Difference Between Leucoplast and Chloroplast

Plants have two types of plastids: leucoplasts and chloroplasts. They serve a specific purpose in plants. Moreover, in plants, leucoplasts are a form of plastid that stores nutrients such as starches, lipids, and proteins, whereas chloroplasts are responsible for photosynthesis. Plastids in plants are divided into three categories. Plants have three types of cells: leucoplasts, chloroplasts, and chromoplasts.

Leucoplast vs Chloroplast

The main difference between Leucoplast and Chloroplast is that the Chloroplasts include colors such as chlorophyll and carotenoids, while leucoplasts do not include any color. Leucoplasts that are concentrated in plant food storage are called leucoplasts. Chloroplasts are specialized plastids with a green coloration. Chromoplasts are multicolored plastids that give petals and other plant components their distinctive colors.

In-plant cells, the leucoplast is a tiny organelle. It’s a sort of plastic that’s designed to store carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids in plants. Leucoplasts have no color. Consequently, they don’t attract or harm pollinators. They are likewise devoid of photosynthetic pigments. Also, some colors are not found in leucoplasts. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fat are all stored in the leucoplast, which is a form of plastid.

Chloroplast is a type of plastid that includes chlorophylls, which are photosynthetic chemicals. Chloroplasts are photosynthetic organelles in plants and are very important organelles. They are the most common type of plastid found in plants. Chloroplasts use the energy of sunlight to produce carbohydrates. Chloroplasts are a form of plastids, which are round, oval, or disc-shaped entities involved in food synthesis and storage.

Comparison Table Between Leucoplast and Chloroplast

What is Leucoplast?

Leucoplast is a type of plastid that stores material in the plant cell. Leucoplasts are non-pigmented plastids, resembling chromoplasts and chloroplasts. That is, they lack colors such as chlorophyll and carotenoids and thus are colorless. Leucoplasts are also found in non-photosynthetic and unexposed portions of plants, such as roots, bulbs, and seeds, due to the absence of these pigments.

Leucoplasts, on the other hand, have a storage role, accumulating starch, lipids, and proteins. Furthermore, starch is stored in amyloplasts, fat is stored in elaioplasts, and proteins are stored in proteinoplasts. In addition, vascular plant chloroplasts generate tannin-filled pockets, changing the chloroplast into a tannosome, a type of leucoplast.

Later, when these areas break apart, a huge vacuole of tannins forms. In addition to their core storage role, some white matter bodies have important metabolic functions, such as fatty acid production. Chloroplasts are plastids that are green in color and include thylakoids and the photosynthetic chemical chlorophyll.

Chloroplasts are important in glucose photosynthetic synthesis. Leucoplasts are smaller and have a more varied shape than chloroplasts. Non-photosynthetic tissues, such as bases, shoots, and seeds, are where they are most commonly found. They’re mostly located in plant tissues that aren’t exposed to the outside.

What is Chloroplast?

Photosynthesis is carried out by the chloroplast, a green plastid found in plants. Chlorophyll is the most common form of photosynthetic pigment found in many plants and is responsible for the green hue. Even during the light stage of photosynthesis, chlorophylls’ principal role is to gather energy from the sunlight and deposit it in ATP and NADPH molecules.

Even in the dark stages of photosynthesis, the energy molecules produced are used to make glucose by mixing carbon dioxide and water. In addition to photosynthesis, chloroplasts in plants can play additional roles, such as fatty acid biosynthesis, amino synthesis, and immune activity. Inner and outer membranes are two membranes that cover the chloroplast. The stromal, or structure of the chloroplast, contains cylindrical cell bodies grana.

In the stroma of each chloroplast, there may be 10 to 100 grana. Photosynthesis takes place in disc-shaped meninges thylakoids, which are found in grana. Ribosomes, DNA, RNA, and soluble enzymes are all found in chloroplasts, which are required for photosynthesis. Symbiotic interaction between photosynthetic bacteria and higher plants is thought to be the source of chloroplasts.

The existence of two pigments, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, distinguishes chloroplasts from other types of plastids by their green color. One of the functions of this pigment is to harvest light energy for the photosynthetic process. Other pigments, such as carotenoids, are present in chloroplasts as pigment molecules that capture solar energy and transfer it to chlorophyll.

Main Differences Between Leucoplast and Chloroplast

Conclusion

Plastids are small organelles found in the cytoplasm of plant cells. Therefore, according to a previous study, plastids are thought to be descendants of photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria. They have established endosymbiotic interactions with eukaryotic plants and algae. In plants, leucoplasts are engaged in the manufacture of fatty acids like palmitic acid, various amino acids, and porphyrin compounds like heme, whereas chloroplasts are essential in the biosynthesis of fatty acids and amino acids as well as performing an immunological function.

Leucoplast is also colorless because it does not include colors. It can also be found in areas of the plant that aren’t exposed to the sun. Chloroplast, on the other hand, is the plastid responsible for photosynthesis in plants. Chlorophyll and carotenoids, photosynthetic pigments are found in it. Chloroplasts are hence green in color and are found within the cells of the photosynthetic sections of the cell. 

References

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