Green leaves

​Green is the color of leaves soon after emergence from the soil and exposure to light.  This color is the reflection off the chlorophyll molecule located in chloroplasts, among the organelles of the plant leaf cells. 
 
Plant cells have plastids, distinguishing them from animal cells. They are believed to have been derived from cyanobacteria, such as single cell blue green alga, when a symbiotic relationship with a single celled organism merged with it, perhaps a billion years ago. Like any symbiosis between organisms, each one benefits, and they often become interdependent. Plastids, like bacteria, have two surrounding membranes and DNA organized in a circular manner as opposed to the chromosomal arrangement in all other organisms with a membrane-bound nucleus.  Plastids multiply by division independent of host cell division but are carried along with new cells.  Consequently, in corn, they are present in the female egg cell. After pollination, as the fertilized egg cell divides and ultimately forms meristems, each cell includes the plastids. These are called proplastids because they are not fully developed. Those in the cells reaching the light quickly are transformed into chloroplasts.  Although plastids have their own DNA and capability to produce the many enzymes and other components of chlorophyll, as in other cases of symbiosis, they are also dependent upon the host cell to provide some proteins and plant hormones such as cytokinins needed for proper development. 
 
A major structural feature of chloroplasts is formation of multiple layers of membranes (thylakoids) with the chlorophyll molecule and thereby enhancing the capacity for photosynthesis. The plant hormones classified as cytokinins, perhaps produced more by the host cell but some from the chloroplast itself, apparently affect the size and quantity of these layers.  Host cell genetics, those inherited from both parents of a corn hybrid, thus influence the chloroplast development and function despite the fact that the proplastids are carried along in only the female parent egg cells.
 
All proplastids do not develop into chloroplasts.  Those remaining below soil surface and some others do not become green and become sites for starch storage.  Some others accumulate other pigments, contributing to other colors expressed in plants.  Some chloroplasts located near the veins in plants develop slightly different carbon-fixing methods that allows corn’s photosynthesis to be among the most efficient of plants to convert light energy into carbohydrates.
 
These small organelles in plant cells not only produce the energy to allows the plant to grow but the oxygen molecules that we need for respiration and carbohydrates for our nutrition.