FINE STRUCTURE OF CALONEIS AMPHISBAENA (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE)1

The structure of the motile pennate diatom Caloneis amphisbaena Cleve is described, with emphasis on the lateral, lobed pyrenoid with neither a limiting membrane nor penetration by thylakoids, an interphase nucleus with centers of condensed chromatin, paired dictyosomes, and mitochondria cradled within the chambers of the valve. Microfilaments forming two bundles which lie beneath each raphe slit are of the same size and appearance as actin microfilaments associated with other motile systems.     

THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE FLAGELLAR APPARATUS OF CARTERIA1,2

The fine structure of the flagellar apparatus of 5 species of the green quadriflagellate alga Carteria is described. The 5 species can be morphologically separated into 2 groups on the bases of cell shape and ultrastructure of the pyrenoid and flagellar apparatus. Group I cells are spherical, possess many pyrenoid thylakoids, and retain a flagellar apparatus similar to that of Chlamydomonas reinhardi. The flagellar bases are oriented at approximately 90° to one another, have distal and proximal fibers, and are associated with 4 cruciately arranged microtubule bands. Cells of group II are ellipsoid, possess few pyrenoid thylakoids, and show a complex system of microtubule bands and sigmoid-shaped, electron dense rods which extend between opposite pairs of basal bodies. The basal bodies of group II cells are directed inward in a circular pattern rather than outward as in group I cells. Unlike Chlamydomonas, the distal fiber of the Carteria species is nonstriated. The proximal fiber is striated, and both distal and proximal fibers are composed of 60–80 Å diameter microfibrils.     

Frustule morphogenesis of raphid pennate diatom <Emphasis Type="Italic">Encyonema ventricosum</Emphasis> (Agardh) Grunow

Diatoms stand out among other microalgae due to the high diversity of species-specific silica frustules whose components (valves and girdle bands) are formed within the cell in special organelles called silica deposition vesicles (SDVs). Research on cell structure and morphogenesis of frustule elements in diatoms of different taxonomic groups has been carried out since the 1950s but is still relevant today. Here, cytological features and valve morphogenesis in the freshwater raphid pennate diatom Encyonema ventricosum (Agardh) Grunow have been studied using light and transmission electron microscopy of cleaned frustules and ultrathin sections of cells, and scanning electron and atomic force microscopy of the frustule surface. Data have been obtained on chloroplast structure: the pyrenoid is spherical, penetrated by a lamella (a stack of two thylakoids); the girdle lamella consists of several short lamellae. The basic stages of frustule morphogenesis characteristic of raphid pennate diatoms have been traced, with the presence of cytoskeletal elements near SDVs being observed throughout this process. Degradation of the plasmalemma and silicalemma is shown to take place when the newly formed valve is released into the space between sister cells. The role of vesicular transport and exocytosis in the gliding of pennate diatoms is discussed.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE STRUCTURE OF SOME FORMS OF GOMPHONEMA PARVULUM KÜTZ. III. FRUSTULE FORMATION1

Gomphonema parvulum Kütz. was investigated by electron microscopy for details of frustule formation. An expansion of the cell along the pervalvar plane occurs prior to cell division. After nuclear division the organelles are, separated into 2 entities, either by division or by dispersion. The cell divides into 2 halves by the invagination of the plasmalemma which is derived from Golgi vesicular activity. When cytoplasmic cleavage, is complete, the Golgi actively produces electronlucent vesicles which collect and coalesce beneath the. plasmalemma to form the silicalemma around the silicon deposition vesicle. The endoplasmic reticulum is also closely associated with this vesicular activity. The vesicle gradually expands and becomes extremely electron dense as silica is deposited within it—first in the region, followed by the mantle edge. When the valve is mature, Golgi vesicles collect and fuse to form the silicalemma of the first girdle band. The first girdle band becomes aligned against the mantle edge on completion, by the “sloughing off” of the external silicalemma and plasmalemma. The second and third bands are formed, individually in a similar manner. Separation of the 2 daughter cells commences at the apical pole and progresses to the basal pole. The plasmalemma and external silicalemma are “sloughed off” so that the 2 cells can separate. The inner segment of the silicalemma becomes the new plasmalemma of the daughter cell.     

