Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

The Anatomy of Chloroplasts01:08

The Anatomy of Chloroplasts

Green algae and plants, including green stems and unripe fruit, harbor specialized organelles called chloroplasts to carry out photosynthesis. They coordinate both stages of photosynthesis — the light-dependent reactions and the light-independent reactions. The light-dependent reactions use sunlight to release oxygen and produce chemical energy in the form of ATP and NADPH, and the light-independent reactions capture CO2 and use ATP and NADPH to produce sugar.
Structure of Chloroplasts
A...
Anatomy of Chloroplasts01:07

Anatomy of Chloroplasts

Green algae and plants, including green stems and unripe fruit, harbor chloroplasts—the vital organelles where photosynthesis takes place. In plants, the highest density of chloroplasts is found in the mesophyll cells of leaves.
Cell Inclusions01:27

Cell Inclusions

Prokaryotic cells possess a variety of inclusions that play crucial roles in nutrient storage, metabolic processes, and environmental adaptation. These structures enable bacteria to thrive under fluctuating environmental conditions by storing essential resources and optimizing their metabolic efficiency.Carbon Storage: Poly-β-Hydroxybutyric Acid and Glycogen GranulesBacteria frequently store excess carbon in specialized granules. Poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) granules are lipid polymers that...
Non-nuclear Inheritance01:29

Non-nuclear Inheritance

Most DNA resides in the nucleus of a cell. However, some organelles in the cell cytoplasm⁠—such as chloroplasts and mitochondria⁠—also have their own DNA. These organelles replicate their DNA independently of the nuclear DNA of the cell in which they reside. Non-nuclear inheritance describes the inheritance of genes from structures other than the nucleus.
Diversity of Protists III01:27

Diversity of Protists III

Rhizaria are a diverse group of unicellular protists characterized by their threadlike cytoplasmic extensions known as pseudopodia. These structures aid in both locomotion and feeding, giving Rhizaria an amoeboid appearance. Their amoeboid morphology once led to taxonomic confusion, but molecular phylogenetics has clarified their evolutionary placement and emphasized their shared use of pseudopodia despite divergent lineages.This clade comprises diverse lineages such as Chlorarachniophyta,...
Overview of Protists01:27

Overview of Protists

Protists are diverse eukaryotic microorganisms that lack the specialized tissues of plants and animals and the chitinous cell walls of fungi. Their early divergence within Eukarya resulted in structural, functional, and ecological diversity. They are classified into supergroups such as Archaeplastida, Excavata, Amoebozoa, Rhizaria, Alveolata, and Stramenopiles, determined through genetic analysis and structural similarities.Structural and Functional AdaptationsProtists have various adaptations...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Forests shaped by historical human tragedies: Insights from Europe's oldest angiosperms.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Fine scale gene expression dynamics at the foliar level reveal grapevine strategies to cope with recurrent drought stress.

BMC plant biology·2026
Same author

Evolutionary shifts in plant adaptation mediated by phytohormones.

Plant communications·2026
Same author

Pre-harvest melatonin applications improve post-harvest quality of tomato fruits.

Food chemistry·2026
Same author

Controlled light intensity efficiently enhances micronutrient content and composition in chia sprouts.

Food chemistry·2026
Same author

A biostimulant derived from Opuntia ficus-indica residue valorisation modulates tomato ripening and quality under contrasting water regimes.

Plant science : an international journal of experimental plant biology·2026
Same journal

Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Sub-second fluctuations between top-down and bottom-up modes distinguish diverse human brain states.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Queen bees offload pesticide burden to eggs when social buffering is overwhelmed.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Pitch selectivity in ferret auditory cortex.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

A cell size-dependent competition between geometry and polarity governs nuclear and spindle positioning in early embryos.

Current biology : CB·2026
Same journal

Trophic cascades drive sustainability in the agricultural heritage rice-fish coculture system.

Current biology : CB·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Plastoglobule Lipid Droplet Isolation from Plant Leaf Tissue and Cyanobacteria
10:35

Plastoglobule Lipid Droplet Isolation from Plant Leaf Tissue and Cyanobacteria

Published on: October 6, 2022

Vestigial plastids.

Laia Jené1, Sergi Munné-Bosch1

  • 1Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Research in Biodiversity (IRBio), University of Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain.

Current Biology : CB
|June 8, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers describe vestigial plastids, organelles that evolved from chloroplasts but lost their photosynthetic function. This discovery offers new insights into plant cell evolution and organelle adaptation.

More Related Videos

Preparation of Chloroplast Sub-compartments from Arabidopsis for the Analysis of Protein Localization by Immunoblotting or Proteomics
10:28

Preparation of Chloroplast Sub-compartments from Arabidopsis for the Analysis of Protein Localization by Immunoblotting or Proteomics

Published on: October 19, 2018

Visualizing Stromule Frequency with Fluorescence Microscopy
08:27

Visualizing Stromule Frequency with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: November 23, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Plastoglobule Lipid Droplet Isolation from Plant Leaf Tissue and Cyanobacteria
10:35

Plastoglobule Lipid Droplet Isolation from Plant Leaf Tissue and Cyanobacteria

Published on: October 6, 2022

Preparation of Chloroplast Sub-compartments from Arabidopsis for the Analysis of Protein Localization by Immunoblotting or Proteomics
10:28

Preparation of Chloroplast Sub-compartments from Arabidopsis for the Analysis of Protein Localization by Immunoblotting or Proteomics

Published on: October 19, 2018

Visualizing Stromule Frequency with Fluorescence Microscopy
08:27

Visualizing Stromule Frequency with Fluorescence Microscopy

Published on: November 23, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Plant biology
  • Cellular biology
  • Organelle research

Background:

  • Plastids are key organelles in plant cells, with chloroplasts responsible for photosynthesis.
  • Some plastids can differentiate into other types, but the loss of photosynthetic function is a significant evolutionary step.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and define the concept of vestigial plastids.
  • To explore the origin and characteristics of these non-photosynthetic organelles.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of plant tissues.
  • Microscopic and molecular techniques to identify and characterize organelle structures.

Main Results:

  • Identification of vestigial plastids, which are derived from chloroplasts.
  • Demonstration that these plastids lack key photosynthetic machinery and function.

Conclusions:

  • Vestigial plastids represent a novel class of plant organelles.
  • Their existence highlights the dynamic nature of plastid evolution and adaptation in plants.