The Golgi apparatus is a vital cellular organelle that functions primarily as a processing, sorting, and shipping center for proteins and lipids received from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Its main roles include the following:

• Protein Modification: Proteins arriving from the ER undergo further modifications in the Golgi, such as glycosylation (adding or trimming carbohydrate groups), phosphorylation, and formation of proteoglycans. These modifications help determine the protein’s final destination and function within or outside the cell

• Sorting and Packaging: After modification, the Golgi sorts these proteins and lipids and packages them into vesicles. These vesicles then transport their cargo to specific destinations like lysosomes, the plasma membrane, or secretion outside the cell

• Lipid Processing: The Golgi is involved in lipid transport and modification, including the synthesis of glycolipids and sphingomyelin, which are important components of cell membranes

• Formation of Lysosomes: The Golgi apparatus helps form lysosomes by tagging proteins with specific markers (e.g., mannose-6-phosphate) that direct them to lysosomes

Structurally, the Golgi consists of flattened membrane-bound sacs called cisternae, organized into distinct regions (cis, medial, trans, and trans- Golgi network) that each carry out specific steps in processing and sorting

. In summary, the Golgi apparatus acts like a cellular post office or factory: it receives newly made proteins and lipids, modifies and processes them, then sorts and dispatches them to their correct cellular or extracellular destinations