Question

Do prokaryotes have plastids?

Answer 1

Prokaryotes are unicellular organisms that lack a distinct nucleus as well as membrane bound organelles and other cellular compartments. The commonly known prokaryotes include bacteria and archaea.

Complete answer:
Plastids are specialized organelles that are composed of double layers and found mostly in plants and algae. They are known to contain pigments required for photosynthesis and also pigments that impart colors to the cell. Plastids are of four main types- chloroplast, chromoplast, gerontoplast and leucoplast.

Chloroplasts are organelles consisting of the pigment chlorophyll that helps in photosynthesis and are mostly located on the leaves. Chromoplasts is the region where all the plant pigments are stored and synthesized and are also responsible for imparting color to the fruit and leaves. Gerontoplasts are chloroplasts that have aged and as a result of which turned into a different organelle. Leucoplasts are colorless organelles located in the non-photosynthetic parts of the plant and help in the storage of lipids, proteins, etc. as required by the plant.

Plastids are considered to be endosymbiotic cyanobacteria and are not present in any prokaryote since it is believed that prokaryotic organism gave rise to this organelle when the environmental conditions began to change during evolution since the structure and composition of the plastid has similarity to the structure and composition of prokaryotes.

Note: Plastids are inherited from mostly one parent, in angiosperms they are inherited from the female gamete whereas in angiosperm they are inherited from the male gamete and the plastid of the other parent is completely lost.