Coated vesicles and other cytoplasmic components of growing root hairs of radish

Abstract

Root tips of radish,Raphanus sativus, were fixed in glutaraldehyde followed by osmium tetroxide. The fine structure of young root hairs, not exceeding about 130μ, in length, was studied to relate their apical growth pattern to their cytoplasmic organization. The cytoplasm in the terminal 3–5μ it of the root hair is characterized by an electron dense matrix in which lie numerous smooth-surfaced vesicles, large irregularly-shaped fibrous inclusions, and clusters of ribosomes. Other organelles are largely or entirely excluded from this region. Farther than about 5μ, from the tip, the hair cytoplasm is filled with plastids, rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and dictyosomes. The latter produce smooth vesicles similar in size and morphology to those present in the apical dome. Vesicles of a different kind appear in the peripheral cytoplasm along the entire length of the hair. These vesicles possess an alveolate or chambered coat about 20 mμ thick and have a diameter of about 85 mμ, including coat. They originate by evagination from the large, smooth-surfaced vesicles in the vicinity of dictyosomes. It is suggested that proteins and carbohydrates are concentrated in the dictyosomes and then segregated in the smooth vesicles released from the dictyosome cisternae. The coated vesicles which bud from the smooth vesicles may serve to isolate the proteins and transport them to the hair surface for participation in wall synthesis. The smooth vesicles are believed to convey carbohydrates to the region of active wall extension at the hair apex.