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FINE STRUCTURE OF NUCLEAR CRYSTALS IN LEAVES OF TWO DIANTHUS SPECIES
Author(s) -
Weintraub M.,
Ragetli H. W. J.,
Veto Marga
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1968.tb06964.x
Subject(s) - caryophyllaceae , biology , botany , dianthus , cytoplasm , electron microscope , silene , hexagonal crystal system , cytoplasmic inclusion , parenchyma , crystallography , microbiology and biotechnology , physics , carnation , optics , chemistry
Examination of leaf cells of Dianthus barbatus with the election microscope revealed the presence of crystals in the nuclei, but not in the cytoplasm or in other organelles. They were at first thought to be viral crystalline inclusions, but no evidence could be adduced to support this possibility. The crystals were found in the nuclei of cells from all parts of the leaf, including parenchyma cells of the vascular elements. They were usually 0.5–2 μ long, and occasionally up to 5 μ. In longitudinal section they appeared as electron‐dense striations, about 10–15 mμ wide, alternating with electron‐transparent bands, 6–8 mμ wide. In cross section they had a honeycomb appearance, resulting from closely packed hexagonal elements, with electron‐transparent centers. Similar crystals were found in nuclei of D. chinensis leaf cells, but not in other members of the Caryophyllaceae, including two varieties of D. caryophyllus, D. deltoides, D. arenarius, Silene acaulis, Lychnis chalcedonica, Saponaria calibrica, and Stellaria media. This appears be the first fine structural report of a lattice inclusion in nuclei of cells of healthy higher plants.