Etioplasts are an intermediate type of plastid that develop from

proplastid The plastid (Greek: πλαστός; plastós: formed, molded – plural plastids) is a membrane-bound organelle found in the cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. They are considered to be intracellular endosymbiotic cyanob ...

s that have not been exposed to light, and convert into chloroplasts upon exposure to light. They are usually found in stem and leaf tissue of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s (Angiosperms) grown either in complete darkness, or in extremely low-light conditions.

Etymology

The word "

etiolate Etiolation is a process in flowering plants grown in partial or complete absence of light. It is characterized by long, weak stems; smaller leaves due to longer internodes; and a pale yellow color (chlorosis). The development of seedlings in t ...

d" (from French word étioler — "straw") was first coined by Erasmus Darwin in 1791 to describe the white and straw-like appearance of dark-grown plants. However, the term "etioplast" did not exist until 1967 when it was invented by John T. O. Kirk and Richard A. E. Tilney-Bassett to distinguish etioplasts from proplastids, their precursors.

Structure

Etioplasts are characterized by the absence of chlorophyll and the presence of a complicated structure called a prolamellar body (PLB). Usually, a single one is present in each etioplast. PLB is composed of symmetrically arranged, tetrahedrally-branched

tubule In biology, a tubule is a general term referring to small tube or similar type of structure. Specifically, tubule can refer to: * a small tube or fistular structure * a minute tube lined with glandular epithelium * any hollow cylindrical body stru ...

s and may contain ribosomes and plastoglobules inside. The latter are rich with

carotenoids Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, co ...

, especially

lutein Lutein (;"Lutein"

violaxanthin Violaxanthin is a xanthophyll pigment with an orange color found in a variety of plants. Violaxanthin is the product of the epoxidation of zeaxanthin where the oxygen atoms are from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Such ROS's arise when a plant ...

, which may help in transition to chloroplasts. Due to the higher presence of carotenoids than protochlorophyllide, etiolated leaves appear pale yellow instead of just white.

Transition to chloroplast

Every PLB contains protochlorophyllide which is rapidly converted into

chlorophyllide Chlorophyllide ''a'' and Chlorophyllide ''b'' are the biosynthetic precursors of chlorophyll ''a'' and chlorophyll ''b'' respectively. Their propionic acid groups are converted to phytyl esters by the enzyme chlorophyll synthase in the final s ...

by the

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products ...

protochlorophyllide reductase In enzymology, protochlorophyllide reductases (POR) are enzymes that catalyze the conversion from protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide ''a''. They are oxidoreductases participating in the biosynthetic pathway to chlorophylls. There are t ...

upon exposure to light. Following this, chlorophyllide is converted to chlorophyll through enzymatic processes. This is stimulated by plant growth hormones:

cytokinin Cytokinins (CK) are a class of plant hormones that promote cell division, or cytokinesis, in plant roots and shoots. They are involved primarily in cell growth and differentiation, but also affect apical dominance, axillary bud growth, and le ...

s and

gibberellin Gibberellins (GAs) are plant hormones that regulate various developmental processes, including stem elongation, germination, dormancy, flowering, flower development, and leaf and fruit senescence. GAs are one of the longest-known classes of plan ...

s. The structure of PLB itself is almost immediately disrupted, and

thylakoid Thylakoids are membrane-bound compartments inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. They are the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. Thylakoids consist of a thylakoid membrane surrounding a thylakoid lumen. Chloroplast thyl ...

and grana development is started in reaction to light:

photosystem I Photosystem I (PSI, or plastocyanin–ferredoxin oxidoreductase) is one of two photosystems in the photosynthetic light reactions of algae, plants, and cyanobacteria. Photosystem I is an integral membrane protein complex that us ...

activates within 15 minutes, photosystem II within 2 hours, and after approximately 3 hours an etioplast is completely converted into a functional chloroplast. The transitional stage between an etioplast and a chloroplast which still contains small PLBs interconnected with developing thylakoids, but already has chlorophyll is sometimes called an "etio-chloroplast". Etioplasts were once thought to be laboratory artefacts not found in nature, but that has since been disproven: in cabbage heads, developing inner leaves contain etioplasts due to being shaded by outer leaves; seedlings that naturally germinate underground may also contain etioplasts.

References

{{Reflist Organelles Plant physiology

Etymology

Structure

Transition to chloroplast

See also

References