Intervessel Pit Structure and Histochemistry of Two Mangrove Species as Revealed by Cellular UV Microspectrophotometry and Electron Microscopy: Intraspecific Variation and Functional Significance

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nele Schmitz ◽  
Gerald Koch ◽  
Uwe Schmitt ◽  
Hans Beeckman ◽  
Nico Koedam

AbstractIntervessel pits play a key role in trees' water transport, lying at the base of drought-induced embolism, and in the regulation of hydraulic conductivity via hydrogels bordering pit canals. Recently, their microstructure has been the focus of numerous studies, but the considerable variation, even within species and the histochemistry of pit membranes, remains largely unexplained. In the present study, intervessel pits of the outermost wood were examined for Avicennia marina, of dry and rainy season wood separately for Rhizophora mucronata. The thickness of the pit membranes was measured on transmission electron micrographs while their topochemical nature was also analyzed via cellular UV microspectrophotometry. Pit membranes of R. mucronata were slightly thicker in dry season wood than in rainy season wood, but their spectra showed for both seasons a lignin and a yet unidentified higher wavelength absorbing component. It was suggested to be a derivative of the deposits, regularly filling pit canals. The vestures of A. marina chemically resembled pit membranes rather than cell walls.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kandasamy Kathiresan ◽  
Kandasamy Saravanakumar ◽  
Nabikhan Asmathunisha ◽  
Raj Anburaj ◽  
Venugopal Gomathi

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Untiedt ◽  
K. Müller

Lyophyllum palustre (Peck) Singer, a basidiomycete (Tricholomataceae) parasitizing Sphagnum, was examined for points of contact between hyphae and Sphagnum cells with the help of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicate that the fungus attacks Sphagnum cells by penetrating cell walls and altering host cell protosplasm. In addition, the formation of additional partitioning cell walls in attacked living Sphagnum cells was observed.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 825-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Robb ◽  
Alexandra Smith ◽  
Lloyd Busch

Plants that are infected with fungi of the species Verticillium frequently develop foliar disease symptoms which may include one or more of the following: flaccidity, drying, chlorosis leading to necrosis, vascular browning, epinasty, and leaf abscission. A number of ultrastructural and chemical alterations occur in the vascular tissues of such leaves: deposition of brown pigments, coating of xylem vessel walls with abnormal material (i.e., lipid-rich coatings or fibrillar coatings), plugging of xylem vessels with gums, gels or tyloses, degeneration of parenchyma cells, and accumulation of abnormal electron dense materials in primary and secondary cell walls. Different host–parasite combinations exhibit different leaf symptoms and different cytological alterations. The purpose of the present survey was to determine whether the extent of any of the possible vascular alterations in leaves could be correlated with the wilting tendency of the host.Chrysanthemums, snapdragons, eggplants, sunflowers, potatoes, sycamore maples and hedge maples were infected with V. dahliae; alfalfa and hops were infected with V. albo-atrum. When leaf symptoms were well advanced, samples were taken from the major lateral leaf veins and were prepared for light (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The various types of alterations in the vascular tissues were identified by a correlated LM–TEM method and (or) SEM analysis and for each sample vein the proportion of vessels affected by each type of alteration was calculated. Four leaf samples, each from different plants, were analysed for each host. The visual symptoms, including vascular browning, were estimated subjectively. The degree of leaf flaccidity was correlated positively with the proportion of lipid-coated vessels and inversely with the degree of vascular browning. No other correlations were observed.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 1327-1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Edwards ◽  
R. V. Gessner

The incorporation of caffeine in standard transmission electron microscope fixation procedures has allowed good preservation and embedment of ectomycorrhizal short roots of English oak (Quercus robur L.). In the mantle the most conspicuous structures are cystidia which radiate outwards from the surface. These conically shaped cells have knobs at their tips and thickened cell walls. The cystidia and other outer mantle cells contain many cytoplasmic constituents, whereas the inner mantle cells are nearly devoid of cytoplasm. The mantle cells are held together by an intercellular slime network. The Hartig net cells are filled with cytoplasm and contain numerous lipid droplets. Typical dolipore septa separate the cells; however, these cells have irregularly branched shapes. The host root tissue appears little altered by the presence of the fungal symbiont. However, the root cap consists of only a few cell layers. The apical meristem is functional as evidenced by the presence of newly divided cells and microtubules lining enlarging cells.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1604-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hoffert ◽  
S. Gharibian ◽  
C. Breuil ◽  
D. L. Brown

Polyclonal antibodies were raised against proteinase K and were used to immunolocalize the major extracellular proteinase of the sap-staining fungus Ophiostoma piceae (Münch) H. and P. Sydow. Immunodot blotting showed that the IgG antibodies recognized both enzymes but reacted more strongly with proteinase K than with the O. piceae proteinase. Immunogold labelling and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the O. piceae proteinase was localized in the cell walls of O. piceae grown either in liquid media or wood. Key words: Ophiostoma piceae, proteinase, immunogold labelling, transmission electron microscopy, antibody, proteinase K.


