Paramylon
Encyclopedia
Paramylon is a carbohydrate
similar to starch
. The chloroplast
s found in Euglena
contain chlorophyll
which aids in the synthesis of carbohydrates to be stored as starch granules and paramylon. Paramylon is made in the pyrenoid
s of Euglena. The eugenoids have chlorophylls a and b and they store their photosynthate in an unusual form called paramylon starch, a B-1,3 polymer of glucose. The paramylon is stored in rod like bodies throughout the cytoplasm. These are called paramylon bodies, and are often visible as colorless or white rigid rods.
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
similar to starch
Starch
Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...
. The chloroplast
Chloroplast
Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts capture light energy to conserve free energy in the form of ATP and reduce NADP to NADPH through a complex set of processes called photosynthesis.Chloroplasts are green...
s found in Euglena
Euglena
Euglena is a genus of unicellular flagellate protists. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the phylum Euglenozoa , a diverse group containing some 44 genera and at least 800 species. Species of Euglena are found in fresh and salt waters...
contain chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...
which aids in the synthesis of carbohydrates to be stored as starch granules and paramylon. Paramylon is made in the pyrenoid
Pyrenoid
In cell biology, pyrenoids are organelles, centers of carbon dioxide fixation within the chloroplasts of algae and hornworts. Pyrenoids are not membrane-bound, but specialized areas of the plastid that contain high levels of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase .RubisCO fixes carbon...
s of Euglena. The eugenoids have chlorophylls a and b and they store their photosynthate in an unusual form called paramylon starch, a B-1,3 polymer of glucose. The paramylon is stored in rod like bodies throughout the cytoplasm. These are called paramylon bodies, and are often visible as colorless or white rigid rods.