Chromoplast | EPFL Graph Search

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Chromoplasts are plastids, heterogeneous organelles responsible for pigment synthesis and storage in specific photosynthetic eukaryotes. It is thought that like all other plastids including chloroplasts and leucoplasts they are descended from symbiotic prokaryotes. Chromoplasts are found in fruits, flowers, roots, and stressed and aging leaves, and are responsible for their distinctive colors. This is always associated with a massive increase in the accumulation of carotenoid pigments. The conversion of chloroplasts to chromoplasts in ripening is a classic example. They are generally found in mature tissues and are derived from preexisting mature plastids. Fruits and flowers are the most common structures for the biosynthesis of carotenoids, although other reactions occur there as well including the synthesis of sugars, starches, lipids, aromatic compounds, vitamins, and hormones. The DNA in chloroplasts and chromoplasts is identical. One subtle difference in DNA was found after a liquid chromatography analysis of tomato chromoplasts was conducted, revealing increased cytosine methylation. Chromoplasts synthesize and store pigments such as orange carotene, yellow xanthophylls, and various other red pigments. As such, their color varies depending on what pigment they contain. The main evolutionary purpose of chromoplasts is probably to attract pollinators or eaters of colored fruits, which help disperse seeds. However, they are also found in roots such as carrots and sweet potatoes. They allow the accumulation of large quantities of water-insoluble compounds in otherwise watery parts of plants. When leaves change color in the autumn, it is due to the loss of green chlorophyll, which unmasks preexisting carotenoids. In this case, relatively little new carotenoid is produced—the change in plastid pigments associated with leaf senescence is somewhat different from the active conversion to chromoplasts observed in fruit and flowers. There are some species of flowering plants that contain little to no carotenoids.

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