A cytochemical and ultrastructural study of the echinate cytoplasmic inclusion in Nitella flexilis (Characeae)
Echinate bodies most commonly 20–40 micrometers (μm) in diameter are conspicuous inclusions carried with the cyclosis in the internode cells of some charophytes. Those in Nitella flexilis were investigated with light and electron microscopes. The chemical nature of the inclusion identified through v...
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of Botany |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1974
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b74-018 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b74-018 |
| Summary: | Echinate bodies most commonly 20–40 micrometers (μm) in diameter are conspicuous inclusions carried with the cyclosis in the internode cells of some charophytes. Those in Nitella flexilis were investigated with light and electron microscopes. The chemical nature of the inclusion identified through various cytochemical techniques in the present study disagrees with the generally held belief that the echinate body is almost entirely composed of proteins. Microchemical tests have convincingly revealed the presence of tannin. The inclusion's close spatial association to endoplasmic reticula and to vesicles apparently derived from the Golgi apparatus and the cytochemical demonstration of acid phosphatase and thiamine pyrophosphatase activities in the matrix of the inclusion suggest that both cell organelles are actively involved in the development of this bizarre body with unknown function. |
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