49 Fun Facts About Chloroplast To Help You Understand The Phenomenon

Chloroplast is the organelle present in the plant cell and various other photosynthetic eukaryotes, and they are filled with a green pigment, known as chlorophyll.

Chloroplasts are specialized structures found in plant cells that convert energy from the sun and carbon dioxide into usable energy for plants. Photosynthesis is the name for this process.

Chlorophyll helps in capturing the sunlight energy from the sun and storing it later in small molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Later, this ATP gets combined with carbon dioxide to form glucose (sugars) for the plant cells to prepare food.

Other pigments like xanthophylls and carotenoids are also present in the chloroplast of the plant cell along with chlorophyll. A photosynthetic eukaryotic cell's chloroplast is one of its organelles. It is a kind of plastid (the other types are chromoplasts and leucoplasts).

Chloroplasts' color, structure, shape, and function distinguish them from other plastids. The chloroplasts are green in color due to the presence of chlorophyll pigments.

The chloroplast consists of an envelope that is made by all three of them: the outer membrane, inner membrane, and the fluid present in the intermembrane space. Chlorophyll a and b are the two most frequent kinds.

Chlorophyll C, D, and F are other chlorophyll pigments. All chloroplasts contain chlorophyll a.

However, the other kinds are present (in various concentrations) depending on the species. The shape looks like a lens or a disc in vascular plants, and the size is around 0.19 in (0.4 cm) long and 0.1 in (0.2 cm) wide. The form of algae can vary.

They may be circular, oval, or tubular in shape. Animal cells do not perform photosynthesis.

Are you interested in plants and want to increase your understanding of them? Then you must also read about the function of chloroplast and facts about photosynthesis here at Kidadl.

Facts About Chloroplast

Apart from the many characteristics of chlorophyll, there are many other facts about chlorophyll as well.

These plant cells are dice-like with microscopic size, diameter, and thickness. Because of having this shape, they become more efficient at absorbing light of varying wavelengths.

Thylakoids stacks are interconnected by small tubular structures called lamellae. The stroma has abundant protein and co enzymes. It is the stroma in the plant cells where the energy actually gets released during light reactions and later gets collected as carbohydrates.

Stroma also has the DNA of a chloroplast. The stroma is the place where the energy gets released when the light reactions take place.

This energy is in the form of carbohydrates. Stroma also has the DNA of a chloroplast.

The chloroplast consists of an envelope that is made by all three of them, the outer membrane, inner membrane, and the fluid present in between the intermembrane space. P700 and P680 are two chlorophyll-binding proteins that are present in the thylakoids of chloroplast.

Not just photosynthesis, but also chloroplast are the site of formation of oils and plant fats. There are approximately 60-70 chloroplasts present in a single photosynthetic cell. Chloroplasts are also called the ‘energy factory’ of plants as they convert sunlight and carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis.

Chloroplast consists of a destructive program. When a pathogen enters chlorophyll, the chloroplast undergoes PCD programmed cell death which kills the pathogen in the cell.

Chloroplast: Its Function and Location In A Plant

Chloroplast Function: Thylakoids and stroma play very important roles.

The thylakoids are the places where light reactions take place inside the grana of the plant cells, and the stroma is the place where dark reactions, synthesis of starch, fatty acids, and sugar take place. Light reactions are like a series of reactions that require sunlight and form energy molecules of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).

Dark reactions, or Calvin Cycle, are so-called because they do not require light and they make simple sugars by using water and carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis for living organisms.

Location: Chloroplasts are found in all environmentally friendly cells of plants and algae. Chloroplasts can also be found in non-green photosynthetic cells, such as the brownish blades of giant kelp or the crimson fallen leaves of some plants.

Depending on the type of plant, the chloroplast can be found in the cytoplasm of the cells of plant leaves and other components.

Actually, you can spot where the chloroplasts are in a plant since chloroplasts are what give the plant its green color. Chloroplasts are found anywhere there is green on a plant and are the site of photosynthesis.

Structure Of A Chloroplast

The majority of the chloroplasts have an oval shape blob, but there are other shapes as well, like cups, ribbons, or stars. Some of them are comparatively smaller than the cells, but some chloroplasts take up a lot of space inside the plant cell.

The outer membrane of the chloroplast protects it and gives it a boundary-like coverage. The inner membrane is just inside the outer membrane that controls the movement and selection of molecules to allow them inside the chloroplast.

The chloroplast consists of an envelope that is made by all three of them: the outer membrane and inner membrane, and the fluid present in between the intermembrane space. The liquid inside the chloroplast is called the stroma. In the stroma, structures like thylakoids float.

Thylakoids are a collection of sacks that have chlorophyll molecules. They are arranged in such a way that they are called granum together.

This granum is connected to the lamella, which is a disc-like structure. Pigments present are responsible for giving color to the green plants. Here, the most important pigment is chlorophyll, which gives green color to the plant.

Chlorophyll also helps in absorbing light energy from sunlight. They have their own ribosomes and DNA to make protein from RNA.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for fun facts about chloroplast, then why not take a look at banana plant facts or fun photosynthesis activities.