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*CIL – Cell Image Library accession number. Please use this to reference an image.

CIL:684*  Cite 
Description

The plastids of plants germinated in the dark are termed etioplasts and possess quasi-crystalline structures termed prolammelar bodies that contain the phospholipid materials and chlorophyll precursors that are converted to green chloroplasts in response to light. The micrograph shows a corn (Zea mays) etioplast fixed after brief exposure to light. The prolamellar body is still largely intact, but thylakoid membranes are starting to form.

Technical Details

Zea mays seeds were germinated in the dark, briefly exposed to light, and segments of coleoptile, excised, fixed with glutataldehyde, post-fixed with osmuim tetroxide, and embedded in epoxy resin. Thin sections were cut, stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate, and observed using a Philips 300 transmission EM. Images were recorded on film.

Biological Sources
NCBI Organism Classification
Zea mays
Cell Type
photosynthetic cell
Cellular Component
chloroplast
etioplast
plastid part
Attribution
Names
Chris Woodcock
Citation
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
doi:10.7295/W9CIL684
Archival Resource Key (ARK)
ark:/b7295/w9cil684
Grouping This image is part of a group.
Imaging
Image Type
film
Image Mode
transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
Parameters Imaged
electron density
Source of Contrast
differences in adsorption or binding of stain
Visualization Methods
uranyl salt
osmium tetroxide
lead salt
Processing History
raw unprocessed image
Dimensions
Spatial Axis Image Size Pixel Size
X 4183px 1.5nm
Y 2804px 1.5nm