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Ultrastructure of phloem in palms

I. Immature sieve elements and parenchymatic elements

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Summary

Ultrastructure of immature phloem was studied in twelve species in seven genera of palms. A sieve element can be first recognized by the appearance of cuneate, electron dense inclusions in the plastid. Nacreous walls of an immature sieve element have microfibrils that are oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the cell. The most recently formed cellulose microfibrils are oriented parallel to the cortical microtubules. Cytoplasmic microfilaments 50–60 Å in diameter are often present in procambial as well as differentiating phloem cells. Such microfilaments occur in bundles and are usually oriented parallel to the long axis of the cell. In addition to the microfilaments, randomly arranged P-protein filaments 70–120 Å are also present in the differentiating sieve elements of some palms. The amount and the presence or absence of P-protein is very variable. The possible reasons for the sporadic occurrence and the variation in the quantities of P-protein in differentiating sieve elements of palms are discussed. Some structural differences between companion cells and parenchyma cells are evident.

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  1. M. V. Parthasarathy

    Present address: Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Genetics, Development, and Physiology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

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    Parthasarathy, M.V. Ultrastructure of phloem in palms. Protoplasma 79, 59–91 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02055783

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