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Fine structural studies on some marine algae from the Pacific Coast of British Columbia and Washington Bourne, Victor Laurence

Abstract

In a fine-structure study of Phaeostrophion irregulare (Dictyosiphonales) most characteristics of the organelles were found to be similar to those previously reported for other brown algae. However, the pyrenoid which is present in the cells of the sporeling is absent from the thallus which grows directly from it. This is significant because it draws attention to the possible implications of observing a limited number of heterogeneous tissue types, such as spores, sporeling, and mature thallus, in comparative studies. Phaeostrophion irregulare retains its intermediate position in the phylogenetic classification of the brown algae. It possesses some characteristics of the more advanced brown algae, such as the absence of a pyrenoid in the adult thallus and the absence of a physical association of the chloroplast and nucleus. Also it possesses more primitive characteristics such as a strictly perinuclear Golgi apparatus and a diffuse distribution of plasmodesmata. The red algae Porphyra perforata and Bangia f uscopurpurea. both of the order Bangiales, subclass Bangiophycidae, were also studied. In the former, the thallus, bipolar sporeling, and conchocelis phase were considered, and in the latter, the thallus only. Cells of all the tissues that were studied have very similar fine structural characteristics. It was noted also, that the fine structural features of these tissues were similar to other Bangiophycidae and the Florideophycidae. A fairly constant association was noted between the mitochondria and the forming face of the Golgi bodies. Most cells contained numerous lomasome-like bodies throughout the cytoplasm. Two types of cell division were observed in the Porphyra thallus cell. The possible function of several organelles is discussed. In addition to these features seen in the thallus, cells of the young conchocelis have phycobilisomes in the chloroplasts and all cells have a typical floridean pit connection, confirming earlier light microscope observations. This characteristic had previously been considered fairly definitive for the Florideophycidae, It is suggested that with these data and other published results the status of subclass for the Bangiophycidae and Florideophycidae may have to be reviewed.

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