Delphinidin

Stacks of flattened discs or vesicles known as dictyosomes may be scattered throughout the cytoplasm of a cell. Dictyosomes are often bounded by branching tubules that originate from the endoplasmic reticulum, but are not directly connected to it. Five to eight dictyosomes per cell are typical, but up to 30 or more may be found in cells of simpler organisms.

Aggregations of dictyosomes, constituting the Golgi apparatus, occur in protein-secreting animal cells and a few plant cells with similar function. In animal cells, the term Golgi body is used to describe dictyosomes, which are named after Camillo Golgi, who discovered the Golgi apparatus in 1898.

Dictyosomes are involved in the modification of carbohydrates attached to proteins that are synthesized and packaged in the endoplasmic reticulum. Complex polysaccharides are also assembled within the dictyosomes and collect in small vesicles (tiny, blisterlike bodies) that are pinched off from the margins. These vesicles migrate to the plasma membrane, fuse with it, and secrete their contents outside of the cell.

Substances secreted by vesicles may include cell-wall polysaccharides, floral nectars, and essential oils found in herbs. The enzymes needed for the packaging of proteins are produced by the endoplasmic reticulum and further modified within the dictyosomes. One might describe dictyosomes as collecting, packaging, and delivery centers or, perhaps, as “post offices” of the cell.