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Abstract
Chloroplasts (chlorophyll-containing plastids) and other plastids are found in all
plants and many animals. They are crucial to the survival of plants and most of the
animals that harbour them. An example of a non-photosynthesizing plastid in animals
is the apicoplast in the malaria-causing Plasmodium species, which is required for
survival of the parasite. Many animals (such as sea slugs, sponges, reef corals, and
clams) consume prey containing chloroplasts, or feed on algae. Some of these incorporate
the chloroplasts from their food, or whole algal cells, into their own cells. Other
species from these groups place algal cells between their own cells. Reef-building
corals often lose their intracellular algae as a result of environmental changes,
resulting in coral bleaching and death. The sensitivity of the chloroplast internal
membranes to temperature stress is one of the reasons for coral death. Chloroplasts
can also be a causal factor in the processes leading to whole-plant death, as the
knockout of a gene encoding a chloroplast protein delayed the yellowing that proceeds
death in tobacco plants. It is concluded that chloroplasts and other plastids are
essential to individual survival in many species, including animals, and that they
also play a role in triggering death in some plant and animal species.