A plastid is an organelle of the lineage that includes chloroplasts. A chloroplast is a photosynthetic plastid; the terms are not interchangeable because some plastids are nonphotosynthetic. Endosymbiotic theory connects plastid origins to cyanobacteria, while endosymbiotic gene transfer and organelle protein import explain genetic and functional integration with the host.
An apicoplast is a reduced nonphotosynthetic plastid in many apicomplexan parasites. Retained biosynthetic outputs can make it essential after photosystems and photosynthetic carbon fixation are lost.
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