Differentiation of the membrane system in the cells of imaginai discs

Summary Imaginal discs from developing larvae of the fly Calliphora erythrocephala fixed in permanganate or osmium tetroxide and embedded in Epon 812 were observed by electron microscopy. When the larval growth ceases, the differentiation manifests itself through an enlargement of the endoplasmic reticulum, by which continuous membrane contact is established between all cell organelles. During the same time mitochondria swell up and transform into lipid granules and the intercellular contacts weaken.I am indebted to Mrs Mariann Carleson and Miss Brita Nilsson for technical aid.