mentioning chlorophyll is wrong, since chlorophyll is confined to chloroplasts in green plant cells and has no role in lysosomal digestion. The statement about synthesising ribosomal RNA is also false because rRNA is produced in the nucleolus, not in lysosomes. A logical consistency check supports the answer: only an organelle filled with self-digesting hydrolytic enzymes could destroy the cell from within, which is exactly what gives lysosomes their dramatic descriptive name.
This easy difficulty biology question is from the chapter cell structure and function, covering the topic of lysosomes. It appeared in the 2025 exam.
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