Chloroplasts are unable to survive without the energy they receive from cell respiration. what conclusion can be drawn from this fact? it is not possible that chloroplasts ever existed as free-living bacterial cell and endosymbiotic theory is flawed. as chloroplasts evolved, they transferred genes necessary for surviving on their own to their host cells. chloroplasts, unlike mitochondria, evolved from a species of bacteria that relied on anaerobic respiration for energy. as chloroplasts evolved to convert light energy within a host cell, their own energy requirements increased to an unsustainable level.