Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructure of Tilletia caries teliospores. Specimens were prepared for viewing in the electron microscope by freeze-etching and thin-sectioning techniques. Thin-sectioning techniques gave excellent results with the teliospore walls and the lipid bodies within the teliospore but failed to adequately fix the membranes and internal organelle systems. Micrographs of Tilletia caries teliospores prepared using thin-sectioning show three major wall layers and two partition wall layers and abundant lipid bodies. The freeze-etch method of spore preparation proved superior to the thin-sectioning used in this study to reveal the internal organelle systems of the T. caries teliospore. The following anatomical details of teliospores were revealed using this technique: a multilayered spore wall, structural details of the plasma membrane, surface and cross-fractured views of the nucleus, details of the nuclear envelope, and surface and cross-fractured views of spherical bodies of unknown function.

Degree

College and Department

Life Sciences; Plant and Wildlife Sciences

Rights

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