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Membranes and organelles of dehydratedSelaginella andTortula retain their normal configuration and structural integrity

Freeze fracture evidence

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Summary

Dry (7–10% water content) leaves of the spikemossSelaginella lepidophylla (“resurrection plant”) and of the desiccationtolerant moss,Tortula ruralis were examined by freeze fracture electron microscopy. As has been described for dry seeds, the cells of these dehydrated leaves were shrunken, with highly convoluted walls and membranes. The membranes of all samples had a lipid bilayer organization with dispersed intramembranous particles (IMPs). Lipid droplets were very closely associated with the plasmamembrane. Chloroplasts were surrounded by a double membrane envelope and contained well-organized grana. Mitochondria were irregular in outline, and endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasmic vesicles were present.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

abscisic acid

EF:

exoplasmic fracture

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared analysis

HII :

hexagonal II

IMPs:

intramembranous particles

MGDG:

monogalactosyl diacylglycerol

NMR:

nuclear magnetic resonance

PE:

phosphatidylethanolamine

PF:

protoplasmic fracture

PS I:

photosystem I

PS II:

photosystem II

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, 92521, Riverside, CA, USA

    K. A. Platt & W. W. Thomson

  2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, ARS, Southern Plains Area Crop Systematics Research Laboratory, Lubbock, Texas

    M. J. Oliver

Authors
  1. K. A. Platt
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  2. M. J. Oliver
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  3. W. W. Thomson
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Platt, K.A., Oliver, M.J. & Thomson, W.W. Membranes and organelles of dehydratedSelaginella andTortula retain their normal configuration and structural integrity. Protoplasma 178, 57–65 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01404121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01404121

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