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Ultrastructure and freeze-fracture studies of the thylakoids ofMantoniella squamata (Prasinophyceae)

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Summary

The ultrastructure and the supramolecular organization of the thylakoids of the small green flagellate,Mantoniella squamata, were examined in thin sections and freeze-fracture preparations. The whole chloroplast is tightly packed with thylakoids, which show a pattern of meandering, branching and/or anastomosing membranes. In freeze-fracture preparations only two fracture-faces can be distinguished: the PF- and the EF-face. The PF-face has a much higher particle density than the EF-face (PF: 4086 particles/μm2; EF: 865 particles/μm2). The EF-face is not as uniform as the PF-face. The areas which are packed with particles probably correspond to closely appressed thylakoid regions or adhesive patches, noticed in thin sections in some areas. The mean particle size on both faces is also different (EF: 10.5 nm; PF: 8.6 nm), but no information about the classification of the particles to special protein complexes is available at this time.

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Abbreviations

chl:

chlorophyll

EF:

exoplasmic fracture face

ER:

endoplasmic reticulum

LHC:

light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complex

PF:

protoplasmic fracture face

PS I:

photosystem I

PS II:

photosystem II

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Allgemeine Botanik der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz

    P. Krämer, C. Wilhelm & A. Wild

  2. Fachbereich Biologie-Botanik der Philipps-Universität, Marburg

    E. Mörschel & E. Rhiel

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  1. P. Krämer
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  2. C. Wilhelm
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  3. A. Wild
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  4. E. Mörschel
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  5. E. Rhiel
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Krämer, P., Wilhelm, C., Wild, A. et al. Ultrastructure and freeze-fracture studies of the thylakoids ofMantoniella squamata (Prasinophyceae). Protoplasma 147, 170–177 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01403345

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