DIFFERENTIATION OF THE CHLOROPLAST OF ANTHOCEROS

It has been demonstrated that the following changes accompany differentiation in the plastid of the liverwort Anthoceros eckloni. The inner membrane of the plastid folds to give rise to small vesicles which grow and may fuse to form thylakoids, i.e. flat bags. The thylakoids may "pair" to produce the doublets (thick membranes) of the grana. The doublets may be produced also by the invagination of a thylakoid. In both cases, the doublets are produced only where outside-to-outside contact of thylakoid membranes occurs, which supports the thesis that the thylakoid membranes are polarized. The thylakoids also fold outwards, anastomose, and may fuse. This results in a complicated membrane system, for which an interpretation becomes very difficult. The starch is produced in the matrix, and the pyrenoid bodies are interpreted as specialized regions of the matrix. Younger plastids have grana, but the mature plastid has so many doublets that distinct grana cannot be recognized. This interpretation of the changes which occur during the differentiation of the plastid differs radically from those of Menke (1961) and Manton (1962) who studied this same genus, but is compatible with findings in algae and angiosperms.