桔梗胚乳吸器结构研究

对桔梗（PlatycodongrandiflorusA.DC）的胚乳吸器进行了显微结构和超微结构研究,结果如下：1．胚乳的发育属细胞型。8-细胞胚乳时分化出珠孔吸器;16-细胞胚乳时分化出合点吸器。2．吸器细胞的壁存在大量壁内突,彼此交织成网状结构,浓厚的细胞质里有丰富的线粒体、内质网和高尔基体;细胞核及核仁异常增大;吸器细胞与胚乳细胞间存在大量的胞间连丝。3．珠被绒毡层与胚囊壁之间存在二层角质层,共同包围着胚囊,只在胚囊的珠孔端与合点端开口。胚乳吸器的功能是对来自孢子体的营养物质起吸收与转运作用,从而保证胚乳和胚的发育。     

THE FINE STRUCTURE OF DIFFERENTIATING XYLEM ELEMENTS

Differentiating xylem elements of Avena coleoptiles have been examined by light and electron microscopy. Fixation in 2 per cent phosphate-buffered osmium tetroxide and in 6 per cent glutaraldehyde, followed by 2 per cent osmium tetroxide, revealed details of the cell wall and cytoplasmic fine structure. The localized secondary wall thickening identified the xylem elements and indicated their state of differentiation. These differentiating xylem elements have dense cytoplasmic contents in which the dictyosomes and elements of rough endoplasmic reticulum are especially numerous. Vesicles are associated with the dictyosomes and are found throughout the cytoplasm. In many cases, these vesicles have electron-opaque contents. "Microtubules" are abundant in the peripheral cytoplasm and are always associated with the secondary wall thickenings. These microtubules are oriented in a direction parallel to the microfibrillar direction of the thickenings. Other tubules are frequently found between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. Our results support the view that the morphological association of the "microtubules" with developing cell wall thickenings may have a functional significance, especially with respect to the orientation of the microfibrils. Dictyosomes and endoplasmic reticulum may have a function in some way connected with the synthetic mechanism of cell wall deposition.     

EFFECT OF 2,4-DICHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF CHLORELLA PYRENOIDOSA CHICK1

Chlorella pyrenoidosa Chick cells grown in liquid culture containing 5 × 10^?3M sodium 2,4-dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid exhibited vesiculation of the plasma membrane, mitochondrial swelling with disorganization of cristae, disruption of the chloroplast lamellar system, and dictyosomes with irregularly swollen cisternae. Ultrastructural details previously not reported for species of Chlorella were also observed: (1) presence of a crystalline pyrenoid with an 80 A periodicity, (2) a nucleolus made up of ribosome-like particles, and (3) smaller ribosomes in the chloroplast and mitochondria than in the cytoplasm.     

FINE STRUCTURE AND ORGANELLE ASSOCIATIONS IN BROWN ALGAE

The structural interrelationships among several membrane systems in the cells of brown algae have been examined by electron microscopy. In the brown algae the chloroplasts are surrounded by two envelopes, the outer of which in some cases is continuous with the nuclear envelope. The pyrenoid, when present, protrudes from the chloroplast, is also surrounded by the two chloroplast envelopes, and, in addition, is capped by a third dilated envelope or "pyrenoid sac." The regular apposition of the membranes around the pyrenoid contrasts with their looser appearance over the remainder of the chloroplast. The Golgi apparatus is closely associated with the nuclear envelope in all brown algae examined, but in the Fucales this association may extend to portions of the cytoplasmic endoplasmic reticulum as well. Evidence is presented for the derivation of vesicles, characteristic of those found in the formative region of the Golgi apparatus, from portions of the underlying nuclear envelope. The possibility that a structural channeling system for carbohydrate reserves and secretory precursors may be present in brown algae is considered. Other features of the brown algal cell, such as crystal-containing bodies, the variety of darkly staining vacuoles, centrioles, and mitochondria, are examined briefly, and compared with similar structures in other plant cells.     

