Further observations on green flagellates with scaly flagella: the genus Heteromastix korshikov

Abstract

A light and electron microscopical study has been carried out on the morphology and microanatomy of two marine species of Heteromastix and less completely on two freshwater samples from the same genus, one only of which is named; this one is, however, important as the type species of the genus (H. angulata Korsh.). Agreement in salient features indicates that Bipedinomonas N. Carter andAnisomonas Butcher, under which the marine species were previously described, should be discarded as later synonyms of Heteromastix Korsh. Apart from the nomenclatural clarification the most important new findings concern the details of the periplast on cell body and flagella, the presence of stellate scales as well as plate-scales on both types of surface, the presence within the body of a starch shell not giving the normal colour reaction with iodine, and of a characteristic fibrous ‘root’ joining the flagellar bases to the plastid surface. A major finding of electron microscopical interest is the clarity with which the formation of scales and of flagellar hairs has been traced to the Golgi cisternae. These observations are an important addition to previous knowledge concerning genera of related green flagellates possibly referable to the class Prasinophyceae.

An Electron Microscope Study of Dinoflagellate Flagella

“…The longitudinal flagellum is relatively simple in structure and externally has the shape described by Deflandre (1934) and Pitelka & Schooley (1955). The fine hairs, which we have observed for the first time, appear roughly similar in size to the deciduous hairs which are found in the Prasinophyceae (Manton, Rayns & Ettl, 1965). However, in dinoflagellates they do not appear to be easily detached and the flagella do not have a scaly covering like those of the Prasinophyceae.…”

THE STRUCTURE, ORIGIN, ISOLATION, AND COMPOSITION OF THE TUBULAR MASTIGONEMES OF THE OCHROMONAS FLAGELLUM

“…Furthermore, Manton et al . have specifically pointed out that mastigonemes may be present within the Golgi saccules of the phytoflagellate, Heteromastix (Manton et al ., 1965) . These latter two reports would seem to confirm the conclusions of the present study that the Golgi apparatus participates in mastigoneme production in at least some organisms .…”

The fine structure ofPavlova pinguisGreen and a preliminary survey of the order Pavlovales (Prymnesiophyceae)

“…In structure they are non-tubular (Bouck, 1972;Kalina, 1975;Veer, 1976) and therefore are not comparable with the tubular mastigonemes of the motile cells of, for example, the Chrysophyceae whose assembly involves both the perinuclear continuum and the Golgi apparatus. Non-tubular hairs are known from other classes (e.g., Euglenophyceae, Dinophyeeae, Chlorophyceae, Prasinophyceae) but little is known of their formation except in the case of the striated hairs of the Prasinophyceae which are Golgi produced and homologous with scales (Manton et al, 1965).…”