1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 2483-2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Huang ◽  
E. G. Kokko

Transmission electron microscopy revealed that hyphae of the hyperparasite Coniothyrium minitans invade sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, resulting in the destruction and disintegration of the sclerotium tissues. The dark-pigmented rind tissue is more resistant to invasion by the hyperparasite than the unpigmented cortical and medullary tissues. Evidence from cell wall etching at the penetration site suggests that chemical activity is required for hyphae of C. minitans to penetrate the thick, melanized rind walls. The medullary tissue infected by C. minitans shows signs of plasmolysis, aggregation, and vacuolization of cytoplasm and dissolution of the cell walls. While most of the hyphal cells of C. minitans in the infected sclerotium tissue are normal, some younger hyphal cells in the rind tissue were lysed and devoid of normal contents.


IAWA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
Adya P. Singh ◽  
Andrew H.H. Wong ◽  
Yoon Soo Kim ◽  
Seung Gon Wi

Naturally durable heartwoods, where available, continue to be used as support structures in environments considered hazardous, particularly in ground contact. However, durability of heartwoods against wood decay microorganisms varies. Therefore, it is important to evaluate heartwood products for their in-service performance in order to maximise benefits derived from this valuable natural resource of limited supply. In the work presented, wood pieces from a kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) utility pole that had been placed in service in an acidic soil in Malaysia, and in time had softened at the ground-line position, were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the cause of deterioration.Light microscopy (LM) provided evidence of extensive attack on fibre cell walls by cavity-producing soft rot fungi. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed in greater detail the distribution and micromorphologies of cavities as well as their relationships to the fine structure of fibre cell walls, which consisted of a highly electron dense middle lamella, a moderately dense S1 layer and a multilamellar S2 layer with variable densities, reflecting differences in lignin concentration. The resistance of the moderately dense S1 layer to soft rot was a feature of particular interest and is the main focus of the work presented. The resistance appeared to be correlated with high lignification of the outermost region of the S2 wall, interfacing with the S1 layer, an unusual cell wall feature not previously described for normal wood.


1981 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Bacic ◽  
BA Stone

Aleurone layers and cell walls from both wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Insignia) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Clipper) have been isoIated by differential centrifugation in benzene-carbon tetrachloride mixtures and by air classification. The isolated walls were obtained in sufficient quantities and purity for comprehensive chemical analysis. Morphological characteristics of the isolated aleurone layers and walls were examined by bright field, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy and compared with their appearance in whole grains. Transmission electron microscopy of wall sections clearly showed their characteristic bilayered structure. Aniline blue-positive deposits were observed at the aleurone-starchy endosperm interfaces of both wheat and barley.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Antoń ◽  
Magdalena Kamińska ◽  
Małgorzata Stpiczyńska

The structure of the osmophores in <i>Stanhopea graveolens</i> and <i>Cycnoches chlorochilon</i> was studied by means of light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The scent glands are located in the basal part of the labellum. The surface of the osmophores is wrinkled or rugose, which increases the area of fragrance emission. On the surface of the epidermis, remnants of secretion are noticeable in <i>S. graveolens</i>, but these are absent in <i>C. chlorochilon</i>. The osmophore tissue is composed of secretory epidermal cells and several layers of subepidermal parenchyma, and it is supplied by vascular bundles that run in ground parenchyma. The secretory cells have large nuclei, a dense cytoplasm with numerous ER profiles, lipid droplets, and plastids with a substantial amount of starch, which are probably involved in the synthesis of volatile substances. In the cell walls of the osmophore cells, numerous pits with plasmodesmata occur that are likely to take part in symplastic transport of the scent compounds. The structure of the osmophores is similar in both investigated species. Both <i>S. graveolens</i> and <i>C. chlorochilon</i> are pollinated by euglossine bees, and such similarity results from adaptation to effective scent emission and attraction of pollinators.


2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kamińska ◽  
Małgorzata Stpiczyńska

To date, the structure of the nectary spur of <i>Dendrobium finisterrae</i> has not been studied in detail, and the present paper compares the structural organization of the floral nectary in this species with the spurs of other taxa. The nectary spur of <i>D. finisterrae</i> was examined by means of light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is composed of a single layer of secretory epidermis and several layers of small and compactly arranged subepidermal secretory cells. The secretory cells have thick cellulosic cell walls with primary pits. The secretory tissue is supplied by vascular bundles that run beneath in ground parenchyma and are additionally surrounded by strands of sclerenchymatous fibers. The flowers of the investigated species displayed morphological features characteristic of bee-pollinated taxa, as they are zygomorphic, creamy-green coloured with evident nectar guides. They also emit a weak but nice scent. However, they possess some characters attributed to bird-pollinated flowers such as a short, massive nectary spur and collenchymatous secretory tissue that closely resembles the one found in the nectaries of certain species that are thought to be bird-pollinated. This similarity in anatomical organization of the nectary, regardless of geographical distribution and phylogeny, strongly indicates convergence and appears to be related to pollinator-driven selection.


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