Wintertime changes in the ultrastructure and metabolism of the microsporangiate strobili of the Scotch pine

Abstract

Terminal buds of Pinus silvestris L. containing microsporangiate strobilus primordia were collected once a month throughout the winter. The electron microscopic studies indicated that in October and December, the cells of the strobili contained a large number of vacuoles, a portion of which was supposedly autophagic, and stacked rough endoplasmic reticulum. By February, the amount of these had decreased, and instead, a large population of dense bodies was visible. Additional phenomena, characteristic at this state, were the occurrences of highly uneven contours of the plasmalemma and of inclusions of various kinds between the plasmalemma and the cell wall. In March, autolysis was visible in a portion of cells outside the sporangia. In the sporangia the ground cytoplasm was thin but the number of organelles was increasing. In the April collections, cell divisions were visible. The amount of protein per dry weight increased during the winter reaching a peak in February. The activity of RNases, having optima of pH 5.0 and pH 7.5, was measured in two successive years. Both series showed a period of high activity during the middle of the winter. The exact timing of this period depended on the year in question. On the basis of these observations, the dormant period of the microsporangiate strobili of the Seotch pine is divided into three sub-periods. It is also suggested that the definition of dormancy of these structures should include a mentioning of alterations in the metabolical machinery of the cells.