scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT AND GERMINATION OF THE AZOTOBACTER CYST

1961 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orville Wyss ◽  
Marilyn G. Neumann ◽  
M. D. Socolofsky
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Vegetative Cell ◽  
Central Body ◽  
Azotobacter Vinelandii ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Spherical Form ◽  
Cyst Volume ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
Mature Cyst ◽  
Cyst Germination

The fine structure of Azotobacter vinelandii has been studied by means of electron microscopy of ultrathin sections made of the encysting and germinating cells. The organisms were fixed with KMnO4 and embedded in epoxy resin. On an encystment medium the rod-shaped bacteria begin to assume an almost spherical form and then bark-like exine appears in 1½ to 2 days. The exine thickens and an electron permeable intine forms between it and the shrinking cell body. In 5 days the intine makes up more than half of the cyst volume and begins to show a definite two-layered structure. Meanwhile the peripheral bodies, which may be extensions of the cell membrane of the vegetative cell, disappear as the encystment progresses. The cell wall and membrane of the vegetative cell remain demonstrable as the confining structure of the shrinking central body of the mature cyst. In this central body lipoidal globules appear together with aggregations of nuclear material. Cyst germination begins with an increase in the size of the central body at the expense of the intine. The nuclear aggregations become more diffuse and the lipoidal globules disappear. The exine may be pushed outward and the bark-like fragments separate as the emerging vegetative cell develops. Invagination of the cell wall and membrane may occur at this stage leading to cell division. Empty exines remain as horseshoe-shaped structures.

ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF ULTRATHIN SECTIONS OF MICROCOCCUS CRYOPHILUS

1966 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mazanec ◽  
M. Kocur ◽  
T. Martinec
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Micrococcus Luteus ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Granular Structure ◽  
Condensed Chromatin ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Ultrathin Sections

Ultra thin sections of Micrococcus cryophilus cells were investigated. The cell wall, consisting of several layers, measures 410–500 Å and is covered with a distinct capsule. The cytoplasm, which is of granular structure, includes ribosomes, condensed chromatin, and occasionally mesosomes. The nuclear material has various shapes and is formed by filaments proceeding in various directions. We could find no evidence to bear out the supposition of Kocur and Martinec (1962) that M. cryophilus is related to Micrococcus luteus. M. cryophilus is, in its structure as well as its groupings of cells, different from micrococci, which leads us to believe that it does not belong to the genus Micrococcus.

Electron microscopy of two nematode-destroying fungi, Meristacrum asterospermum and Zygnemomyces echinulatus (Meristacraceae, Entomophthorales)

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 762-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Saikawa ◽  
Masami Oguchi ◽  
Rafael F. Castañeda Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Septal Wall ◽  
Apical Portion ◽  
Key Words Infection ◽  
Ultrathin Sections

Infection of nematodes by Meristacrum asterospermum and Zygnemomyces echinulatus was initiated by conidia adhering to the nematode's cuticle. Each conidium developed an infection peg to penetrate the nematode after adhesion. In M. asterospermum, an infection peg just under the penetration was found in ultrathin sections, in which the peg's cell wall was broken into several lobes that were covered entirely with an amorphous mass of electron-opaque substance. Septa formed in the apical portion of aerial conidiophore under conidiation. The septal wall was nonperforate and often contained electron-opaque inclusions. Vegetative hyphae of Z. echinulatus had typical bifurcate septa, but septa at both ends of the pedicel of conidia were often slightly deformed. Key words: infection of nematodes, Meristacrum asterospermum, septum, Zygnemomyces echinulatus.

Ultrastructural aspects of spore germination and outgrowth in Clostridium sporogenes

1969 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1061-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith F. M. Hoeniger ◽  
C. L. Headley
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Spore Coat ◽  
Clostridium Sporogenes ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Young Cell ◽  
The Core ◽  
Resting Spore ◽  
Peripheral Areas

The process by which dormant spores of Clostridium sporogenes are transformed into vegetative cells has been studied in thin sections with the electron microscope. The resting spore appears very similar to that of other Bacillaceae for it possesses a rather featureless core which is surrounded by a core membrane, cortex, and spore coat(s); beyond lies a sac-like exosporium. At an early stage in germination the core becomes differentiated into peripheral areas of nuclear material and a ribosome-packed cytoplasm; a germ cell wall develops beyond the core membrane. The later stages of germination coincide with the beginning of outgrowth: the cortex disintegrates into a sponge-like mass of fibrils, and the young cell grows while still retained within the unbroken spore coats. The young cell now has a fibrillar nucleoplasm, a ribosome-rich cytoplasm, an occasional mesosome, a plasma membrane, and a relatively thick cell wall. Subsequently, the cortex vanishes completely, and the new vegetative cell elongates and finally emerges terminally through the spore coats and the exosporium. The exosporium of C. sporogenes consists of two layers: a thick inner one which is laminated, and a thin outer one possessing a fringe of hair-like projections.

