Nuclear studies on the smaller Myxophyceae

A study of the fine structure of the blue-green alga, Nostoc muscorum

“…The polyphosphate bodies have been reported to be removed by exposure to 1 N HCl (Cassel and Hutchinson, 1954;Fuhs, 1958a). The fact that the polyhedral bodies were removed by HCl exposure in the current study further suggested that they were equivalent to polyphosphate bodies.…”

“…The presence of DNA in the central region of the cells as indicated by a positive Feulgen reaction has been observed by many workers including Cassel and Hutchinson (1954), Wilson (1950), Fuhs (1963), and Pankratz and Bowen (1963).…”

“…The polyphosphate bodies were not disturbed by either RNase or DNase,and Fuhs concluded that the granules contained polyphosphates but not nucleic acid. Cassel and Hutchinson (1954) also reported negative tests for metachromatin or polyphosphates after digestion in IN HCl at 60°C. This treatment also removed the cyanophycin granules.…”

The Ultrastructure of the Vegetative Cell of Blue-Green Algae

“…It is known from both staining reactions in the light microscope (Cassel and Hutchinson 1954) and appearance in the electron microscope (Hopwood and Glauert 1960) These granules are probably identical with the bodies tentatively regarded as "nuclei-equivalents" by Hall and Claus (1962). However.…”

“…The outer or peripheral region is defined by the presence of paired membranes, which are presumed, on the basis of cell-fraction studies, to be associated with the photosynthetic pigments (Shatkin 1960). The central region, which merges into the peripheral region, includes structures which closely resemble the nuclear equivalent of the bacterial cell, both under the electron microscope (Hopwood and Glauert 1960) and in their reaction to nuclear stains (Cassel and Hutchinson 1954). Comparatively little is known about the functional roles of the two regions or of the distrubution of enzymic processes within the structure of the protoplast.…”