thylakoid

[thahy-luh-koid]

noun

Cell Biology.

1. a flattened sac or vesicle lined with a pigmented membrane that is the site of photosynthesis, in plants and algae occurring in interconnected stacks constituting a granum of the chloroplast, and in other photosynthesizing organisms occurring either singly or as part of the cell membrane or other structure.

thylakoid

1. A saclike membrane that contains the chlorophyll in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of plant cells and green algae. In chloroplasts, thylakoids are arranged in stacks called grana.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thylakoid¹

1965–70; < German Thylakoid < Greek thȳlakoeidḗs resembling a bag, equivalent to thȳ́lak ( os ) sack + -oēidēs -oid

Example Sentences

Firstly, the pH value of the medium surrounding the thylakoid membrane reacts highly dynamically to light changes.

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These structures, called thylakoid membranes, are the oldest ever discovered.

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This discovery puts into perspective the role of cyanobacteria with thylakoid membranes in early Earth oxygenation.

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But to get the whole process to run on sunlight—the first step—Erb and his colleagues turned to chloroplast components called thylakoid membranes, pouchlike assemblies that hold chlorophyll and other photosynthesizing enzymes.

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Other researchers had previously shown that thylakoid membranes can operate outside plant cells.

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