Further electron microscope studies on fibrillar organization of the ground cytoplasm of Chaos chaos

Abstract

Further evidence for fibrillar organization of the ground cytoplasm of Chaos chaos is presented. Fixations with osmium tetroxide at pH 6 or 8 and with glutaraldehyde at pH 6 or 7 were used on two preparations: (a) single actively streaming cells; (b) prechilled cells treated with 0.05% Alcian blue in the cold and returned to room temperature for 5-10 min. In addition, a 50,000 g pellet of homogenized cells was examined after fixation with glutaraldehyde-formaldehyde alone. In sections from actively streaming cells considerable numbers of filaments were observed in the uroid regions after glutaraldehyde fixation, whereas only traces of filaments were seen after osmium tetroxide fixation at either pH 6 or 8. Microtubules were not seen. In sections from dye-treated cells, filaments (4-6 mmicro) and fibrils (12-15 mmicro) were found with all three fixatives. The 50,000 g pellet was heterogeneous but contained both clumps of fibrils and single thick fibrils like those seen in the cytoplasm of dye-treated cells. Many fibrils of the same dimensions (12-15 mmicro wide, 0.5 micro long) were also seen in the supernatant above the pellet. Negative staining showed that some fibrils separated into at least three strands of 4-6 mmicro filaments.