> Take away the mitochondria and bacteria… can cells live on their own?

We can live without bateria if we add with some food supplements.

mitochondria isn't considered alive, as a separate organism, AFAIK. It doesn't even have a species name. It's just a component of the host cell.

As I understand it, these new microorganisms are parasites. They're not essential for the functioning of the host cell like mitochondria are.

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_Algernon_ 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

>We can live without bateria if we add with some food supplements.

Citation needed. I would strongly doubt that this is true, because microbes also play a very important role in eg. immune defense. Remove all the mutualitic microbes from a human (eg skin, digestive tract) and the parasitic and pathogenic bacteria will take their place immediately.

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ACCount37 6 days ago | parent [-]

We're talking removing all bacteria. And we know it's possible - even if it can't happen in nature.

There are sterile mice made for scientific uses - 100% mouse, completely microorganism free or your money back. They have health issues, but they can survive and reproduce in the right conditions.

Of course, those "right conditions" include sterile housings and sterilized food, because they'll get contaminated otherwise.

	▲	arcane23 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		>They have health issues That is interesting! Is it because they are missing functions which bacteria offers?

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zelos 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Mitochondria were(are?) bacteria, so technically we can't live without bacteria really.

	▲	IAmBroom 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		AFAIK no examples of independent mitochondria exist in nature nor the lab currently, so they (almost certainly) WERE bacteria (by some definition), but ARE NOT currently. Ship of Theseus, obviously.