Zoospore formation in Cylindrocapsa

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry R. Hoffman ◽  
Cecilia S. Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Vegetative Cell ◽  
Parental Cell ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Cell Wall Material ◽  
Daughter Cells ◽  
Filamentous Green Algae ◽  
Zoospore Release ◽  
Zoospore Formation ◽  
Altered Cell

Quadriflagellate zoospores and conditions for their induction are described for an algal isolate tentatively identified as Cylindrocapsa geminella Wolle. Previous to this report, only biflagellate zoospores were known for Cylindrocapsa while quadriflagellate zoospores were thought to characterize the closely related Cylindrocapsopsis; this distinction is no longer valid. In our isolate, a vegetative cell may differentiate directly into a single zoospore or, more commonly, zoosporogenesis is preceded by division of a vegetative cell into two, four, or eight daughter cells, each of which becomes a zoospore. Variation in zoospore arrangement depends on the number and nature of the division sequences. Ultimately, zoospores are released from the more-or-less dissociated parental cell wall in one or more vesicles. Each primary vesicle contains one, two, four, or occasionally eight zoospores; zoospore release follows the gradual distention and dissolution of the enclosing vesicle. Light microscopic observations suggest that the zoospore-containing vesicles arise from altered cell wall material. Zoospore germlings and variations in the appearance of vegetative filaments are aiso described and attention is called to the nature of the cell wall, which is quite unlike that of most other filamentous green algae.

scholarly journals STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF VIRUSES OBSERVED IN THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

1956 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Councilman Morgan ◽  
Harry M. Rose ◽  
Dan H. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Free Surface ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Chorioallantoic Membrane ◽  
Outer Coat ◽  
Spherical Form ◽  
Filamentous Form ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Constant Distance ◽  
Infectious Unit

Rods and spheres believed to represent viral particles were observed at the free surface of entodermal cells of the chorioallantoic membrane 6 to 44 hours after infection. Although occasional short rods revealed poorly defined internal bodies, the majority, as well as all the longer rods (filaments), exhibited no visible internal structure. The spheres presumed to lie central to the plane of section contained an inner body 20 to 22 mµ in diameter. Both forms possessed a dense, sharply defined limiting membrane 30 A thick and a diffuse external coat of lesser density. Where superimposition within the section was minimal, the viral particles were separated by a relatively constant distance. Measured to include this spacing, on the assumption that it reflected the presence of a component of the outer coat, the diameters of a majority of the rods were 50 to 60 mµ, whereas the spheres averaged 60 to 70 mµ. The rods appeared to form by a process of extrusion from the cell wall and became detached either singly or in bundles of variable length. The spheres seemed to differentiate at the cell surface and to acquire the inner body, limiting membrane, and outer coat as they migrated through the membrane of the host cell. No characteristic changes were seen in the nuclei or adjacent cytoplasm, and recognizable viral particles were never encountered in these areas of the cell. No support was obtained for the assumption that the spheres developed primarily by segmentation of the rods. It is suggested that the spherical form of the virus is the elemental infectious unit and that the filamentous form is largely or completely non-infective.

Poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) extrusion from pleomorphic cells ofAzotobacter vinelandiiUWD

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (13) ◽  
pp. 22-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Page ◽  
Luis D'elia ◽  
Richard Sherburne ◽  
Lori L. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Azotobacter Vinelandii ◽  
Intact Cell ◽  
Viable Cell ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Polymer Expansion ◽  
Chemical Dehydration ◽  
Pleomorphic Cells

Azotobacter vinelandii UWD cells fill with up to 80% (per dry mass) poly(β-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) after 24 h growth in medium containing sugars and fish peptone. However, peptones were not usually added to Azotobacter culture as they induced pleomorphism and compromised cell wall strength. This study examines the morphology of these PHB-producing pleomorphic cells in the transmission electron microscope. PHB-producing cells incubated for 18–24 h were most frequently 2–3 μm diameter spheres containing up to 20 PHB inclusions/cross section, or a calculated ≈ 100 inclusions/cell volume. These inclusions tended to be of small size (≈ 0.5 μm diameter) and became fewer and larger in older cells. The most striking feature of these pleomorphic cells was the apparent extrusion of polymer from the cells. It is unlikely that PHB extrusion is an active process from a viable cell as there was considerable cell wall damage at the point of polymer extrusion. The results suggest that the extrusion of PHB may be the result of polymer expansion, caused by the dehydration of the specimen for transmission electron microscopy, coupled with the inability of the pleomorphic cell wall to retain the expanding polymer. Thus, freeze-substituted sections of similar cells that were prepared without chemical dehydration did not extrude PHB. However, lysed cells prepared for transmission electron microscopy by chemical dehydration also did not extrude PHB, which suggests differences in the fluidity of the PHB in intact cell inclusions and lysed cell granules.Key words: poly(β-hydroxybutyrate), inclusions, polymer expansion, dehydration artifact.

