Plastid

A plastid, pl. plastids, is a membrane-bound organelle found in the cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms; (from Ancient Greek πλαστός (plastós) 'formed, molded'). They are considered to be intracellular endosymbiotic cyanobacteria.

Examples of plastids include chloroplasts (used for photosynthesis), chromoplasts (used for pigment synthesis and storage, leucoplasts (non-pigmented plastids that can sometimes differentiate), and apicoplasts (non-photosynthetic plastids of apicomplexa derived from secondary endosymbiosis).

The event which led to permanent endosymbiosis in the Archaeplastida clade (of land plants, red algae, and green algae) probably occurred with a cyanobiont (a symbiotic cyanobacteria) related to the genus Gloeomargarita, around 1.5 billion years ago. A later primary endosymbiosis event occurred in photosynthetic Paulinella amoeboids about 90–140 million years ago. This plastid belongs to the "PS-clade" (of the cyanobacteria genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus). Secondary and tertiary endosymbiosis has also occurred, in a wide variety of organisms; additionally, some organisms sequester ingested plastids in a process that is known as kleptoplasty.

A. F. W. Schimper was the first to name and provide a clear definition of plastids. They often contain pigments used in photosynthesis, and the types of pigments in a plastid determine the cell's color. They are also the site of manufacture and storage of important chemical compounds used by the cells of autotrophic eukaryotes. They possess a double-stranded DNA molecule that is circular, like that of the circular chromosome of prokaryotic cells. Even in organisms where the plastids have lost their photosynthetic properties, the plastid is kept because of its essential role in the production of molecules like the isoprenoids.