engleski

Development of photosynthetic activity in plastids of greening roots

The roots of higher plants are organs specifically adapted for anchoring the plant and absorbing water and solutes from the soil. They contain non-chlorophyllous leucoplasts. However, the roots of some vascular plants turn green when kept in the light. Herein, we investigate root-greening in maize, wheat, bean, potato, and carrot. In all these cases chlorophyll accumulation started in the oldest cortical cells around the central cylinder. Greening root plastids originated from leucoplasts, a differentiated plastid type. Electron micrographs confirmed that the inner membrane of the leucoplast envelope was the site of origin of new thylakoids, which then gradually became photosynthetically active. Once the roots had regreened, their chloroplasts were normally built with their ultrastructure resembling those of green leaves.

Root ; plastid ; leucoplast ; chloroplast ; photosynthesis ; regreening

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