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FLOW CYTOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF SPERMATOGENESIS IN THE DIATOM THALASSIOSIRA WEISSFLOGII (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) 1
Author(s) -
Vaulot Daniel,
Chisholm Sallie W.
Publication year - 1987
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 - 10.1111/j.1529-8817.1987.tb04435.x
Subject(s) - biology , thalassiosira weissflogii , gamete , diatom , darkness , population , botany , flow cytometry , sperm , microbiology and biotechnology , phytoplankton , ecology , demography , sociology , nutrient
Flow cytometry was used to detect and quantify sexual differentiation in the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grun.). Size (light scatter), chlorophyll, protein and DNA contents were measured for each cell throughout the process of differentiation. Male gametes were small round cells characterized by one complement of DNA and a lower protein and chlorophyll content than vegetative cells. Male gamete formation was induced by a long period of darkness (2 days) followed by a transfer to continuous light. Up to 30% of the initial cell population produced male gametes which appeared in the culture 14 h after release from darkness. Male gamete production was also detected in exponentially growing cultures in continuous light, but to a much smaller degree.