What is the significance of Golgi apparatus?

Golgi apparatus is an important organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Also known as Golgi complex, this organelle functions as a protein processing and dispatching center. 

Proteins synthesized in the smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum break off into tiny bubble-like vesicles that travel towards the Golgi apparatus through the cytoplasm. On reaching the Golgi apparatus, the vesicles fuse with the organelle’s membranes and release their internally stored proteins and lipids into it.  The Golgi apparatus modifies these proteins by adding molecules or chopping tiny pieces off the ends. When it finishes processing the proteins, the Golgi apparatus sorts them out, packages them and extrudes them in a new vesicle to be transported to their relevant destinations inside or outside the cell. 

Golgi apparatus also helps in the synthesis of glycolipids and sphingomyelin, the creation of lysosomes, and the transport of lipids around the cell. In plant cells, Golgi apparatus acts as the site for the synthesis of the complex polysaccharides of the cell wall.