In this video, we're going to talk about mitochondria structure. Mitochondria in textbooks are always shown with the same typical shape, which is this bean type of shape that you see down below in our image. In reality, it turns out that mitochondria can vary in their shape, and they're not always bean-shaped; they can be all kinds of different shapes. Mitochondria also have their own set of ribosomes, as well as their own set of DNA. The ribosomes are independent from the ribosomes found throughout the rest of the cell, and the DNA found in the mitochondria is also independent of the DNA found in the rest of the cell, such as the nuclear DNA.

Now, when it comes to mitochondrial structure, they actually have several different structures and regions that we should be aware of. The first thing that you should know about their structure is that mitochondria have two membranes, not just one. They have an outer membrane and a folded inner membrane. The folds in the inner membrane are called cristae.

We'll be able to see that down below when we get to our image. The region between the two membranes, the outer mitochondrial membrane and the inner mitochondrial membrane, is called the intermembrane space. We'll also be able to see that down below in our image. Of course, the matrix specifically refers to another region within the mitochondria, located within the inner membrane. This inner region contains enzymes, ribosomes, and mitochondrial DNA.

Let's take a look at our image down below to get a better understanding of mitochondrial structure. The mitochondria have two membranes: an outer membrane and a folded inner membrane. The outer membrane, shown here in red, is more straightforward with no folds. The inner membrane, highlighted here in green, shows the structure with all its folds.

I'm going to use a different color so you can see it a little bit easier. You can see that it creates all of these folds here, and the inner membrane is not just rounded and smooth; it's highly folded. These folds in the inner membrane are called cristae.

The space between the outer membrane and the inner membrane is called the intermembrane space. It's the region between the two membranes. The matrix refers to the region within the inner membrane, colored blue in this image. The matrix contains enzymes, ribosomes, and mitochondrial DNA. If we zoom into the matrix, you'll notice it contains enzymes, depicted in the image, and ribosomes, represented as green circles, and it also contains mitochondrial DNA, which is circular in shape. This concludes our discussion on mitochondrial structure, and we'll be able to get some practice applying the concepts that we've learned as we move forward in our course. See you all in our next video.