What are chloroplasts, where did they come from and what are they good for?
We all know that chloroplasts are the site for photosynthesis in plants and what makes plants autotrophic. It allows the plant to be known as the ‘producer’ in a food chain. Being such an essential part of the plant cell, the question arises, where exactly did it come from in the first place: has it been a part of the plant cell since the beginning of time or did it evolve from some other species, and how is it able to carry out a process without w which there would probably no life on earth.
What are chloroplasts?
A Chloroplast has two membranes, the outer membrane which has eukaryotic origin, which is freely permeable and the inner membrane which has bacterial origin, which is partially permeable. Thus, it is said to be a double membrane bounded structure. It has a complex membrane system within its boundaries known as thylakoid membranes. It is …show more content…
They are able to absorb light of varying wavelengths very efficiently as they are disk-shaped cells with a diameter of about ten micrometers and a mere thickness of one micrometer. The complex network of membrane, the thylakoid membranes are held in stacks which are interconnected by fine tubular structures known as lamellae. These membranes are responsible for the absorption of light as they contain the essential pigments needed for this like chlorophyll, xanthophylls and carotenoids. Stroma, on the other hand, has a high proportion of proteins and enzymes. This is also the region of the organelle where the energy released during the light dependent reactions, is stored in the form of chemical energy present in carbohydrates. Not only is the stroma responsible for the light independent reactions like the Calvin cycle, it is also the location of the genomic content of the organelle i.e the DNA of the chloroplasts. This DNA code for many of the essential chloroplast
We all know that chloroplasts are the site for photosynthesis in plants and what makes plants autotrophic. It allows the plant to be known as the ‘producer’ in a food chain. Being such an essential part of the plant cell, the question arises, where exactly did it come from in the first place: has it been a part of the plant cell since the beginning of time or did it evolve from some other species, and how is it able to carry out a process without w which there would probably no life on earth.
What are chloroplasts?
A Chloroplast has two membranes, the outer membrane which has eukaryotic origin, which is freely permeable and the inner membrane which has bacterial origin, which is partially permeable. Thus, it is said to be a double membrane bounded structure. It has a complex membrane system within its boundaries known as thylakoid membranes. It is …show more content…
They are able to absorb light of varying wavelengths very efficiently as they are disk-shaped cells with a diameter of about ten micrometers and a mere thickness of one micrometer. The complex network of membrane, the thylakoid membranes are held in stacks which are interconnected by fine tubular structures known as lamellae. These membranes are responsible for the absorption of light as they contain the essential pigments needed for this like chlorophyll, xanthophylls and carotenoids. Stroma, on the other hand, has a high proportion of proteins and enzymes. This is also the region of the organelle where the energy released during the light dependent reactions, is stored in the form of chemical energy present in carbohydrates. Not only is the stroma responsible for the light independent reactions like the Calvin cycle, it is also the location of the genomic content of the organelle i.e the DNA of the chloroplasts. This DNA code for many of the essential chloroplast