Cytosol - Properties and Composition

Properties and Composition

The proportion of cell volume that is cytosol varies: for example while this compartment forms the bulk of cell structure in bacteria, in plant cells the main compartment is the large central vacuole. The cytosol consists mostly of water, dissolved ions, small molecules, and large water-soluble molecules (such as proteins). The majority of these non-protein molecules have a molecular mass of less than 300 Da. This mixture of small molecules is extraordinarily complex, as the variety of molecules that are involved in metabolism (the metabolites) is immense. For example up to 200,000 different small molecules might be made in plants, although not all these will be present in the same species, or in a single cell. Indeed, estimates of the number of metabolites in single cells such as E. coli and baker's yeast predict that under 1,000 are made.