Discussion:
Muscle biopsies and functions of the cytoskeleton
1. If muscle biopsies (sample of tissue) were taken from the legs of a world-class marathon runner and a typical couch potato, which would you expect to have higher density of mitochondria? Why? How would the density of mitochondria in a muscle biopsy from the biceps of a weight lifter compare with those of the runner and the couch potato?
2. One of the functions of the cytoskeleton in animal cells is to give shape to the cell. Plant cells have a fairly rigid wall surrounding the plasma membrane. Does the rigid cell wall make a cytoskeleton unnecessary for a plant cell? Defend your answer in terms of other functions of the cytoskeleton.