Leucoplast


 * The Leucoplast **
 * **==================================================================**
 * Pronunciation: /ˈlo͞okəˌplast/ **


 * Etymology: Greek 'leuco'(white) + Greek 'plast'(living substance). **

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Leucoplasts are colorless plastids, or a class of small organelles, that are found in plant cells. Plastids are storage organelles found in plant cells, that include chromoplasts and chloroplasts. Leucoplasts (the third type of plastid)do not have any pigment and therefore appear clear under a microscope. Additionally, leucoplasts are responsible for the storage of starch and other important chemical compounds used by the plant cell. In general, leucoplasts are much smaller than chloroplasts and have a variable morphology, often described as amoeboid.

There is no way a human being can contain a leucoplast, because these organelles are only found inside plant cells! The leucoplast was discovered in 1883 by a german biologist named Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper. The microscope used to discover the leucoplast was not stated. Although, the Nachet Polarizing Microscope was the most utilized in 1833. This Microscope to feature cross polarized illumination. This illumination technique is most commonly used on birefringent samples where the polarized light interacts strongly with the sample and so generating contrast with the background.Since the leucoplast is colorless and transparent, this would make it easier to find the organelle. It was named Leucoplast because 'Lueco' means 'white' in Greek, and 'Plast' means 'living substances'. So Leucoplast basically means; white living substance.
 * =================================================== ** || [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ktI81CvXDhaP90_E9Et93359DbAslKVIHUR9C90X3dIYCIUWKjivLBIflZfBkUrD_IMc_DgHBHv7shtT_buGwFQc8sFga0oC8qju4GvQkimgsnuWbilx8xT5Xjv_fFbWeNYDG9SF width="297" height="191"]][[image:https://docs.google.com/a/bhsconnect.org/drawings/d/sVmMtoJ6fIkN4nlrIt9JT2Q/image?w=274&h=239&rev=1&ac=1 width="274" height="239"]] ||
 * Discovery: **





Lacking pigments, leucoplasts are not green. They are colourless, so they are predictably located in roots and the non-photosynthetic tissues of plants. In the cell, <span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> leucoplasts are clustered around the nucleus with stromules ( <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">highly dynamic structures extending from the surface of all plastid types) <span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> extending to the cell periphery, as observed for proplastids in the root meristem. <span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Leucoplasts are usually found in tissues not normally exposed to light and frequently contain reserves of starch (in Amyloplasts), protein, or oil. Leucoplasts are only found in plant cells! This is because <span style="font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace; font-size: 18pt;">Plants need chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll to convert energy from the sun to food for the plant; which Leucoplasts help to do, But animal cells don't need it because they consume their food.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Location: **



<span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">



<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Their function is the storage of starch, lipids, or proteins. <span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">However, in many cell types, leucoplasts are present to provide a wide range of essential biosynthetic functions, including the synthesis of fatty acids, many amino acids, and tetrapyrrole compounds such as heme. <span style="color: #3b3835; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">A Leucoplast is like a warehouse, because it stores certain things into specific places. A warehouse organizes all the objects it contains, just like the leucoplast.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Function: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">there are three types of leucoplasts: Amyloplasts, Elaioplasts, and Proteinoplasts. They store starches, lipids, and proteins, respectively. The amyloplast can store starches and convert those starches into sugar for energy when the plant requires it. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The Amyloplasts and chloroplasts are closely related. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Amyloplasts can turn into chloroplasts; this is for instance observed when potato tubers <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">(a much thickened underground part of a stem) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">are exposed to light and turn green. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> (Ever notice that some of your potato chips are green? That green pigment comes from a converted Amyloplast!) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Types of Leucoplasts: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 17pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Types of Leucoplasts: **



<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">- They are sites for enzyme activity involving proteins. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">- They synthesize Heme, which is used in Hemoglobin <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">-They synthesize fatty acids <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">- They store and produce the sugars, and complex starches that we eat each day, and use for energy. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">- They control the way that plants grow <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">- They can synthesize almost all of the 20 amino acids <span style="color: #2351a8; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace;">"[|leucoplast.]" A Dictionary of Biology. . Encyclopedia.com. 27 Nov. 2017 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com]>.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Why Are Leucoplasts Important? **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Works cited: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: &#39;Courier New&#39;; font-size: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Works cited: **

<span style="color: #2351a8; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace;">[]

<span style="color: #2351a8; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace;">https://prezi.com/9a31wewfqh-8/leucoplasts/

<span style="color: #2351a8; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace;">[]

<span style="color: #2351a8; font-family: Courier New,Courier,monospace;"><[|http://www.encyclopedia.com]>.Polarizing Microscop