Studies on the Comparative Physiology of Chara Australis II. The Fine Structure of The Protoplast

Abstract

The fine structure of the internodal cells of G. australis in the linear phase of cell expansion is described from electron micrographs of thin sections of osmium. and permanganate-fixed material. . The static picture obtained is basically similar to that of the parenchyma cells of higher plants as established by electron-microscope observations. A unit volume of protoplast has the same fine structure in cells ranging from 1 em to many centimetres in length, and contains cell wall, plasmalemma, tonoplast, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi bodies, micro somes, mitochondria, chloro_ plasts, nuclei, and other inclusions. This constant structure may account for the constant metabolism per unit volume of protoplast during the linear phase of development. A brief discussion of the possible significance of this picture of the structure of the internodal protoplast to the functional activity of the cell is given.