Chloroplasts Definition
The word chloroplast is derived from the Greek words chloros, which
means green, and plastes, which means “the one who forms”.
Chloroplasts are a type of membrane-bound plastids that contain a
network of membranes embedded into a liquid matrix and harbor
the photosynthetic pigment called chlorophyll.
It is this pigment that imparts a green color to plant parts and serves
to capture light energy.
Chloroplasts can be found in the cells of the mesophyll in plant
leaves.
There are usually 30-40 per mesophyll cells.
Figure: Diagram of Chloroplasts
Structure of Chloroplasts
Chloroplasts found in higher plants are generally biconvex or
planoconvex shaped.
In different plants, however, chloroplasts may have different shapes,
varying from spheroid, filamentous saucer-shaped, discoid or
ovoid-shaped.
They can be found in the cells of the mesophyll in plant leaves. They
are vesicular and have a colorless center.
The average size of the chloroplast is 4-6 µ in diameter and 1-3 µ
in thickness.
The chloroplast has an inner and outer membrane with an empty
intermediate space in between. Inside the chloroplast are stacks of
thylakoids, called grana, as well as stroma, the dense fluid inside of the
chloroplast. These thylakoids contain the chlorophyll that is necessary for
the plant to go through photosynthesis. The space the chlorophyll fills is
called the thylakoid space.
A chloroplast thus has the following parts:
1. Envelope (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 larger
proteins.
2. Intermembrane Space
It is usually a thin inter-membrane space about 10-20 nanometers and it is
present between the outer and the inner membrane of the chloroplast.
3. Inner membrane
The inner membrane of the chloroplast forms a border to the stroma. It
regulates the passage of materials in and out of the chloroplast. In addition
to regulation activity, fatty acids, lipids, and carotenoids are synthesized in
the inner chloroplast membrane.
4. Stroma
Stroma is an alkaline, aqueous fluid that is protein-rich and is present within
the inner membrane of the chloroplast. The space outside the thylakoid
space is called the stroma. The chloroplast DNA chloroplast ribosomes and
the thylakoid system, starch granules and many proteins are found floating
around the stroma.
5. Thylakoid System
The thylakoid system is suspended in the stroma. The thylakoid system is a
collection of membranous sacs called thylakoids. The chlorophyll is found in
the thylakoids and is the sight for the process of light reactions of
photosynthesis to happen. The thylakoids are arranged in stacks known as
grana. Each granum contains around 10-20 thylakoids.
Peripheral Reticulum
The chloroplasts of certain plants contain an additional set of membranous
tubules called peripheral reticulum that originates from the inner
membrane of the envelope. Tiny vesicles bud off from the inner membrane
of the chloroplast and assemble to form the tubules of the peripheral
reticulum.
Functions of Chloroplasts
Chloroplasts are the sites for photosynthesis, which comprises a set
of light-dependent and light-independent reactions to harness
solar energy and convert it into chemical energy.
The components of chloroplast participate in several regulatory
functions of the cell as well as in photorespiration.
Chloroplasts also provide diverse metabolic activities for plant cells,
including the synthesis of fatty acids, membrane lipids, isoprenoids,
tetrapyrroles, starch, and hormones.
Plants lack specialized immune cells—all plant cells participate in the
plant response.
The chloroplasts with the nucleus and cell membrane and ER are the
key organelles of pathogen defence.
Chloroplasts can serve as cellular sensors.
Chloroplast DNA & its significance
Chloroplasts are roughly 1–2 μm (1 μm = 0.001 mm) thick and 5–7 μm in diameter.
They are enclosed in a chloroplast envelope, which consists of a double membrane
with outer and inner layers, between which is a gap called the intermembrane space.
A third, internal membrane, extensively folded and characterized by the presence of
closed disks (or thylakoids), is known as the thylakoid membrane. In most higher
plants, the thylakoids are arranged in tight stacks called grana (singular granum).
Grana are connected by stromal lamellae, extensions that run from one granum,
through the stroma, into a neighbouring granum. The thylakoid membrane envelops
a central aqueous region known as the thylakoid lumen. The space between the inner
membrane and the thylakoid membrane is filled with stroma, a matrix containing
dissolved enzymes, starch granules, and copies of the chloroplast genome.
The photosynthetic machinery
Fig: chemiosmosis in chloroplasts
The thylakoid membrane houses chlorophylls and different protein complexes,
including photosystem I, photosystem II, and ATP (adenosine triphosphate)
synthase, which are specialized for light-dependent photosynthesis.
When sunlight strikes the thylakoids, the light energy excites chlorophyll pigments,
causing them to give up electrons. The electrons then enter the electron transport
chain, a series of reactions that ultimately drives the phosphorylation of adenosine
diphosphate (ADP) to the energy-rich storage compound ATP. Electron transport
also results in the production of the reducing agent nicotinamide adenine
dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH).
ATP and NADPH are used in the light-independent reactions (dark reactions) of
photosynthesis, in which carbon dioxide and water are assimilated into
organic compounds. The light-independent reactions of photosynthesis are carried
out in the chloroplast stroma, which contains the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco). Rubisco catalyzes the first step of carbon fixation
in the Calvin cycle (also called Calvin-Benson cycle), the primary pathway of carbon
transport in plants. Among so-called C4 plants, the initial carbon fixation step and the
Calvin cycle are separated spatially—carbon fixation occurs via phosphoenolpyruvate
(PEP) carboxylation in chloroplasts located in the mesophyll, while malate, the four-
carbon product of that process, is transported to chloroplasts in bundle-sheath cells,
where the Calvin cycle is carried out. C4 photosynthesis attempts to minimize the loss
of carbon dioxide to photorespiration. In plants that use crassulacean
acid metabolism (CAM), PEP carboxylation and the Calvin cycle are separated
temporally in chloroplasts, the former taking place at night and the latter during the
day. The CAM pathway allows plants to carry out photosynthesis with minimal water
loss.
Chloroplast genome and membrane transport
The chloroplast genome typically is circular (though linear forms have also been
observed) and is roughly 120–200 kilobases in length. The modern chloroplast
genome, however, is much reduced in size: over the course of evolution, increasing
numbers of chloroplast genes have been transferred to the genome in
the cell nucleus. As a result, proteins encoded by nuclear DNA have become essential
to chloroplast function. Hence, the outer membrane of the chloroplast, which is
freely permeable to small molecules, also contains transmembrane channels for the
import of larger molecules, including nuclear-encoded proteins. The inner
membrane is more restrictive, with transport limited to certain proteins (e.g.,
nuclear-encoded proteins) that are targeted for passage through transmembrane
channels.
