THE CHLOROPLAST STRUCTURE OF IOJAP MAIZE

The ultrastructure of the plastids from the genetically caused but maternally transmitted mutant iojap of maize was studied at four stages of development. The plastids of green and potentially green tissue were normal at all stages studied. The plastids of the white tissue were aberrant at all stages studied and lacked the normal grana-fretwork system as well as a normal prolamellar body. DNA-like fibrils were present in aberrant plastids, but ribosomes were absent. This indicates that chloroplast ribosomes are important in chloroplast membrane formation. Aberrant plastids fail to develop normally and are not a degeneration of normal plastids. Aberrant and normal plastids occur in single cells in green tissue, but only aberrant plastids have been found in white tissue.     

THE MOLECULAR ORGANIZATION OF CHLOROPLAST MEMBRANES

The presence of subunits in chloroplast membranes is suggested by polarization, fluorescence, and X-ray studies. Subunits (quantasomes) may be observed in the electron microscope on dried shadowed membranes and in replicas of membranes produced by the freeze-etching technique. Regular subunits are also observed with the electron microscope in thin sections of chloroplast membranes. Chemical considerations suggest that many membranes are composed of lipoprotein subunits. Thin sections reveal two types of chloroplast membranes, the fret membranes composed of one layer of subunits, and the partitions composed of two layers of subunits. Chloroplast membranes consist of about 45% protein and 55% lipid. Some 80% of the lipids are the highly surfactant glycolipids. In this paper the subunits are visualized as assymetric lipoproteins, probably having a protein core surrounded by components determined by the nature and environment of the membrane. Since the stroma, fret channels, and loculi contain aqueous materials, it is further postulated that the membranes bordering these spaces bind the highly surfactant glycolipids. The region between the two rows of subunits in the partition appears to be highly hydrophobic, rich in chlorophyll, and low in glycolipids. Some chlorophyll also may occur within the subunits both in the partitions and in the fret membranes. Since four subunits appear to comprise a quantasome, at least two types of forces, inter- and intra-quantasome forces, bind the subunits together in sheets. Chloroplast membranes thus differ from a “unit membrane” in two important respects: (1) they must be an aggregate of globular subunits, and (2) the lipoprotein subunits consist of a protein matrix which binds the chlorophylls and lipids by hydrophobic association with their hydrocarbon moieties.     

RECONSTRUCTIONS OF THE GRANA-FRETWORK SYSTEM OF A CHLOROPLAST

The grana-fretwork system was reconstructed from serial sections representing 0.5 μm slice, in profile view, from the midregion of a chloroplast of Nicotiana tabacum. Reconstructions show grana in multiple strata. The fretwork integrates the grana in all three dimensions. Large grana are visualized as complex structures consisting of two or more eccentrically stacked solids that vary in height and diameter. The close spacing and overlapping positions of grana in the plastid explain why phase microscopy cannot be used to demonstrate adequately the numerous strata of grana within a chloroplast. The grana are not far enough apart to allow for successful optical sectioning of a plastid in face view. In profile view no distinct grana can be resolved because the grana-fretwork system has the aspect of a “honeycomb.” Thus, observations with a light microscope are not adequate to determine the arrangement of grana in a chloroplast, and the recently-proposed model showing all grana of a plastid to be arranged in a single spiral ribbon must be rejected as incompatible with properties of real plastids.     

金黄滴虫叶绿体拟核的荧光镜检及电镜观察

金黄滴虫细胞在用DNA特异的荧光染料DAPI处理后,在荧光显微镜下细胞核和叶绿体拟核均散发蓝色荧光,穗晰可见。每一叶绿体有一拟核,拟核沿叶绿体的周缘排列,形状相当于叶绿体的轮廓,成不规则的两叶形环。环的全长约在20—30υm之间。 拟核环大多是单线的,有些拟核环出现或短或长的双线部分,有时甚至几乎整个拟核环都可变为双线。这表明拟核环通过“纵裂”而形成双环,在叶绿体分裂时,分别进入两个子叶绿体。这一情况在电镜照片上得到了证实。 叶绿体分裂和细胞分裂之间似乎不存在严格的相关性,这是导致细胞中叶绿体数目多于1个的原因。     

ULTRASTRUCTURE OF DNA-CONTAINING AREAS IN THE CHLOROPLAST OF CHLAMYDOMONAS

The chloroplast of Chlamydomonas moewusii was examined by electron microscopic and cytochemical methods for the possible presence of DNA. Both the Feulgen reaction and acridine orange indicated the presence within the chloroplast of one or more irregularly shaped DNA-containing bodies generally in the vicinity of the pyrenoid. Electron micrographs revealed 25 A microfibrils in these areas which correspond to DNA macromolecules with respect to their location, morphology, and sensitivity to deoxyribonuclease digestion. The possibility that this material is the genetic system of the chloroplast and the hypothesis that the chloroplast represents an evolved endosymbiont are discussed.     

