Ultrastructural polysaccharide localization in calcifying and naked cells of the coccolithophoridEmiliania huxleyi

Abstract

Emiliania huxleyi is a marine coccolithophorid which produces coccoliths,i.e., particles consisting of calcite and macromolecular organic material. The coccoliths are formed intracellulary in specialized organelles which comprise a coccolith vesicle (CV) and a reticular body (RB), together forming the CV/RB system or calcifying system. After termination of calcification, the coccolith is extruded and incorporated into the coccosphere,i.e., one or several layers of extracellular coccoliths surrounding the cell. Apart from the coccolith-producing cells (C cells) ofE. huxleyi, there are naked cells (N cells) which seem to have lost the capacity to produce coccoliths but are very similar to the C cells in other morphological respects. Biochemical studies have revealed that polysaccharides may play a regulatory role in calcification. The aim of the present study was to determine the localization of polysaccharides in both C and N cells electron microscopically. For this purpose, a cytochemical staining technique according toThiery (1967) was applied. The CV/RB system of C cells was conspicuously stained. Due to the excellent stainability of this system, a putative succession of morphological stages during coccolithogenesis could be described. The staining pattern of the N cells closely resembled that of the C cells. It was found, however, that the “calcifying” system of N and C cells differed in both morphology and position. It is suggested that the divergent morphology of the “calcifying” system of N cells accounts for its failure to produce coccoliths.