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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016 Jun 1;55:52–81. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2016.05.003

Figure 5. Tethering features that may contribute to OS architecture.

Figure 5

A) TEM image of a frog cone OS prepared by freeze-fracture deep-etch rotary-shadowing. Numerous regularly-organized axially-oriented tethers link adjacent disk edges. The leading edge of the OS plasma membrane (PM), the point at which disk internalization has halted, is indicated between the arrows (upper left). Several calycal processes (CP) are present in the image. Image adapted from (Fetter and Corless, 1987). B) Fracturing and removal of plasma membrane (PM) from a similarly prepared toad rod OS exposes regularly organized tethers linking adjacent disk rims. Image adapted from (Roof and Heuser, 1982). C) A similar preparation technique applied to a bovine rod OS protein reveals tethers between disk rims and the plasma membrane (PM). Image adapted from (Roof and Heuser, 1982). D) Cryoelectron microscopy of frozen vitrified mouse rod OSs finds tethers (orange) between disk rims and the plasma membrane (PM; blue) and “spacers” (red; arrow) distributed randomly upon the lamellar portion of the disk. Image adapted from (Nickell et al., 2007).