Chapter 6 Differentiation of the Golgi Apparatus in the Genetic Control of Development

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the differentiation of the Golgi apparatus in the genetic control of the development. There is general agreement that the Golgi apparatus is responsible for the production of a wide range of secretory products characteristic of different types of cells and that it also makes a contribution to the surface membrane. The contribution may be selective and only transient, and the rate of renewal or turnover in various regions of the cell membrane may differ greatly. The total material transported from this intracellular organelle to the surface includes: lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates in various patterns of association. Since there is considerable evidence that the composition and patterning of the surface groups reflect both the influence of the genome and the participation of the Golgi apparatus, the implication is that the Golgi apparatus represents one stage in the elucidation of the characteristics controlled, by the genome and its modifiers. The Golgi apparatus differs from the other organelles in that. In the usual form, there is generally a detectable polarity of maturation from one face of the apparatus to the other. This polarity may not be readily visible in the very early stages of development, but it clearly accompanies the differentiation that also involves form changes in the organelle.