noun
- a small, undifferentiated organelle in plant cells that can develop into various types of plastids such as chloroplasts or chromoplasts
Usage: biology
Examples
- Proplastids in meristematic cells divide along with the cell during growth.
- The proplastid contains the genetic material necessary to form chloroplasts.
- In darkness, proplastids develop into etioplasts rather than chloroplasts.
- Each proplastid can differentiate into different plastid types depending on environmental conditions.
- The number of proplastids per cell varies among different plant species.
- Proplastids are inherited maternally in most flowering plants.