Chris Woodcock (2010) CIL:685, Zea mays, photosynthetic cell. CIL. Dataset

The plastids of plants germinated in the dark are termed etioplasts and possess quasi-crystalline structures termed prolammelar bodies that contain the phospholipid materials and chlorophyll precursors that are converted to green chloroplasts in response to light. The transmission electron micrograph shows a corn (Zea mays) etioplast fixed after brief exposure to light. The prolamellar body is still largely intact, but thylakoid membranes are starting to form and, in the lower portion, some stacking of thylakoids is seen.

在暗处萌发的植物质体被称为原质体，它们拥有被称作前囊状体的准晶体结构，这些结构内含有磷脂质和叶绿素前体，这些物质在光的作用下转化为绿色叶绿体。透射电子显微镜显示了一片经过短暂光照暴露后的玉米（Zea mays）原质体的固定图像。前囊状体仍大部分保持完整，但类囊体膜开始形成，在图像的下部可见类囊体的部分堆积。