scholarly journals The presence of ribonucleic acid in the cell walls of higher plants

1968 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Phethean ◽  
L. Jervis ◽  
Mary Hallaway
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Potassium Hydroxide ◽  
Base Composition ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Nuclear Material ◽  
Ion Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Exchange Chromatography

A method for isolating extensively purified cell walls from higher plants is described; the preparations contain no detectable chloroplast or nuclear material and the protein content (2–5% of the dry wt. of walls) indicates that there is little contamination with cytoplasm. Incubation of purified cell walls with 0·3n-potassium hydroxide for 17hr. at 37° liberates ribonucleotides, which can be purified by adsorption on charcoal and by ion-exchange chromatography. Ribonucleotides are also liberated by incubating the walls with ribonuclease, but not with deoxyribonuclease. The RNA content varies from 0·5 to 6mg./g. dry wt. of walls, depending on the nature and age of the tissue, and at 3mg./g. dry wt. of walls accounts for about 7% of the total RNA of the tissue. Less than 0·2% of the RNA of the walls is due to the presence of bacteria in the preparation. The base composition of the cell-wall RNA is identical with that of ribosomal RNA.

External morphology of Azotobacter vinelandii during cyst formation

1973 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1481-1485
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Cagle ◽  
R. M. Pfister ◽  
G. R. Vela ◽  
J. J. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Central Body ◽  
Azotobacter Vinelandii ◽  
Cyst Formation ◽  
External Morphology ◽  
Cell Preparation ◽  
External Appearance ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
Scanning Electron

Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM), freeze-etching, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study changes in the external morphology of Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC 12837 during cyst formation. The various methods of cell preparation used for SEM drastically affected the morphology of vegetative and early precystic forms, while little change was observed in the external appearance of late precysts and cysts. SEM preparations from which cyst exine was removed before observation appeared morphologically similar to frozen-etched cells which revealed the central body.

The Ultrastructure and Ontogeny of Pollen in Helleborus Foetidus L

1972 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-129
Author(s):  
P. ECHLIN
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Vegetative Cell ◽  
Generative Cell ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Mitotic Division ◽  
Tube Formation ◽  
Pollen Grain ◽  
Granular Body ◽  
Development Proceeds

The final stages of Helleborus pollen-grain ontogeny, which culminate in maturation and germination of the grain, have been investigated at the ultrastructural level. Following the deposition of primary and secondary exine, and during the early stages of intine formation, the microspore passes through a vacuolate phase, in which the cytoplasm appears devoid of most organelles other than the prominent nucleus. The formation of the vacuole results in the displacement of the nucleus to one side of the pollen grain. The vacuole quickly disappears and a number of organelles reappear in the cytoplasm, in particular the dictyosomes and strands of endoplasmic reticulum, with associated grey bodies. Following mitotic division of the pollen grain, the first signs of the generative cell wall appear as a pair of tightly appressed unit membranes in the narrow strand of cytoplasm separating the two newly formed generative and vegetative nuclei. As development proceeds, the space between the two membranes gradually fills with an electron-transparent material similar to the substance found in the numerous dictyosome-derived vesicles which, together with the endoplasmic reticulum, are both closely associated with the developing cell wall. The generative cell wall fuses with the cellulosic intine, which has gradually increased in amount during these stages, and the cell division is complete. The smaller generative cell contains a prominent nucleus and a small amount of cytoplasm devoid of plastids and most other organelles. The larger vegetative cell also contains a prominent nucleus and a large amount of cytoplasm containing amyloplasts, mitochondria, dictyosomes and endoplasmic reticulum, and abundant ribosomes, many of which are in a polysome configuration. The final stages in development are characterized by a progressive decrease in the amount of starch in the vegetative cell and an increase in the size of grey bodies, many of which are invested in multilayered shrouds of endoplasmic reticulum. The generative cell wall disappears and a multivesicular/granular body gradually appears at the periphery of the pollen grain. The granular-vesicular material, which is formed from the dictyosomes and/or the degenerating plastids, is thought to represent metabolic reserves necessary for pollen-tube formation. One or more pollen tubes emerge from the apertural sectors of the pollen grain, and maturation of the grain is complete.

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