Nuclear Membrane Function

A cell is the smallest unit of life and it is the most basic functional unit in all living organisms. It is hailed to be the building block of life and a single cell leads to the development of a living individual. Discovered by Sir Robert Hooke in 1665, cells have been extensively studied to get closer to the mysteries of flesh, life and death.

A plant or an animal cell consists of certain vital components that work together to sustain life and promote growth and development. Among these, nucleus forms the control unit of the cell. In plants, generally cell nucleus is located towards periphery owing to the presence of large central vacuole. In animal cells however, it is found in the center of the cell.

Nucleus contains very crucial information about hereditary traits (chromosomes, DNA etc.) that are transferred from parents to their offspring. Nuclear membrane is the casing/ protective covering that encloses the nucleus. Invariably, nuclear membrane function is vital to safeguard nucleus and hence ensure cell life.

Nuclear Membrane Function and Structure

Before we know tackle the question 'what is the nuclear membrane function', knowing about the nuclear membrane structure will help us to know various facets of nuclear membrane functioning.

Nuclear membrane is generally defined in two ways, viz,:

• It is a double layered membrane, separating the nucleoplasm from the cytoplasm. It is also permeable to certain selected molecules.
• In eukaryotic cells, the double membrane enclosing DNA and any other genetic material is known as nuclear membrane

Here, one must be aware of a fact that prokaryotic cells don't have nuclear membrane around its nuclei. Knowing more about similarties between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells will make it simpler to understand further concepts about cells.

Nuclear membrane function can be more easily grasped by knowing its structural components. Nuclear membrane consists of three crucial parts - external nuclear membrane, internal nuclear membrane and nuclear pore. Nuclear membrane consists of thousands of nuclear pore complexes and close to nuclear membrane, inside nucleus, lies nuclear lamina. Nuclear lamina is a very dense network of intermediate filaments that help in protein synthesis inside cells and also manages DNA replication and division of cells. Besides these, the function of nuclear lamina is to impart stability to nucleus. In case of any collapsing of nuclear lamina, nucleus also collapses.

Function of Nuclear Membrane

One of the most significant nuclear membrane function in a cell is to regulate in and out movement of only specific substances. Nuclear membranes in animal and plant cells prevents the nucleus from collapsing and hence it's effective in holding nucleus together. For transporting materials in and out of nucleus, nuclear membrane acts as a security check. In the process of mitosis and meiosis, nuclear membrane function is to regulate transport of minerals between nucleus and cytoplasm. In several eukaryotic cells, when closed mitosis takes place, chromosomes in the cell nucleus undergo division in two similar nuclei.

Both animal and plant cells are eukaryotic cells and there are key similarities between plant and animal cells. Presence of cytoplasm, nucleus and cell membrane form the similarities in both plant and animal cells. Hence, overall nuclear membrane function in animal cell or in plant cell are more or less the same. Just like nuclear membrane guards nuclei, cell membrane function is also vital in cell functioning. In animal cells, there are small vacuoles, no chloroplasts and cell wall. On the other hand, in plant cells, there is a large vacuole, chloroplasts, cell wall and a regular shape.

Nuclear membrane is certainly a vital organelle in cell. Owing to nuclear envelope (that separates cytoplasm and nucleoplasm), certain protein synthesis reactions undergo in cells and these proteins, in humans, have been linked to several diseases like muscular dystrophy, pre-mature aging, etc. Even if small links to cure several diseases are found by studying cells, then certainly, it may lead to major medical breakthrough.

Scientists are trying to explore more facets of nuclear membrane function so that they can get deeper into various features of this double layered membrane. In fact, entire cell study is now an integral subject of biological researches.