PYRENOIDS,RAPHES, AND OTHER FINE STRUCTURE IN DIATOMS

Pyrenoids of 6 diatoms, Acnanthes minutissima, Cyclotella meneghiniania, Cymbella affinis, Gomphonema parvulum, Nitzschia sp., and Surirella ovalis, were examined comparatively with the electron microscope. All except those of G. parvulum were membrane-limited. The pyrenoid membrane forms a ridge around the pyrenoid of S. ovalis, C. meneghiniania, and Nitzschia sp. Distended double-disc bands cross the pyrenoids of C. affinis, G. parvulum, S. ovalis, and A. minutissima; single-disc bands occur in C. meneghiniania, and 3 disc bands in Nitzschia sp. The raphe fissures of A. minutissima, Nitzschia sp., and S. ovalis did not contain any cytoplasm or obvious organs of locomotion. In G. parvulum, membranous profiles extend outward from the raphe fissure, but these probably are not responsible for movement. In this diatom 2 membranes usually cross the raphe, and the distance between them fluctuates indicating that they may undulate to force water through the raphe. A 7–10 mμ subfrustular zone is associated with the inner surface of the silica, but separate from the cytoplasmic membrane, in Nitzschia sp. and G. parvulum. In the latter, it is attached to siliceous knobs protruding from the inner surface of the silica. It may join the 2 halves of the frustale, which are otherwise not connected either to each other or to the cytoplasm. Pores 80–100 mμ in diameter occur in the nuclear envelopes of all diatoms examined. Dictyosomes are always perinuclear. In S. ovalis the vesicular complex is a convoluted, single-membrane-limited structure containing a variety of vesicular profiles, and occupying much of the central cytoplasm. Internally it resembles leucosin bodies of a chrysophyte, but the arrangement and morphology of the internal vesicles suggests that intracellular pinocytosis may occur.     

THE CYTOPLASMIC FINE STRUCTURE OF THE DIATOM, NITZSCHIA PALEA

The cytoplasmic fine structure of the motile, pennate diatom, Nitzschia palea was studied in thin sections viewed in the electron microscope. The cells were fixed in OsO₄, embedded in methacrylate, and immersed in 10 per cent hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 36 to 40 hours to remove the siliceous cell wall prior to sectioning. The HF treatment did not cause any obvious cytoplasmic damage. The dictyosome complex is perinuclear, and located only in the central cytoplasm. Mitochondria are sparse in the central cytoplasm, but abundant in the peripheral cytoplasm, and fill many of the transvacuolar cytoplasmic strands. Characteristic, amorphous oil bodies fill certain cytoplasmic strands and probably are not leucosin. The pyrenoid appears to be membrane limited, and oil droplets are found adjacent to the pyrenoid. The pyrenoid of another diatom, Cymbella affinis, is also membrane-limited. The membrane limiting the pyrenoid may be a composite of the terminal portions of chloroplast discs, facilitating rapid movement of photosynthate into the pyrenoid matrix, where the characteristic oil droplets may be formed. Carinal fibrils are found singly in each carinal pore, and may be involved in the locomotion of Nitzschia palea.     

Ultrastructure of the differentiating zygotospores of Porphyra leucosticta (Rhodophyta)

The ultrastructure of zygotosporogenesis is described for the red alga Porphyra leucosticta Thuret. Packets of eight zygotosporangia, each packet derived from a single carpogonium are interspersed among vegetative cells. Zygotospore differentiation in Porphyra can be separated into three developmental stages. (i) Young zygotospores exhibit a nucleus and a large centrally located, lobed plastid with pyrenoid. Mucilage is produced within concentric membrane structures during their dilation, thus resulting in the formation of mucilage sacs. Subsequently, these sacs release their contents, initiating the zygotospore wall formation. Straight‐profiled dictyosomes produce vesicles that also provide wall material. During the later stages of young zygotospores, starch polymerization commences, (ii) Medium‐aged zygotospores are characterized by the presence of fibrous vacuoles. These are formed from the ‘fibrous vacuole associated organelles’. The fibrous vacuoles finally discharge their contents. (iii) Mature zygotospores are recognized by the presence of numerous cored vesicles produced by dictyosomes. Cored vesicles either discharge their contents or are incorporated into the fibrous vacuoles. There is a gradual reduction of starch granules during zygotospore differentiation. Mature zygotospores are surrounded by a fibrous wall, have a large chloroplast with pyrenoid and well‐depicted phycobilisomes but are devoid of starch granules.     

CHROMATOPHORE DEVELOPMENT, PITS, AND OTHER FINE STRUCTURE IN THE RED ALGA, LOMENTARIA BAILEYANA (HARV.) FARLOW

Thin sections of the red alga, Lomentaria baileyana, a tubular member of the Rhodymeniales, were examined after permanganate fixation and Araldite embedding. Many of the cellular structures in Lomentaria were found to be similar to analogous structures in animals and higher plants. However, in the walls between cells are modified areas generally known as pits which are unique to the higher orders of red algae (Florideae). In this study the pits were found to consist of a plug-like structure surrounded by an uninterrupted membrane apparently continuous with the plasma membrane. Examination of the chromatophore revealed a characteristic limiting membrane, a relatively sparse distribution of plates, no grana, and a single disc apparently oriented parallel to the limiting membrane. In addition to their origin from non-lamellate proplastids, chromatophores were found capable of division by simple constriction. Floridean starch grains were observed outside the chromatophore and the possibility of an association of the first formed grains with portions of the endoplasmic reticulum is considered. Gland cells seem to have a high proportion of Golgi components (dictyosomes), and are believed to have some kind of secretory function. Many of the Golgi vesicles seem to open on the wall and presumably discharge their contents.     

