Lysosomes and its Fact

Lysosomes and its Fact

Lysosomes were discovered by the Belgian cytologist Christian René de Duve in the 1950s. (De Duve was awarded a share of the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of lysosomes and other organelles known as peroxisomes.)

It is a membrane-bounded organelle, found in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells, which contains digestive enzymes. It acts as the "garbage disposal" of the cell by breaking down cell components that are no longer needed as well as molecules or even bacteria that are ingested by the cell. Lysosomes are organelles containing digestive enzymes (acid hydrolases)

They are found in animal cells, while in plant cells the same roles are performed by the vacuole.

The name lysosome derives from the Greek words lysis, which means dissolution or destruction, and soma, which means body. They are frequently nicknamed "suicide-bags" or "suicide-sacs" by cell biologists due to their role in autolysis.