Studies on the camparative physiology of Chara corallina. III. Nitrogen relations of internodal cell components during internodal cell expansion

Abstract

Changes in the total nitrogen content of single internodal cells and in the nitrogen content of the cell wall, chloroplast fraction, TCA-insoluble cytoplasmic fraction, cytoplasmic sap, and vacuolar sap during the growth of the internodal cell are described. The nitrogen content of all fractions increases as the cells expand from c. 10 µl to over 200 µl in volume, and protein increases in the cytoplasm, the chloroplast fraction, and the cell wall.

Cell wall nitrogen accounts for over half the total nitrogen of the cell and the bulk of the soluble nitrogen is present in the cytoplasm; only about 1% is found in the vacuole. The observations are discussed in relation to the cells of higher plants.