THE FINE STRUCTURE OF OOGENESIS IN MARCHANTIA POLYMORPHA

Archegonium development, beginning with the archegonial initial and culminating in the mature egg, was studied with the electron microscope. The ultrastructural features of the beginning stages in development of the archegonium are relatively similar to one another. Plasmodesmata occur between all adjacent cells at this time. After the secondary central cell is formed these protoplasmic connections are lost, and both axial and parietal cell lineages begin to show signs of ultrastructural differentiation. The mature egg is characterized by cytoplasm rich in ribosomes and larger organelles. Mitochondria and simplified plastids commonly display a juxtaposed association. As far as could be ascertained the numerous plastids and mitochondria in the egg of Marchantia arise through division of preexisting organelles and are not formed anew from evaginations of the nucleus. Blebbing of the nucleus produces polymorphic organelles which appear to be pinched off into the cytoplasm. The mature egg also contains vacuoles and lipid bodies toward its periphery, while dictyosomes and extensive endoplasmic reticulum occur throughout. The space between the wall cells and the mature egg appears to contain an amorphous substance. No extra membrane was observed around the mature egg.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF DICTYOCHA FIBULA EHRENBERG. II. THE PROTOPLAST1

Dictyocha fibula in exponential phase cultures displays a range of morphological variants of which the “sunburst” is most common. In this form, the perinuclear cytoplasm (perikaryon) contains an average of 72 dictyosomes, assorted vesicles, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and ribosomes. Cytoplasmic processes, globose to irregular, extend on fine cytoplasmic strands from the perikaryon into an extensive, viscous wall, structureless in electron micrographs except for scattered electron-opaque leaflets near the perikaryon. Mitochondria with tubular cristae occur within the globose process and occasionally within the connecting strands. Chloroplasts, with 3-disk lamellar bands and with pyrenoids not crossed by lamellae, are confined to the cytoplasmic processes in the sunburst from. A structure which may be the “flagellum” occasionally occurs attached to the perikaryon. However, no flagellar structures containing microtubules, nor flagellar root structures, have been found.     

Asterochloris phycobiontica,gen. et spec., nov., der Phycobiont der FlechteVaricellaria carneonivea

Varicellaria carneonivea is lichenized withAsterochloris phycobiontica, a new member of theChlorococcales. In the free-living state this species reproduces by zoo- and aplanospores; autospores are lacking. Sporangia develop an internal local thickening of the wall, which marks the later aperture. A group of dictyosomes apparently contributes to the formation of this thickening. Secondary carotenoids dissolved in droplets or irregular masses of oil are deposited around and within the pyrenoid.

     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF SPHEROPLASTS OF RHODOSPIRILLUM RUBRUM

Spheroplasts of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum were prepared from cultures grown in either the presence or absence of light. Cells were converted into spheroplasts by using lysozyme and Versene and fixed in a sucrose-veronal-acetate buffer mixture containing osmium tetroxide. Some preparations were shadow-cast and examined whole; others were embedded in Epon 812 and sectioned. The action of lysozyme and Versene appears to result in removal of the cell wall in strips. The relationship of the chromatophores to the cytoplasmic membrane is readily visualized in sections of broken spheroplasts, and in areas the chromatophores are seen to be continuous with the membrane. In all preparations examined, no definite connections between individual chromatophores were observed. In some cells large spherical granules were evident which either possessed or lacked a clearly visible limiting membrane. On serial sectioning, all granules appeared bounded by a single membrane 40 A wide. The granule membrane was well defined only if the section came from the center of the granule. Sections at other levels showed either a diffuse membrane or no membrane at all. The reasons for this are discussed.     

