What is the likely origin of chloroplasts?
photosynthetic prokaryotes that lived inside eukaryotic cells
Chloroplasts are organelles commonly found in plant cells that are responsible for photosynthesis, the process by which plants harness light energy to produce food. The likely origin of chloroplasts is endosymbiosis, a theory that proposes the creation of eukaryotic cells from the symbiotic relationship between prokaryotic cells. According to this theory, chloroplasts are believed to have originated from a type of photosynthetic cyanobacteria that was engulfed by an ancestral eukaryotic cell. The cyanobacteria survived inside the eukaryotic cell and began to evolve into a new organelle, the chloroplast. Over time, the eukaryotic host cell and the cyanobacteria integrated their genetic materials, leading to a mutually beneficial relationship between the two. This theory is supported by the fact that chloroplasts and cyanobacteria share similar structures and processes, including their own DNA, ribosomes, and the use of chlorophyll for photosynthesis.
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