Summary
The cytoplasm ofAlsidium cells contains unusual structures showing various fibrillar arrangements, either stacked rows of arcs or parallel fibrils in longitudinal view alternating with fibrils in cross-section. These regions, located exclusively in the cytoplasmic matrix, are highly proteinaceous and do not seem to be complexed with polysaccharides. Tilting observations under the electron microscope show that the appearance of arcs is an illusion and that the pattern fits the explanation given byBouligand and collaborators for various twisted biological structures.
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Pellegrini, M., Pellegrini, L. On the occurrence of twisted fibrillar structures in the cytoplasm of the red algaAlsidium helminthochorton (La Tourette) Kütz., ultrastructural and cytochemical observations. Protoplasma 126, 54–61 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01287673
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01287673