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The Electron Microscopy of Trichomonas muris * †
Author(s) -
ANDERSON EVERETT
Publication year - 1955
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1955.tb02411.x
Subject(s) - flagellum , electron microscope , protein filament , organelle , anatomy , flagellate , fibril , thin section , membrane , ultrastructure , materials science , biophysics , crystallography , biology , chemistry , optics , mineralogy , composite material , physics , botany , gene , biochemistry , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology
SUMMARY. Thin sections of Trichomonas muris , from the caecum of Mesocricetus auratus , were observed with the aid of the electron microscope in order to determine structural details of organelles of this species. The blepharoplast appears to be limited by a membrane. What seem to be basal granules occur in the blepharoplastic area for the axostyle and the lamellae of the undulating membrane and measure approximately 500 Å in diameter. In cross section the anterior flagella and posterior flagellum are composed of eleven fibrils, two centrally and nine peripherally located. Each fibril measures about 380 Å in diameter. The so‐called “accessory filament” of the undulating membrane is devoid of any filamentous structure and appears to be composed of two differentiated mesh‐work areas. The undulating membrane is composed of a series of lamellae ranging from 300 to 400 Å in thickness. This organelle is attached to the external body surface by fine fibers ranging from 167 to 300 Å in thickness. The costa consists of a series of disks embedded in a matrix. The costa is attached to the internal body surface by what appear to be extensions of the costal disks. These disks are approximately 370 Å in thickness and spaced 490 Å apart. The axostyle is limited by a double, corrugated membrane. The corrugations are about 150 Å in thickness and spaced 110 Å apart. The so‐called chromatic ring is composed of a series of rods approximately 640 Å in thickness. The parabasal body consists of a series of filaments approximately 190 Å in thickness. Mitochondria, spheroidal in shape, are limited by a membrane about 180 Å in thickness. The internal structure consists of a varying number of projections which make this organelle appear in section as a series of compartments. Chromatic granules (paracostal, para‐axostylar, endo‐axostylar and those scattered in the cytoplasm) are irregular in shape and limited by a membrane approximately 200 Å in thickness. These granules typically display a vacuolated internal structure.