Process and Pattern in Cladonia Subcervicornis.

Morphogenesis of podetia inCladonia subcervicornisis a non-linear, repeating process based upon a pattern of meristem enlargement and division. Variability in mature podetia ofC. subcervicornis, which may appear branched or scyphoid, is the result of variation early in ontogeny. The growth pattern ofC. subcervicornisrepresents a continuum of developmental stages. It is impossible to predict the form of the mature thallus ofC. subcervicornisbecause growth in this species is fluid. The morphology of the mature thallus ofC. subcervicornisis difficult to circumscribe using conventionalCladoniaterminology, because the processes that form the thallus are dynamic and heterogeneous. The meristem shapes that are produced during early ontogeny inC. subcervicornisare relatively simple, and the processes by which they are formed are uncomplicated. Yet podetial form inC.subcercicornisis difficult to interpret.

Process and Pattern in Cladonia Subcervicornis

Morphogenesis of podetia in Cladonia subcervicornis is a non-linear, repeating process based upon a pattern of meristem enlargement and division. Variability in mature podetia of C. subcervicornis, which may appear branched or scyphoid, is the result of variation early in ontogeny. The growth pattern of C. subcervicornis represents a continuum of developmental stages. It is impossible to predict the form of the mature thallus of C. subcervicornis because growth in this species is fluid. The morphology of the mature thallus of C. subcervicornis is difficult to circumscribe using conventional Cladonia terminology, because the processes that form the thallus are dynamic and heterogeneous. The meristem shapes that are produced during early ontogeny in C. subcervicornis are relatively simple, and the processes by which they are formed are uncomplicated. Yet podetial form in C.subcercicornis is difficult to interpret.

Neocallimastix: a comparative morphological study

The development from zoospore to a mature thallus in Neocallimastix sp. isolated from a Georgia cow was studied at the light microscope level. The zoospore had 9–14 posteriorly directed flagella, and its shape varied from amoeboid in agar to ovoid in broth. Encysted zoospores developed endogenously into extramatrical ovoid or spherical incipient zoosporangia with extensively branched intramatrical rhizoids that often had constrictions. Sessile mature zoosporangia varied in shape, and zoospores were fully formed within zoosporangia before release through an apical pore. In agar, zoospores encysted close to the parent zoosporangium and developed endogenously into second generation zoosporangia or exogenously into elongate thalli. At maturity, an elongate thallus was made up of a sporangium, a sporangial stalk, a cyst, and branched rhizoids. Elongate thalli were sometimes formed in broth. Melanized resting sporangia were formed on branched thalli in old (> 36 h) cultures. Two isolates of Neocallimastix frontalis from a cow and sheep and Neocallimastix patriciarum were grown under the same conditions as our isolate, and the morphology of zoospore, zoosporangium, and melanized sporangium of the four isolates were compared. In broth, the isolates developed in the same manner and formed elongate thalli and melanized sporangia as described for our isolate. There is insufficient justification, based on morphology alone, for separating the four isolates. The importance of basic light microscopy is discussed. Key words: Neocallimastix, development, morphology.

Fine structure of the thraustochytrid Ulkenia amoeboidea. I. Vegetative thallus and formation of the amoeboid stage

Development of the thraustochytrid Ulkenia amoeboidea was investigated at the ultrastructural level. The mature thallus possesses a lamellate wall, a nucleus with intranuclear vesicles and lamellae, several Golgi bodies, mitochondria, bundles of microfilaments, multivesicular bodies, dilated perinuclear continuum with filamentous material, endoplasmic reticulum, sagenogenetosomes, and two centrioles. Several unit membrane bounded, variously electron-dense inclusion bodies with electron-dense globular units are present. Wall scales are produced in Golgi cisternae which inflate to form vesicles. These vesicles deposit the wall material to the outside by exocytosis. An aggregate of unit membrane bounded electron-dense cisternae (paranuclear body) is found adpressed to the nucleus. A close association between the paranuclear body and the mitochondria, the former often producing finger-like projections in mitochondrial vicinity, is present. A protocentriole-like structure is seen near the nucleus of young thalli. At later stages, the ectoplasmic net elements disappear. Closely adpressed membrane arrays appear between the cell wall and plasmalemma. These are accumulated in bundles at various places in the cell and are later found in presumed autophagic vacuoles. Before the cell contents escape as an amoeboid mass, the cell wall becomes thinner owing to the peeling off of wall scales and the cell contents round up, with the plasmalemma becoming detached from the cell wall. Various vesicles are closely associated with the plasmalemma.

A new and unusual fungus living in the gut of free-living nematodes

Spirogyromyces vermicola is described as a new genus and species inhabiting the gut of free-living nematodes. The spores are ingested and attach to the gut wall of the host. A stout, helicoid, septate hypha grows down the gut and produces one or several helicoid branches. One or more filiform spores arise from the vicinity of each septum and coil around the main axis or its branches. The mature thallus can fill the gut of the nematode with primary (main axis), secondary (branches), and tertiary (spores) coils of striking symmetry. Spores break away from the thallus and are defecated through the anal orifice to the exterior where they are eventually ingested to initiate infection.

Some observations on the fine structure of the marine brown alga Phaeostrophion irregulare

In a fine-structure study of Phaeostrophion irregulare (Dictyosiphonales) most characteristics of the organelles and their interrelationships were found to be similar to those previously reported for other brown algae. However, there was an interesting variation regarding the pyrenoid and the nucleus–chloroplast association in the macroscopic thallus. The pyrenoid is present in the cells of the sporeling but absent from the thallus which grows directly from it. In addition, there is no evidence of any connection between the outer membranes of the nucleus and the chloroplast in the cells of the blade. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the phyletic importance of the pyrenoid and the possible implications of observing a limited number of heterogeneous tissue types, such as spore, sporeling, and mature thallus, in comparative studies.