OBSERVATIONS ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF OEDOGONIUM. V. EVIDENCE FOR THE DE NOVO FORMATION OF PYRENOIDS IN ZOOSPORES OF OE. CARDIACUM123

Ultrastructural studies of the chloroplasts of zoospores and developing zoospores of Oedogonium carcliacum have disclosed the occurrence of numerous incipient pyrenoids. A single developing zoospore may possess several score of these structures which appear to arise de novo in the chloroplast stroma and seem to lack any direct association with mature pyrenoids which are also present in the cells. The incipient pyrenoids lack the associated starch grains and the membrane-limited channels characteristic of mature pyrenoids, but they are readily recognized in the chloroplasts since they demonstrate a greater granularity and electron density than the surrounding chloroplast stroma. The granularity and electron density of the incipient pyrenoids match the ultra-structural appearance of the matrix of mature pyrenoids. The smallest of the incipient pyrenoids examined from serial sections had a maximum diameter of less than 0.3 μ. This may be compared with the size of mature pyrenoids, many with a maximum diameter of over 5.0 μ. In all the zoospores and developing zoospores examined, only one mature pyrenoid was observed in an apparent stage of division.