Plastid

A membrane-bound organelle found in plants and algae that makes or stores substances such as sugars, pigments, oils, or starch. Plastids develop from proplastids and can change form as cells develop.

Proplastid: An undifferentiated plastid precursor that develops into specialized plastids. Proplastids give rise to the specialized plastids found in mature plant tissues.
Plastid differentiation: The development of plastids into specialized forms with distinct structures and functions. Differentiation produces plastids suited to photosynthesis, storage, or pigmentation.
Chloroplast: A green plastid that performs photosynthesis in plants and algae. Chloroplasts are the best-known plastids, converting light energy into chemical energy.
Cyanobacteria: A group of bacteria that perform oxygen-producing photosynthesis. Plastids descend from an ancestral cyanobacterium incorporated into a eukaryotic cell.
Carbon fixation: The conversion of inorganic carbon dioxide into organic compounds by living organisms. Photosynthetic plastids fix carbon, supporting plant growth and food webs.
Plastid envelope: The pair of membranes surrounding a plastid and separating it from the cytoplasm. Its two membranes enclose the plastid and regulate exchange with the cell.
Plastid division: The process by which plastids replicate through coordinated division of their membranes and contents. Division increases plastid number within cells and helps pass plastids to daughter cells.
Chromoplast: A plastid that accumulates carotenoid pigments, often giving flowers and fruits yellow, orange, or red colors. Chromoplasts illustrate plastid roles in pigmentation beyond photosynthesis.
Primary endosymbiosis: The incorporation of a free-living bacterium by a eukaryotic cell, followed by an enduring cellular partnership. This event established the first plastids in eukaryotic lineages.
Chloroplast inheritance: The transmission of chloroplasts from parent cells to offspring, often through one parent. Plastids can carry hereditary information outside the nuclear genome.

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