Summary
The vacuoles of the sieve elements ofSelaginella kraussiana contain a crystalline protein which appears to degenerate in mature cells. Although it occurs in sieve elements we have elected not to call it “P-protein” because of ontogenetic and possibly functional differences between the two. The nucleus undergoes unique structural changes during development of the sieve element, ultimately being converted to a mass of tubules. The structures referred to by earlier workers as “refractive spherules” inSelaginella are probably plastids. As the size of the sieve pores in lateral and end walls falls into the same size range, the sieve elements ofSelaginella kraussiana can be considered to be sieve cells.
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This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (GB 31417).
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Burr, F.A., Evert, R.F. Some aspects of sieve-element structure and development inSelaginella kraussiana . Protoplasma 78, 81–97 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01281524
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01281524