Lomasomes and plasmalemmasomes in fungi

Summary Electron microscope observations of fungal hyphae and yeast-like cells, using conventional fixation methods and freeze-etching, demonstrate that plasmalemmasomes are not fixation artifacts. The small invaginations of the plasmalemma observed in aldehyde-fixed preparations are also present in frozen-etched samples. The morphology of plasmalemmasomes in the species examined is variable and ranges from vesicles or tubules within the plasmalemma invagination to parallel arrays of membrane lamellae. Plasmalemmasomes thus appear to be primarily excess plasma membrane that has accumulated, perforce, endocellularly. Lomasomes, in contrast, appear to be accumulations of ejected material between the plasmalemma and cell wall that have become sequestered by the deposition of wall material.