Question

Draw a well labeled diagram of structure of chloroplast?

Answer 1

Hint The chloroplast has an inner as well as outer membrane with an empty intermediate space in between its membrane. Inside the chloroplast structure there are stacks of thylakoids, commonly known as grana, as well as stroma, the dense fluid inside of the chloroplast. These thylakoids include the chlorophyll that is essential for the plant to go through photosynthesis

Complete answer:
Chloroplasts are found in all higher spices of plants. It is an oval or biconvex structure, found within the mesophyll of the plant cell. The size of the chloroplast mostly varies between 4-6 µm in diameter as well as 1-3 µm in thickness. The structure of chloroplast is considered to be double-membrane organelle with the presence of outer, inner along with inter-membrane space. There are two distinct regions inside a chloroplast namely- grana and stroma.

The chloroplast structure consists of the following parts:
> MEMBRANE ENVELOPE
The membrane envelope comprises inner and outer lipid bilayer membranes. The inner membrane separates the stroma from the intermembrane space.

> INTERMEMBRANE SPACE
The space between inner and outer membranes is known as intermembrane space.

> THYLAKOID SYSTEM
The system is suspended in the stroma. It is a collection of membranous sacs called thylakoids. It is the sight for the process of light-dependent reactions of the photosynthesis process. The thylakoids are arranged in stacks known as grana and each grana contains around 10-20 thylakoids.

> STROMA
It is a colourless, alkaline, aqueous, protein-rich fluid present within the inner membrane of the chloroplast present surrounding the grana is called stroma.

> GRANA
These are the sites of conversion of light energy into chemical energy known as Grana.

> CHLOROPHYLL
It is a green photosynthetic pigment that helps in the process of photosynthesis.

Note: Chloroplast contains a green pigment called chlorophyll which gives leaves and stem green colour. One of the most important functions of chloroplast is the production of food by the process of photosynthesis.