Summary
The replication of nuclear and cytoplasmic DNA during the final stages of oogenesis inPteridium aquilinum was investigated using light and electron microscope autoradiography.
No nuclear S phase occurs during the development of the egg cell itself, though it was present in the preceding central cell. Cytoplasmic replication was continuous throughout. The large amount of cytoplasmic DNA in the mature egg cell was concluded to be derived mainly as a result of cytoplasmic replication and not large scale efflux from the nucleus.
It is proposed that some of the organelles degenerate during the final development of the egg cell, leading to a high proportion of DNA in the groundplasm. Some of the mitochondria and plastids persist, the mitochondria undergoing considerable change. There is thus some continuity in transmission of organelles from gametophyte to sporophyte generation.
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Sigee, D.C. The origin of cytoplasmic DNA in the mature egg cell ofPteridium aquilinum . Protoplasma 75, 323–334 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01279823
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01279823