Plastid

Pervalvar axis

 

Polar bar

A membrane-bound organelle and the site of photosynthesis. Most diatom plastids appear golden brown due to carotenoid pigments (beta-carotene, diatoxanthin, diadinoxanthin, fucoxanthin), which mask the color of the chlorophyll molecules (chlorophylls a, c2, and c1 or c3)


Alternative Term

chromatophore

an older term, often used more in European literature

chloroplast

while plastid includes non-photosynthic plastids, a chloroplast has chlorophyll and, therefore, is photosynthetic