A tubular configuration of the granular endoplasmic reticulum forming a raft-like parallel array in the pinealocytes of two species of Japanese moles (Mogera kobeae and M. wogura).

Abstract

Ten or more straight tubules, each of which consists of a double unit membrane of granular endoplasmic reticulum with a cylindrical profile, are joined side by side in a raft-like configuration in the cytoplasm of the pinealocytes of Japanese moles. They measure about 60 nm and 100 nm in their inner and outer diameters, respectively, and are often partially connected to unspecialized granular endoplasmic reticulum. Cisterns held between the inner and outer unit membranes with cylindrical profiles vary from 15 nm to 30 nm in width. Ensheathed portions of the cytoplasm are contiguous with cytoplasm outside the tubular units. The inner unit membranes of the tubules bear fewer ribosomal particles than the outer ones.