Abstract
Photocyte granules, very abundant 1- to 2- μ m particulates of photocytes of adult firefly light organs, were studied morphologically and in relation to their reaction to diaminobenzidine. The content of these granules is uniform except for a dense “nucleoid” or “core” and occasionally a vacuole or a sheaf of straight tubules. All these inclusions are near the periphery of the granule, which is bounded by a single membrane. Occasionally the membrane or the tubules appear to merge with the general cytoplasm or with the endoplasmic reticulum of the photocyte. The photocyte granule reacts positively to the diaminobenzidine tests for peroxidatic catalase activity. Significant catalase activity was demonstrated in the photogenic tissue by direct biochemical assay. The photocyte granule thus appears to be a peroxisome (microbody), present in remarkable concentration. Relations between peroxidatic activity and firefly luminescence are discussed.
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