Chloroplasts move in time lapse Plant cells under the microscope

So, today we're going to have very deep look into some plant cells and would like to also explain little bit the important difference between plant cells, like you see over here, and animal cells, like for example, we humans have. Hi, hello, and welcome. Microbe Hunter here. Well, the plant cells that you're looking at right now are from the water plant Egeria densa. It's very common and well-liked water plant by people who keep on home aquarium. and it's also very good for observing some interesting and important processes of life. The reason is is is that the leaves are very thin, so we can directly place the leaf of this water plant under the microscope. Well, the most notable thing here is, of course, the movement of the chloroplasts, those green round structures. These are the cell organelles that are responsible for photosynthesis. And they're green and they actually are those parts of the cell, of plant cell, that are make the plant green. the chloroplasts catch sunlight and they also absorb the carbon dioxide to make food for the plant. So, it's very common and one of some people say one of the most important processes of life because, ultimately, all of our energy that we use. So, even when we eat food, ultimately, all of that energy can be traced back to the sunlight. yeah, the animals that we eat, they have eaten plants and then the plants again made yeah, food using the energy of the sunlight. So, at the very beginning, we have solar energy, so to say. So, indirectly, we're all powered by the sun. Well, and those chloroplasts, they move. And this process is called cytoplasmic streaming. and the question is now, why do they do that? Well, one of the reasons why the chloroplasts and other other cell organelles, why they move around inside cell is is because this helps in the redistribution of nutrients inside the cell. I've also read somewhere that it is believed that cytoplasmic streaming also helps to rearrange the chloroplasts in such way that they're able to most efficiently catch the sunlight. Now, don't know so much about that because it's always in constant motion and movement, but apparently the cytoplasmic streaming can indeed be influenced by light and by temperature, but have to tell you I've not done experiments like this yet, but would like to explore this further in the future. But now to the important differences between plant and animal cells. Well, of course, plants do have those chloroplasts, at least those plant cells that are green. Not all parts of the plant are green, of course, but those parts that are green are responsible for photosynthesis, and that is of course one important difference here. But we're also able to see second important difference, and that is is that the plant cells that they have cell wall. And the cell wall here is quite nicely visible, because yeah, we can see that where one cell stops and the other one starts. And we can also see that the chloroplasts they do not go from cell to cell, but they stay within the cell. And the cell wall is important because it provides structure and strength to to the plant. And then last but not least, the third most important difference is is that the plant cells they have large central vacuole, which we're not able to see here, but which we're able to infer. the vacuole, that is cell organelle, which is important for storing water and also minerals. And the vacuole is surrounded by membrane which is far too thin to be seen by microscope, at least by light microscope. but we know that it's it's there simply by observing how the chloroplasts move. Because in some cells, if you look carefully, you can see that the chloroplasts are actually streaming and cycling on the periphery of the cell. So, they're going around next to the cell wall. And the reason why they do that is is because in the middle of the cell you have the large central vacuole. So they're not able to go through the vacuole, but they have to basically move around it. And now some of the cells, or would say rather many of the cells, appear to have the chloroplasts also in the middle. However, this does not mean that the chloroplasts are actually in the middle of the cell because the cell is three-dimensional. So those cells still have vacuole in the middle, but the chloroplasts are either above above the vacuole or below the vacuole. And when you look at the cell now from the top, then it appears as if the cell the chloroplasts are in the center, but but actually they're not. And so you see that simply by looking at those cells we can already see quite few important distinctions between plants and animals. And if you want to observe also plant cells under the microscope, then do have to tell you you probably have to cut the tissue the plant tissue into very thin sections unless you're also using plant that has very thin leaves because if you just put leaf directly under the microscope in most cases it's far too thick and you're not able to see anything here. And that's why I've chosen the plant Egeria densa because the leaves are extremely thin and quite transparent. So we're able to see the processes quite well. think I'm going to leave it at that. Do leave your comments and your also your own experiences with plant cells and plant cell microscopy specifically. wish you all the best. Happy micro hunting as always and see you around next time. Bye-bye.