Abstract
Using a glycerination procedure designed to avoid excessive plasmolysis or disruption of the ectoplasm, microfilaments in bundles at the ectoplasm-endoplasm interface of Nitella internode cell segments were found to bind rabbit heavy meromyosin (HMM) in situ. All HMM arrowheads in a bundle seem to have the same polarity and many lie in register as judged from the electron micrographs; the arrowhead periodicity is approximately 380 . The decorated microfilaments are thus similar to those seen in negatively stained cytoplasmic suspensions of internode cells. In glycerinated material, as well as in suspensions, the microfilaments are closely associated with chloroplasts. The microfilaments lie adjacent to or are attached to the chloroplast envelope. The results provide further evidence that the microfilaments thought to play a role in cytoplasmic streaming in vivo in Nitella consist of actin and suggest that they may be anchored to the chloroplasts.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (4.0 MB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Allen N. S. Endoplasmic filaments generate the motive force for rotational streaming in Nitella. J Cell Biol. 1974 Oct;63(1):270–287. doi: 10.1083/jcb.63.1.270. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bradley M. O. Microfilaments and cytoplasmic streaming: inhibition of streaming with cytochalasin. J Cell Sci. 1973 Jan;12(1):327–343. doi: 10.1242/jcs.12.1.327. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bray D. Model for membrane movements in the neural growth cone. Nature. 1973 Jul 13;244(5411):93–96. doi: 10.1038/244093a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Forer A., Behnke O. An actin-like component in sperm tails of a crane fly (Nephrotoma suturalis Loew). J Cell Sci. 1972 Sep;11(2):491–519. doi: 10.1242/jcs.11.2.491. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Kamitsubo E. A 'window technique' for detailed observation of characean cytoplasmic streaming. Exp Cell Res. 1972 Oct;74(2):613–616. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(72)90430-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nagai R., Rebhun L. I. Cytoplasmic microfilaments in streaming Nitella cells. J Ultrastruct Res. 1966 Mar;14(5):571–589. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(66)80083-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Palevitz B. A., Ash J. F., Hepler P. K. Actin in the green alga, Nitella. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1974 Feb;71(2):363–366. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.2.363. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pollard T. D., Korn E. D. Electron microscopic identification of actin associated with isolated amoeba plasma membranes. J Biol Chem. 1973 Jan 25;248(2):448–450. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pollard T. D., Weihing R. R. Actin and myosin and cell movement. CRC Crit Rev Biochem. 1974 Jan;2(1):1–65. doi: 10.3109/10409237409105443. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Spudich J. A., Huxley H. E., Finch J. T. Regulation of skeletal muscle contraction. II. Structural studies of the interaction of the tropomyosin-troponin complex with actin. J Mol Biol. 1972 Dec 30;72(3):619–632. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90180-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Spurr A. R. A low-viscosity epoxy resin embedding medium for electron microscopy. J Ultrastruct Res. 1969 Jan;26(1):31–43. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(69)90033-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Staehelin L. A., Chlapowski F. J., Bonneville M. A. Lumenal plasma membrane of the urinary bladder. I. Three-dimensional reconstruction from freeze-etch images. J Cell Biol. 1972 Apr;53(1):73–91. doi: 10.1083/jcb.53.1.73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Wessells N. K., Spooner B. S., Ludueña M. A. Surface movements, microfilaments and cell locomotion. Ciba Found Symp. 1973;14:53–82. doi: 10.1002/9780470719978.ch4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Williamson R. E. Actin in the alga, Chara corallina. Nature. 1974 Apr 26;248(5451):801–802. doi: 10.1038/248801a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]