Chloroplast

How it is used

Chloroplasts contain stacks of membranes called thylakoids (one stack is a granum) surrounded by a fluid called the stroma. Like mitochondria, they are thought to descend from bacteria that once lived inside other cells (endosymbiosis).

Example sentences

1. Leaf cells near the surface are packed with chloroplasts to capture as much light as possible.

2. Root cells usually have no chloroplasts because they receive no light.

Common collocations

• chloroplast DNA
• chloroplast genome
• thylakoid membrane
• chloroplast envelope

Related terms

• photosynthesisThe process in which plants, algae and some bacteria use light energy to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a by-product.
• organelleA small structure inside a cell that has a specific job, such as the nucleus, mitochondria or chloroplasts. Most organelles are surrounded by their own membrane.
• mitochondrionAn organelle that releases energy from food molecules and stores it as ATP through aerobic respiration. It has two membranes and its own small set of DNA.
• cell wallA strong, rigid layer outside the cell membrane that supports and protects the cell. Plants, fungi and most bacteria have cell walls, but animal cells do not.
• stomaA tiny pore, mostly on the underside of a leaf, that lets carbon dioxide in and oxygen and water vapor out. Each stoma is opened and closed by two guard cells.

More terms: Plant Biology

• xylem
• phloem
• pollination
• germinate
• transpiration