ULTRASTRUCTURE OF GLOEODINIUM MONTANUM (DINOPHYCEAE)1

The freshwater dinoflagellate Gloeodinium montanum Klebs (1912) was examined with transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Micrographs of ultrathin sections revealed a series of membrane layers rather than the usual dinoflagellate theca in vegetative cysts and in legates. Swarmers had distinct pellicles but appeared to be devoid of thecal plates and vesicles. The organization of cysts and swarmers appeared remarkably similar. All cell types had typical dinoflagellate nuclei with condensed chromosomes. Chloraplasts had girdle lamellae. One pyrenoid per cell was also present in chloroplasts of vegetative cysts. Starch grains and oil globules were distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Large accumulation bodies and polyvesicular vacuoles were found in aging cysts. Trichocysts and flagellar hairs were absent. Two types of intra-cellular prokaryotic organisms were discovered.