HETEROGENEITY OF CHLOROPLAST GAPDH GENES IN THE DINOPHYCEAE

The kinetics of xanthophyll-cycle pigment switching and fluorescence quenching dynamics in the marine diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum were determined in the context of dynamic and static growth light. Cultures were grown in a modified photobioreactor capable of producing dynamic light fields which exhibited attenuation characteristics similar to that of water; these cultures were pre-acclimated to high and low, static and dynamic, growth-light regimes for at least three days, and then examined under high, static and dynamic light. Pigment pools varied markedly. The two static light cultures had pigment complements that were very similar to "traditional" high and low-light static cultures. The dynamic-light grown cultures had pigment complements, which were very similar to each other but different from the static-grown cultures. The maximum xanthophyll-cycle pigment de-epoxidation state attainable under saturating light was equal for all four treatments. Induction of fluorescence quenching was significantly faster in the static-grown cultures, while xanthophyll-cycle de-epoxidation rates did not show as much variation. Minimum irradiances for xanthophyll-cycle induction were correlated to average growth irradiance. Taken as a whole, the results from this work suggest that dynamic light-grown phytoplankton have a unique photosynthetic functionality that is different from static light-grown phytoplankton. The significance of these observations in the context of realistic light fields, and the photosynthetic response capabilities of algae grown under them will be discussed.     

THE INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE ON THE DIFFERENTIATION OF SECONDARY TISSUES

Brown, Claud L. (U. Georgia, Athens), and Karl Sax. The influence of pressure on the differentiation of secondary tissues. Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(7): 683–691. Illus. 1962.—When longitudinal bark strips of Populus trichocarpa and Pinus strobus are separated from the bole wood during early spring and maintained in a humid environment while attached to the parent tree, the cambial zone along the inner surface of the segments rapidly proliferates producing an extensive parenchymatous callus. Subsequently, a new phellogen and cambium differentiate and extend tangentially around the outer periphery of the callus pad, this resulting in the formation of a new stem-like structure. Whenever bark strips are separated from the bole wood by a layer of polyethylene plastic film and held firmly against the tree by externally applied pressure, the cambium continues to function normally, setting aside derivatives which differentiate and mature into normal, elongate xylary and phloic elements. The importance of mutual pressures and spatial relationships in controlling patterns of differentiation in secondary tissues is clearly demonstrated.     

GRANULES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHLOROPLAST LAMELLAE OF PORPHYRIDIUM CRUENTUM

Small granules with a diameter of approximately 350 A are attached to the chloroplast lamellae of the red alga Porphyridium cruentum. To some extent, their size depends on the culture conditions and the age of the cell. It was possible to preserve the granules only with aldehyde prefixation. It can be seen that fixed or negatively stained granules are comprised of smaller subunits. The granules are arranged regularly on the lamellae in repeating rows with a center-to-center granule distance of 400 to 500 A. Attempts at characterization of these chloroplast granules revealed that they are resistant to hydrolysis by ribonuclease and appear to be structurally unaffected by methanol-acetone extraction. Because of their close association with the chloroplast lamellae, they are considered as possible sites of phycobilin concentration. This possibility is supported by two observations: when the phycobilins are removed, the granules disappear; and, when the chlorophyll and stainable membrane portions are selectively removed, the phycobilins and granules are still present. It was found that all other marine red algae examined had granules which were associated with the chloroplast lamellae.     

甲基胆蒽对蝾螈中胚层分化的影响

前言对哺乳类有引瘤作用的物质,在两栖类的成体中,不论是有尾类(Breedis,1951,1952;和,1954)或者无尾类(曾弥白,1956a),都可以引起恶性瘤肿,虽然瘤肿形成的频率远没有在哺乳类高。对于两栖类幼体,或者正在发育中的胚胎组织,引瘤物质却表现了不同的作用。它们可以引起形态建成的变化。Waddington 和 Needham(1935)将多种多环碳氢化物塞入早期原肠胚的囊胚腔,发现其中几种诱导了神经组织的发生。为了避免塞入法可能引起的机械的影响,沈诗章(Shen,1942)用二苯骈蒽内琥珀酸钠(Na-dibenz-anthracene-endo-succinate)的水溶液处理早期原肠胚的预定表皮,也得到了同样