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A chloroplast (/ ˈ k l ɔːr ə ˌ p l æ s t,-p l ɑː s t /) [1] [2] is a type of organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which capture the energy from sunlight and convert it to chemical energy and release oxygen.
Chloroplasts are diverse in morphology and include many forms, including, cup-shaped (e.g. Chlamydomonas), or axial, or parietal and reticulate (e.g. Oedogonium). [2] In many species, there may be one or more storage bodies called pyrenoids (central proteinaceous body covered with a starch sheath) that are localised around the chloroplast. [5]
Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), also known as plastid DNA (ptDNA) is the DNA located in chloroplasts, which are photosynthetic organelles located within the cells of some eukaryotic organisms. Chloroplasts, like other types of plastid, contain a genome separate from that in the cell nucleus.
The chloroplasts of such eukaryotes are typically surrounded by more than two membranes, reflecting a history of multiple engulfment. The chloroplasts of euglenids , chlorarachniophytes and a small group of dinoflagellates appear to be captured green algae, [ 51 ] whereas those of the remaining photosynthetic eukaryotes, such as heterokont ...
Spirogyra (common names include water silk, mermaid's tresses, and blanket weed) is a genus of filamentous charophyte green algae of the order Zygnematales, named for the helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplasts that is characteristic of the genus. Spirogyra species, of which there are more than 500, are commonly found in freshwater ...
Therefore, chloroplasts may be photosynthetic bacteria that adapted to life inside plant cells. Like mitochondria , chloroplasts still possess their own DNA, separate from the nuclear DNA of their plant host cells and the genes in this chloroplast DNA resemble those in cyanobacteria. [ 211 ]
For example, chloroplasts in plants and green algae have lost all phycobilisomes, the light harvesting complexes found in cyanobacteria, red algae and glaucophytes, but instead contain stroma and grana thylakoids. The glaucocystophycean plastid—in contrast to chloroplasts and rhodoplasts—is still surrounded by the remains of the ...
The glaucophytes are of interest to biologists studying the evolution of chloroplasts as they may be similar to the original algal type that led to the red algae and green plants, i.e. glaucophytes may be basal Archaeplastida. [1] [7] [4] Unlike red and green algae, glaucophytes only have asexual reproduction. [8]