Chloroplasts Genesis Castillo

Jerry Skinner

Biology 1125

October 31,2014

What is Chloroplast?

Chloroplast are organelles that live in plants and algal cells. Chloroplast has many roles but its main role is to conduct photosynthesis

• “where the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, and stores it in the energy storage molecules ATP and NADPH while freeing oxygen from water.” (Biology4kids)

Chloroplast basically turns the energy from the sun to sugar that the cells may use.

What does chloroplast consist of?

Chloroplast has:

• Outer membrane - The outside of the chloroplast is protected by a smooth outer membrane.

• Inner membrane - Just inside the outer membrane is the inner membrane which controls which molecules can pass in

and out of the chloroplast. The outer membrane, the inner membrane, and the fluid between them make up the

chloroplast envelope.

• Stroma - The stroma is the liquid inside the chloroplast where other structures such as the thylakoids float.

Continues..

• Thylakoids - Floating in the stroma is a collection of sacks containing chlorophyll called the thylakoids. The thylakoids are often arranged into stacks called granum as shown in the picture below. The granum are

connected by disc-like structures called lamella.

• Pigments - Pigments give the chloroplast and the plant its color. The most common pigment is chlorophyll which gives plants their green

color. Chlorophyll helps to absorb energy from sunlight.

• Other - Chloroplasts have their own DNA and ribosomes for making proteins from RNA.

• (Biology4kids)

Details about chloroplast

“Chloroplasts are the food producers of the cell.” There can be several other chlorophyll during

photosynthesis. it is also one of three different types of plastids.

Plastids- a major organelle found in the cells of plants and algae ; chloroplast is the most important plastids found in a cell.

Facts about chloroplast

They contain multiple copies of circular pieces of DNA called plasmids They contain 120 genes, chloroplast makes about 10

percent of the protein it needs to function.

Chloroplast make their own ribosomes into protein. It can become other types of organelles. “They can degrade their thylakoid membrane and

become chromoplasts, filling with colorful pigments’ Reason why fruit changes color.

More facts

Chloroplasts helps fight off diseases as part of the cell’s immune system.

They store the energy making amino acids for the cell

• “Simple cells, like those found in algae, may only have one or two chloroplasts. More complex plant cells, however, may contain hundreds.

• Chloroplasts will sometimes move around within the cell in order to position themselves to where they can best absorb sunlight.

• The "chloro" in chloroplast comes from the Greek word chloros (meaning green).

• The most abundant protein in chloroplasts is the protein Rubisco. Rubisco is likely the most abundant protein in the world.”

• (Duckster)

More Facts

• “Human and animal cells do not need chloroplasts because we get our energy from eating and digesting food rather than through

photosynthesis.

• Scientists estimate that there are around 500,000 chloroplasts in a single square millimeter of a leaf.

• There are actually different colors of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll A is the most common type and is green. Chlorophyll C is a golden or brownish

color.”

• (Duckster)

What did I learn that you should too…

Chloroplast is not just a green little thing that floats around plants. They actually have many jobs like produce sugar (photosynthesis) and help plants with their immune system.

Chloroplast also has many different parts to it and many different functions.

Chloroplast is not only green they have different colors.

ONLY PLANTS HAVE CHLOROPLAST.

Doing research I saw a lot of mistakes, people trying to prove that animals and humans have chloroplast.

Work cited

http://biology.tutorvista.com/animal-and-plant-cells/chloroplasts.html

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_chloroplast.html

http://education.seattlepi.com/chloroplasts-4985.html

http://www.ducksters.com/science/biology/cell_chloroplasts.php