Cells need to make proteins. Enzymes made of proteins are used to help speed up biological processes. Other proteins support cell functions and are found embedded in membranes. Proteins even make up most of your hair. When a cell needs to make proteins, it looks for ribosomes. Ribosomes are the protein builders or the protein synthesizers of the cell. They are like construction guys who connect one amino acid at a time and build long chains.
Ribosomes floating and on rough endoplasmic reticulumRibosomes are special because they are found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. While a structure such as a nucleus is only found in eukaryotes, every cell needs ribosomes to manufacture proteins. Since there are no membrane-bound organelles in prokaryotes, the ribosomes float free in the cytosol.
Ribosomes are found in many places around a eukaryotic cell. You might find them floating in the cytosol. Those floating ribosomes make proteins that will be used inside of the cell. Other ribosomes are found on the endoplasmic reticulum. Endoplasmic reticulum with attached ribosomes is called rough ER. It looks bumpy under a microscope. The attached ribosomes make proteins that will be used inside the cell and proteins made for export out of the cell. There are also ribosomes attached to the nuclear envelope. Those ribosomes synthesize proteins that are released into the perinuclear space.
