Open AccessVariation in elemental content among and within trichomes in Nostoc calcicola 79WA01 measured by x‐ray micro‐analysis
Author(s) -
Fagerbakke Kjell Magne,
Heldal Mikal,
Norland Svein
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1991.tb04750.x
Subject(s) - trichome , potassium , botany , population , biology , nostoc , dry weight , sodium , chemistry , cyanobacteria , demography , organic chemistry , sociology , genetics , bacteria
Using X‐ray micro‐analysis elemental content and dry weight were measured in single vegetative cells along eight trichomes from a culture of Nostoc calcicola . Nearly all of the variation in the pooled population could be attributed to the variation among trichomes, with coefficients of variation (CV) between 0.2 and 0.7. Within trichomes the CV was 0.10–0.13. Chlorine, sodium, calcium and potassium were the elements that contributed most to the dispersion of the trichomes as shown by canonical variate analysis. These results suggest that there exists an ionic or molecular exchange between cells along the trichome and that the trichome may be regarded as a counterpart to an individual cell in a binary dividing population.