| Abstract: | ABSTRACT. Amphidinium carteri was unable to grow on nutrient-enriched seawater in the presence of 200 μg/ml fluoride (F) but could be adapted to grow successfully on this F concentration when repeatedly cultured with stepwise increases in sub-inhibitory F concentration. Electron microscopic investigation of the F-adapted dinoflagellate cells showed abnormal ultrastructural features in the chloroplast (especially the pyrenoid), mitochondria, and nucleus. Simultaneous comparison with the F-inhibited dinoflagellate cells showed that thylakoid formation was extremely disorganized by fluoride and that F-adaptation conferred a prolamellar-like configuration on the thylakoids in the center of the pyrenoid. This unexpected appearance of lamellae formation in the F-adapted cells suggested that the pyrenoid may be a center for thylakoid assembly. Such cells also showed large, intensely osmiophilic inclusions in the mitochondria. Microbodies are found in close juxtaposition to the mitochondria and chloroplast, suggesting an increased metabolic dependence on photorespiration. The F-adapted nucleus showed dark and light concentric rings in the nucleolus region, accompanied by other signs of mitotic activity, which were not observed in the F-inhibited cells. It was inferred that the F-adaptation may have required some form of genetic change resulting presumably in the development of a phenotype mutant. |
