Ultrastructure and Development of the Female Reproductive Branches of Polysiphonia Harveyi
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1981 Ultrastructure and development of the female reproductive branches of Polysiphonia harveyi Sharon Thompson Broadwater College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Botany Commons, and the Developmental Biology Commons Recommended Citation Broadwater, Sharon Thompson, "Ultrastructure and development of the female reproductive branches of Polysiphonia harveyi" (1981). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625123. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-j445-yw68 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ULTRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE BRANCHES OF POLYSIPHONIA HARVEYI A Thesis Presented To The Faculty of the Department of Biology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Sharon Thompson Broadwater 1981 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts * Sharon Thompson Broadwater Approved, May 1981 Joseph L. ~cott Stanton F. Hoegerman Ut'-cUU Lawrence L. Wiseman TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................... iv LIST OF CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS . .............................................. v LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................... vi ABSTRACT.......................................................... v iii INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS.................... 4 RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 5 DISCUSSION..................................................................................................... 17 LITERATURE CITED........................................................................................ 31 KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................ 35 CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS................................................................................ 36 PLATES............................................................................................................. 39 VITA................................................................................................................. 48 i i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Joseph L. Scott for his direction, enthusiasm and friendship during the course of this investigation. I also wish to recognize Dr.s Stanton F. Hoegerman and Lawrence L. Wiseman for c ritic a l reading of this manuscript and Kathleen L. Schornstein and Jewel P. Thomas for their companionship and patient instruction. LIST OF CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS Figure Page 1. Sequence of developmental events ................................... 36 2. Camera lucida drawing of procarp ................................... 37 3. PC type and position in procarp and cystocarp. 38 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Polysiphonia harveyi ................................................................ 39 2. P refertilization female branch .... .......................... 39 3. SEM of sexually mature procarp .................................. 39 4. Procarp with attached spermatia ........................................... 39 5. Cystocarps with releasing carpospores .............................. 39 6. Cystocarp Tabled with fluorescent stain. .................. 39 7. Prefertilization pericarp. ...................... ..... 40 8. Three-celled carpogonial branch. .................................. 40 9. Sexually mature procarp. ........ ...................... 40 10. Tip of trichogyne. ..................... 40 11. Prefertilization lateral sterile group ....... 41 12. Postfertilization lateral sterile group. ...... 41 13. Carpogonial branch past optimum age. ........ 41 14. Carpogonium with large vacuole ..................... 41 15. Crystalline structure of nucleolus .... 41 16. Hexagonal packing in nucleolus . .................................. 41 17. Trichogyne with attached spermatium .................................. 42 18. Spermatial nucleus within trichogyne ........ 42 19. Detaching trichogyne with plugging material. .... 42 20. Detaching trichogyne without plugging material . 42 v i ge Nucleus in postfertilization carpogonium ..................... 43 Second nucleus in carpogonium .............................................. 43 Channel of SER in carpogonial branch ............................. 43 Channel of SER in CB 2 . .................................................. 44 Pit connection between SU and CB-j. .................................. 44 Unfertilized deteriorating procarp ......... 44 Mature vegetative p it connection .... ..................... 45 Abbreviated connection between CB 2 and CB3 ................. 45 Semi-standard connection between AX and SU ................. 45 Abbreviated connection between SU and ST 2 ..................... 45 Young vegetative p it connection. .... ..................... 45 Pit connection with forming membrane ..................... 45 Young p it connection between CB 2 and CB3 ..................... 45 Disintegrating pit connection .............................................. 45 Female branch with direct fusion of SU and AU. 46 Postfertilization female branch .......................................... 46 Semi-standard connection between SU and CB-| ................. 46 Development of fusion cell .................................................. 47 v i i ABSTRACT P refertilization and immediate postfertilization development, as well as fertilization, in the female reproductive branch of Polysiphonia harveyi (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales) was documented for the firs t time with electron microscopy. EM results pertaining to p re fe rti 1ization morphology and development are consistant with those established earlier in lig h t microscopic studies but several new ultrastructural characteristics were discovered. The mature carpogonium was found to have double membrane-bound vacuoles of nuclear origin and the carpogonial nucleus was found to contain a nucleolus with a distinctive crystalline la ttice . Using a number of techniques, trichogynes were determined not to have a separate nucleus. Of greatest interest was the discovery of a highly structured channel of SER which extends uninterrupted, except for p it connections, through the carpogonial branch to the support cell. It is hypothesized that the channel acts to conduct the message of fe rtiliz a tio n from the carpogonium to the support ce ll. Very few observations were made on postfertilization branches but evidence of direct fusion between the carpogonium and auxiliary cell was fa irly conclusive. Special attention was given to the types of p it connections and their role in the development of the female reproductive branch. The name for the type of p it connection previously termed "transfer connection" has been changed to "abbreviated connection" since the results of this investigation do not fu lly support earlier reports of increased transport through these connections. Instead, abbreviated connections in the procarp appear to be a preformed structural weak ness whose disintegration allows rapid development of cytoplasmic continuity between cells. ULTRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE BRANCHES OF POLYSIPHONIA HARVEYI INTRODUCTION Development of a natural system of classification for the red algae is complicated by the wide variety of morphological character istics and complex life histories which they exhibit. Scagel (36) gives a succinct review of the steps leading to the present taxonomic treatment which divides the Rhodophyta into two classes: Bangio- phyceae and Floridiophyceae. The more advanced forms belong to the la tte r class and are divided into five orders according to pre- and po st-fe rtilization development of the female reproductive branch. Of the five orders, the Ceramiales is not only the most advanced but is also the best delimited (36, 11, 7). I t is separated from the other orders on the basis of having the auxiliary cell formed after fe rtiliz a tio n (11, 17). This order is composed of four families. The members of the Rhodomelaceae, the largest and most highly evolved of the four families, adhere very closely to a single line of female reproductive development (36). The present research was begun in order to present an account of female reproductive development in the Rhodomelaceae at the ultra- structural level. A number of light microscopic studies have been conducted previously (46, 36, 17, 26), but this study is the f ir s t u tiliz in g the electron microscope. Since female development is pivotal in systematizing the higher red algae, i t was fe lt that any 2 3 information might later be valuable in further taxonomic evaluation. In addition, i t was hoped that a comparison of results from lig h t microscopy with those from electron microscopy might answer some s t ill debated questions. It was also hoped that the study might illucidate some of the mechanisms