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE ALGAL PYRENOID. I. ULTRASTRUCTURE AND CYTOCHEMISTRY DURING ZOOSPOROGENESIS OF TETRACYSTIS EXCENTRICA1

The fine structure of the pyrenoid in the mature vegetative cell of Tetracystis excentrica Brown and Bold is described. During zoosporogenesis, the pyrenoid undergoes regression, and the ultrastructure of this process is described in detail. The ground substance undergoes dissolution, and reticulate fibrillar structures appear as well as intruding chloroplast thylakoids. Pyrenoid-associated starch plates diminish, and quantities of starch not associated with the pyrenoid are produced. New pyrenoids appear late in the division cycle after all other major organelles associated with the motile cell have been formed. Zoospore pyrenoids develop in thylakoid-free spaces of the chloroplast which are similar to the DNA-containing regions. The new pyrenoid ground substance, which is loosely fibrillar, arises in close proximity to starch grains which may be formed in the stroma. Then the zoospore pyrenoid produces 2 hemispherical starch plates identical to those in the mature vegetative cell. Zoospore pyrenoids lack the 2 convoluted thylakoids between the starch plates and the ground substance characteristic of those in the mature vegetative cell. Instead, the thylakoids are identical to those of the chloroplast at first, and then develop into a convoluted state in the vegetative cell. Cytochemical tests for DNA, RNA, and protein were made for the cytoplasm, nucleus, nucleolus, and pyrenoid. Conclusive evidence is presented for the presence of RNA in the cytoplasm and nucleolus, DNA in the nucleus, and protein in the pyrenoid. The tests did not conclusively demonstrate the presence or absence of DNA and RNA in the pyrenoid; however, they suggested that small amounts of both DNA and RNA may be present.     

THE POLYMORPHIC DIATOM PHAEODACTYLUM TRICORNUTUM: ULTRASTRUCTURE OF ITS MORPHOTYPES1,2

The ultrastructure of the oval, fusiform and triradiate morphotypes of Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin is described. The organization and structure of the cytoplasmic organelles is similar in all three morphotypes, except that the vacuoles occupy the extra volume created by the arms of the fusiform and triradiate cells. The frustule in fusiform and triradiate cells is organic; in the oval type it may be organic or one of the valves may have a silica frustule surrounded by an organic wall. In all cells, the organic cell wall has up to 10 silica bands (13 nm wide) embedded in its surface in the girdle region, lacks girdle bands, and has an outer corrugated cell wall layer, except in the girdle region. Cell division, organic wall formation and silica deposition are described in detail. Four types of oval cells are also described. The relation to other diatoms is discussed.     

WALL MORPHOGENESIS IN COSCINODISCUS WAILESII GRAN AND ANGST. I. VALVE MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT OF ITS ARCHITECTURE1

The morphology of the valve of Coscinodiscus wailesii and the development of its siliceous architecture, studied in the SEM and TEM, is compared with valve formation in Thalassiosira eccentrica (Ehrenberg.) Cleve. Though the areolae-architecture of these two species differs in such that the cribrum is proximal and the foramen distal in T. eccentrica, and in C. wailesii the cribrum is distal and the foramen proximal, the formation of their complex loculate system is similar, displacing a centrifugal growth pattern with respect to the valve, and a proximal to distal, sequentially. During base layer formation a hitherto undescribed rib system outlines the prospective areolae. The vertical differentiation is in principle the same as in T. eccentrica and also the cribra are formed centripetally in relation to the areolae in both species. The location of the cribra at the proximal or distal side, therefore, seems to be of minor importance for the sequence of silica deposition. Variation in girdle bands is discussed with respect to cell division. The prophasic nuclear migration from the interphase position to the girdle bands, where mitosis is performed, seems to be necessary for triggering the formation of the unilateral cleavage furrow that later forms a cleavage ring with excentric position. The divided nuclei migrate with the ingrowing cleavage furrow to the center of the newly created protoplasmic surfaces to initiate valve formation.     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF THE CRYPTOPHYCEAE. I. THE GENUS CRYPTOMONAS1,2

The fine structure of 3 members of the genus Cryptomonas, C. rostrella, C. reticulata, and C. calceiformis, has been examined. These species exhibit the features typical of the class Cryptophyceae. The presence of subpellicular trichocysts causes a regular folding of the periplast, and larger trichocysts are present within the gullet. The plastid contains thylacoids arranged in pairs and a prominent pyrenoid; both structures are enclosed in 4 membranes, the outermost of which is a rough endoplasmic reticulum. The nucleus, Golgi apparatus and the Corps de Maupas occupy characteristic positions within the cell, and are the most characteristic features. All these structures indicate that this algal class occupies a unique phylogenetic position.