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Chloroplast: The Structural Site of Photosynthesis

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and algae that conduct photosynthesis. They have an outer and inner membrane that enclose the stroma and thylakoids. Thylakoids are where the light-dependent reactions occur and contain chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight. Thylakoids are stacked into grana to efficiently capture sunlight, and connected by lamellae. The chloroplast performs photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical energy that plants use to grow.

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156 views4 pages

Chloroplast: The Structural Site of Photosynthesis

Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and algae that conduct photosynthesis. They have an outer and inner membrane that enclose the stroma and thylakoids. Thylakoids are where the light-dependent reactions occur and contain chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight. Thylakoids are stacked into grana to efficiently capture sunlight, and connected by lamellae. The chloroplast performs photosynthesis, converting sunlight into chemical energy that plants use to grow.

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NathaliaEicellRoseBueno
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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CHLOROPLAST: THE STRUCTURAL SITE OF

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

I- Introduction
 The term Chloroplast was first described by Nehemiah Grew and Antonie Van
Leeuwenhoek. (the one who invented the microscope)
 The word chloroplast is derived from the Greek word "chloros" meaning
“green" and "plastes" meaning "the one who forms".
 Chlorophyll pigments present in the chloroplast imparts the green color to plants.
 Chloroplasts are present in plants and other eukaryotic organisms that conducts
photosynthesis.

II- What is Chloroplast?


 Chloroplasts are the food producers of the cell. The organelles are only found in
plant cells and some protists such as algae.
 Chloroplasts are the most important plastids (is a major double-membrane organelle and
storage of important chemical compounds used by the cell) found in plant cells because
it converts light energy from the Sun, into sugars that can be used by cells. The entire
process is called photosynthesis and it all depends on the little green chlorophyll
molecules in each chloroplast. 
 Chloroplasts are unique organelles and are said to have originated as endosymbiotic
bacteria.    

Real Structure of Chloroplast


III- The Structure of Chloroplast

 The Three Membranes - the location where the biosynthesis and


accumulation of various lipids take place.
External/ Outer Membrane - It is a semi-porous membrane and is permeable to small
molecules and ions, which diffuses easily. The outer
membrane is not permeable to large proteins.
Intermembrane Space - It is usually a thin intermembrane space about 10-20
nanometers and it is present between the outer and the inner
membrane of the chloroplast. 
Internal/ Inner Membrane - The inner membrane of the chloroplast forms a border to
the stroma. It regulates passage of materials in and out of the
chloroplast. In addition of regulation activity, the
fatty acids, lipids and carotenoids are synthesized in the inner
chloroplast membrane.  
 Stroma- The fluid of the chloroplast surrounding the thylakoid membrane;
involved in the synthesis of organic molecules from carbon dioxide and
water.
 Thylakoidss- Consist of flattened and closed vesicles arranged as membranous network.
- It may be stacked like a neat pile of coins forming grana.
-There may be 40-80 grana in the matrix of a Chloroplast.
-A flattened membrane sac inside the chloroplast, used to convert light
energy into chemical energy

  Thylakoid membrane- is the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis with


the photosynthetic pigments embedded directly in the membrane.

 Lumen- is a continuous aqueous phase enclosed by the thylakoid membrane. It plays an


important role for photophosphorylation  during photosynthesis. During the light
dependent reaction, protons arepumped across the thylakoid membrane into the lumen
making it acidic down to pH 4.

 Granum/Grana - Stacks of membrane-covered thylakoids, joined by lamellae. This


membrane contains the green chlorophyll pigment which is
important for photosynthesis.
 Lamellae- The stacks of thylakoid sacs are connected by lamellae. The lamellae act like
the skeleton of the chloroplast, keeping all of the sacs a safe distance
from each other and maximizing the efficiency of the organelle. If all of the
thylakoids were overlapping and bunched together, there would not be an
efficient way to capture the Sun’s energy. 
 Plastoglobuli- These are osmophilic bodies, lipid rich granules in stroma.
 Chloroplast DNA- Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA)
- also known as plastid DNA (ptDNA).
- Circular double stranded DNA molecule.
- Contains about 100 genes to synthesize proteins

Prepared By:
Nathalia Eicellrose Bueno VIII-Mendel

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