What's The Function Of Chloroplast? You Should Know This!

Plants are a fascinating form of life that we share the planet with.

The ability of a plant to feed off the carbon dioxide we release and in turn provide us with oxygen is integral to our ecosystems. While plants did not evolve to move as animals did, plants are impeccable machines in their own right, with the marvelous ability to turn solar or light energy into chemical energy.

By facilitating this process, they are actually responsible for sustaining life on Earth. Chloroplasts are cells that are specialized within the plant to accomplish the photosynthetic process.

Chloroplasts are one of the plastids present in plant cells. There are three different types of plastids in plant cells - Chromoplasts, Leucoplasts, and Chloroplasts.

These plastids present in the plant cell play a major role in the manufacturing as well as the storage of food. They are double-membraned cell organelles.

The presence and the origin of chloroplasts were first suggested by Konstantin Mereschkowski, a Russian biologist. But it was Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper who observed, in the year 1883, that chloroplasts are a close relative of the cyanobacteria and that chloroplasts evolved.

If you enjoy reading this article, be sure to check out other amazing articles by Kidadl such as why do leaves fall and why do tomato leaves curl.

Weird Functions Of Chloroplast

Before we rush to explain the function of chloroplasts it may be worthwhile to explore the workings of this cell better. The first thing to acknowledge is the inaccurate label that it is a cell.

The chloroplast is in fact an organelle within the cells of plants which is the general sight for the process of photosynthesis. Chloroplast contains a high concentration of chlorophyll, a green photosynthetic pigment that absorbs light energy.

Chloroplasts are oval or round in shape and have a distinct green color. They can be found in the various guard cells located in the plant leaves.

This green color arises due to the presence of chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B pigments. In addition to those, the Chloroplasts also include carotenoids which too trap solar energy and pass it to chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is anywhere where there is green tissue, but this is predominantly found in the parenchyma cell of the leaf. Chloroplasts are amazing and perhaps a big reason why many humans exist at all.

With such a big role to play it is hard to label any of its functions as weird. Keep reading to learn about its correctly labeled useful functions.

Useful Functions Of Chloroplast

Chloroplast serves to fulfill two main functions. The first is the ability of this organelle to conduct photosynthesis.

By photosynthesis, it means that the chloroplast is responsible for converting light energy from the sun to a form of stable chemical energy. The second function of the chloroplast is to create organic compounds such as fatty acids and amino acids. The ability to produce amino acids and the creation of these components is critical in chloroplast membrane production.

Chloroplast contains a genome separate from the one in the cell nucleus. The chloroplast, circular DNA, was discovered biochemically and using electron microscopy in 1959 and 1962 respectively.

A helpful tangent at this point would be to explore the structure and different components of the chloroplast that enable its functioning. The chloroplast comprises an inner membrane and an outer membrane. There is some empty space present between the inner and the outer membrane. Within the chloroplast are the grana and stroma.

The envelope (outer membrane) is the semi-porous membrane that lets in small molecules and ions.

Intermembrane space is the empty space between the outer and inner membrane which is as thin as 10-20 nanometers.

The inner membrane forms the border to the stroma. This membrane is critical to maintaining the regulation of the passage of fatty acids, lipids, carotenoids among others.

Chloroplasts also consist of a third internal membrane which is known as the thylakoid membrane. This thylakoid membrane is extensively folded and resembles flattened disks.

Grana is the name for stacks of thylakoids that contains the chlorophyll pigments in higher plants, which is the specific pigment that is necessary for photosynthesis. The thylakoids give the platform for the light reactions for the process of photosynthesis to take place.

Stroma on the other hand is the dense protein-rich fluid within the chloroplast, inside which all other parts like the thylakoid system are suspended. The chloroplast genome can also be found.

This is also the site where carbon dioxide is converted to carbohydrates. Along with containing multiple copies of the chloroplast genome, it also contains metabolic enzymes that further make complex organic molecules. These molecules can be used to store energy.

Amazing Functions Of Chloroplast

The function of the chloroplast does not have to be anything new to be deemed amazing. Consider the fact that no animal cells among the millions of animals on the planet have the ability to capture light energy and convert it into chemical energy.

If it is not clear enough, the fact that green plants are solar-powered and gives all the energy that humans have. The reason for that is that all humans or even animals eat plants to use that stored chemical energy to sustain life functions.

You may think carnivores are an exception but even predators feed on animals that ultimately feed on plants that are solar-powered.

The ability of this plant cell is so amazing that we owe its functions our entire existence. More specifically within the chloroplast, plastids, the chlorophyll is responsible for photosynthesis.

Cool Functions Of Chloroplast

The photosynthetic cyanobacteria are closely related to the chloroplasts. In the endosymbiotic theory, mitochondria refer to the energy-producing organelles present in the eukaryotic cells, and the chloroplasts are descendants of such organisms like the photosynthetic cyanobacteria that used to be engulfed by a eukaryotic cell.

Therefore, similar to mitochondria, chloroplasts too contain their own DNA. Cyanobacteria can also be referred to as blue or green algae.

Chloroplasts have the ability to move around and circulate within different plant cells. They can also pinch in two for reproduction.

The carbon dioxide that is obtained from the air, is used up by the chloroplasts to generate sugar as well as carbon during the dark reaction of photosynthesis or the Calvin cycle. The dark reaction photosynthesis, light-independent photosynthesis, or simply the Calvin cycle is the conversion of carbon dioxide from the air into carbohydrates.

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