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> Take away the mitochondria and bacteria… can cells live on their own? We can live without bateria if we add with some food supplements. mitochondria isn't c
by M95D 1y ago
> Take away the mitochondria and bacteria… can cells live on their own?
We can live without bateria if we add with some food supplements.
mitochondria isn't considered alive, as a separate organism, AFAIK. It doesn't even have a species name. It's just a component of the host cell.
As I understand it, these new microorganisms are parasites. They're not essential for the functioning of the host cell like mitochondria are.
- _Algernon_ 1y ago>We can live without bateria if we add with some food supplements. Citation needed. I would strongly doubt that this is true, because microbes also play a very important role in eg. immune defense. Remove all the mutualitic microbes from a human (eg skin, digestive tract) and the parasitic and pathogenic bacteria will take their place immediately.
- ACCount37 1y agoWe're talking removing all bacteria. And we know it's possible - even if it can't happen in nature. There are sterile mice made for scientific uses - 100% mouse, completely microorganism free or your money back. They have health issues, but they can survive and reproduce in the right conditions. Of course, those "right conditions" include sterile housings and sterilized food, because they'll get contaminated otherwise.
- arcane23 1y ago>They have health issues That is interesting! Is it because they are missing functions which bacteria offers?
- zelos 1y agoMitochondria were(are?) bacteria, so technically we can't live without bacteria really.
- IAmBroom 1y agoAFAIK no examples of independent mitochondria exist in nature nor the lab currently, so they (almost certainly) WERE bacteria (by some definition), but ARE NOT currently. Ship of Theseus, obviously.