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CRYOANALYTICAL STUDIES OF FREEZING DAMAGE AND RECOVERY IN FUCUS VESICULOSUS (PHAEOPHYCEAE)
Author(s) -
Speransky Vladislav V.,
Speransky Svetlana R.,
Brawley Susan H.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8817.1999.3561264.x
Subject(s) - frond , biology , fucus vesiculosus , botany , medulla , abscission , thallus , anatomy , algae
Receptacles of Fucus vesiculosus L. were examined using cryoscanning electron microscopy of rapidly frozen, hydrated tissue to avoid extraction and collapse of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and provide new structural information. The pore of the conceptacle was occluded by the tightly appressed tips of the paraphyses. These were embedded in copious ECM within the conceptacle. The ECM inside the conceptacle and in the medulla differed markedly in texture and with respect to the distribution of S and Cl, as revealed by energy‐dispersive X‐ray microanalysis. High levels of S were restricted to the conceptacle’s ECM, whereas the ECM in the medulla was always S poor and Cl rich. Receptacles frozen naturally at low tide during the winter of 1998 showed extensive damage in the medulla, and this likely accounts for the cessation of reproduction during the winter on the Maine shore. The damaged receptacles recovered and resumed growth during the spring, and they released gametes by May. Abscission of the overwintered receptacles was observed in June to July, coincident with the formation of new receptacles at the tips of newly grown portions of the fronds.