Ultrastructure of the ungerminated conidium of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Roberts Jr. ◽  
Charles W. Mims ◽  
Melvin S. Fuller

Ungerminated conidia of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei were prepared for transmission electron microscopy using cryofixation and freeze-substitution. Conidia were uninucleate, with the nucleus located in the central portion of the conidium, typically off to one side. The nucleus was spherical and contained a distinct nucleolus with an associated satellite. Conidia contained numerous large, spherical vacuoles that occupied much of the spore volume. Vacuolar contents were mostly homogeneous with occasional electron-opaque inclusions. Much of the cytoplasm consisted of lightly staining aggregations of glycoprotein that could be labelled with Concanavalin A – gold and that stained darkly using a modified Thiéry's reaction specific for carbohydrates containing vicinal hydroxyl groups. Mitochondria, strands of endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi body equivalents, multivesicular bodies, microbodies, Woronin bodies, and microtubules were present in the conidium. Cuboidal, stacked, electron-translucent structures also were present in the cytoplasm. The conidium was surrounded by a two-layered wall that labelled with gold-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin-ovomucoid, indicating the presence of chitin. The wall between attached conidia contained areas that did not label with gold-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin-ovomucoid. Keywords: Erysiphe, ultrastructure, electron microscopy, freeze substitution.

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 2017-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilma L. Lingle ◽  
Ronald P. Clay ◽  
David Porter

The ultrastructure of events in basidiosporogenesis in Panellus stypticus was examined using conventional, aqueous-based fixation procedures and freeze substitution fixation following plunge freezing in liquid propane. Freeze substitution was superior in preserving cytological features and in retaining cell wall and extracellular materials. Synapsis, all stages of meiosis I (including prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase), and prophase of meiosis II were observed. The nuclear envelope breaks down during meiosis I, temporarily reforms during interphase, and is at least partially broken down during meiosis II. Many stages of spore development, including sterigma initiation, sterigma elongation, organelle translocation, and nuclear migration, were observed. Spindle pole bodies with microtubule arrays were associated with nuclear migration into developing spores. Analysis of hymenial cells with gold-tagged lectins and enzymes revealed an α-amylase positive outer cell wall layer specific to basidiospores. Only after basidiospore release were surfaces of sterigmata and basidia similarly labeled. All cell walls observed were positive for wheat germ agglutinin, indicating the presence of chitin. Septa-delimiting basidiospores from sterigmata were heavily labeled with wheat germ agglutinin. This is the first investigation of basidiosporogenesis in a homobasidiomycete preserved for transmission electron microscopy by rapid freezing and freeze substitution. Key words: fungal cell walls, lectins, gold labeling, meiosis, rapid freezing, transmission electron microscopy.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-138
Author(s):  
Troy Zars ◽  
David R Hyde

Abstract We report isolating the Drosophila retinal degeneration E (rdgE) mutation. The hypomorphic rdgE  1 allele causes rapid photoreceptor degeneration in light and a slower rate of degeneration when the flies are raised in constant darkness. The rdgE  1 flies exhibited an electrophysiological light response that decreased with age, coinciding with the degeneration. This suggests that degeneration caused the loss of the light response. We determined that the ninaE (rhodopsin) mutation, but not norpA [phospholipase C (PLC)], slowed the rdgE-dependent degeneration. This was consistent with the light-enhanced degeneration, but revealed that the degeneration is independent of the PLC-mediated phototransduction cascade. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that rdgE  1 photoreceptors exhibited a number of vesicular transport defects including unpacking/vesiculation of rhabdomeres, endocytosis of novel vesicles by photoreceptors, a buildup of very large multivesicular bodies, and an increased amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum. We determined that the rdgE null phenotype is a late embryonic lethality. Therefore, rdgE  + is required in cells outside of the retina, quite possibly in a large number of neurons. Thus, rdgE may define a mutational class that exhibits both light-enhanced retinal degeneration and a recessive null lethality by perturbing neuronal membrane biosynthesis and/or recycling.


1975 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-121
Author(s):  
R.M. Rizki ◽  
T.M. Rizki ◽  
C.A. Andrews

The effects of wheat germ agglutinin on Drosophila embryonic cell lines growing on cover-glasses was examined by scanning electron microscopy. At low concentrations of the lectin (5-10 mug/ml), cells spread against the glass surface and fused to form syncytia. At high concentration, damage to the cell surface was evidenced as extensive membrane shrivelling and loss of surface microfilaments. Fusion also occurred under these conditions. There was some indication that the morphology of cells in division remains undisturbed by wheat germ agglutinin. The coalescence of cells and morphologic disotrtion induced by wheat germ agglutinin were not inhibited by N-acetylglucosamine, the hapten inhibitor of the lectin, under the conditions utilized in this study.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiancheng Wang ◽  
Zhaoliang Peng ◽  
Bing Wang ◽  
Lina Han ◽  
Liping Chang ◽  
...  

A series of manganese salts (Mn(NO3)2, MnCl2, MnSO4, and Mn(Ac)2) and silicon materials (silica sand, silica sol, and tetraethyl orthosilicate) were used to synthesize Mn/Si complexes in supercritical water using a tube reactor. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to characterize the structure and morphology of the solid products. It was found that MnO2, Mn2O3, and Mn2SiO4could be obtained in supercritical water at 673 K in 5 minutes. The roles of both anions of manganese salts and silicon species in the formation of manganese silicon complexes were discussed. The inorganic manganese salt with the oxyacid radical could be easily decomposed to produce MnO2/SiO2and Mn2O3/SiO2. It is interesting to found that Mn(Ac)2can react with various types of silicon to produce Mn2SiO4. The hydroxyl groups of the SiO2surface from different silicon sources enhance the reactivity of SiO2.


2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Carmichael

Intracellular communication is imperative for multicellular organisms. Such devices as synapses and gap junctions have been recognized for decades. Now Amin Rustom, Raiser Saffrich, Ivanka Markovic, Paul Walther, and Hans-Hermann Gerdes have described a new model of cell-to-cell communication.While looking at PC12 (rat pheochromocytoma) cells in the presence of fluorescently labeled wheat germ agglutinin, Rustom et al. observed relatively long connections extending between cells. These structures were 50 to 200 nm in diameter and up to several cell diameters in length and were named tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). TNTs were subsequently found connecting cultured cells from other lines. They were consistently positioned along the smallest distance between the cells, did not contact the substrate, and occasionally were branched. TNTs immunostained positive for actin, but did not contain microtubules. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy definitively established that a TNT represented a seamless continuity of the plasma membrane from one cell to another.


e-Polymers ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pham Hoai Nam ◽  
Atsuhiro Fujimori ◽  
Toru Masuko

Abstract The stacking characteristics of organo-modified montmorillonite particles in poly(L-lactide) / clay hybrids have been investigated through FT-IR measurements and transmission electron microscopy. The clay particles tend to flocculate with hydrogen bonding among the hydroxyl groups of the surfactant, those located at the edge of clay particles, and/or those existing at the ends of polylactide chains.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document