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Studies of Chloroplast Development in Euglena. 4. Electron and Fluorescence Microscopy of the Proplastid and its Development into a Mature Chloroplast. *
Author(s) -
EPSTEIN H. T.,
SCHIFF JEROME A.
Publication year - 1961
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.1550-7408.1961.tb01238.x
Subject(s) - euglena gracilis , chloroplast , euglena , lamella (surface anatomy) , electron microscope , biology , botany , coalescence (physics) , biophysics , fluorescence , optics , physics , anatomy , gene , biochemistry , astrobiology
Electron and fluorescence microscopy reveal a proplastid about 1 μ in diameter in dark‐grown Euglena gracilis quite like those in higher plants. After the cells are placed in the light these structures lengthen, probably in part by coalescence of several proplastids. Full size is reached in some cells after about one day in light. Lamellae, growing as blebs off the inner proplastid membrane, develop in a roughly linear fashion with time, art average of one new lamella appearing after each 6 hours in the light. The maturation of the proplastid thus appears to differ appreciably from that in higher plants since the latter presumably create several lamellae simultaneously, and these appear able to replicate themselves in a geometrically parallel fashion. The question is raised whether the apparent differences in development may not be due to lesser discrimination in observing the sequence in the higher plants, for there are no observations necessarily inconsistent with the sequence found in Euglena .