Abstract
The three dimensional organization of the complete photosynthetic apparatus of the extremely halophilic, bacteriochlorophyll b containing Ectothiorhodospira halochloris has been elaborated by several techniques of electron microscopy. Essentially all thylakoidal sacs are disc shaped and connected to the cytoplasmic membrane by small membraneous “bridges”. In sum, the lumina of all thylakoids (intrathylakoidal space) form one common periplasmic space. Thin sections confirm a paracrystalline arrangement of the photosynthetic complexes in situ. The ontogenic development of the photosynthetic apparatus is discussed based on a structural model derived from serial thin sections.
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Abbreviations
- E. :
-
Ectothiorhodospira
- bchl:
-
bacteriochlorophyll
- R. :
-
Rhodopseudomonas
- RC:
-
reaction center
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Wanner, G., Steiner, R. & Scheer, H. A three dimensional model of the photosynthetic membranes of Ectothiorhodospira halochloris . Arch. Microbiol. 146, 267–274 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403228
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403228