Ultrastructure of the zoosporangia of Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae as revealed by conventional chemical fixation and high pressure freezing followed by freeze substitution

Abstract

Both conventional chemical fixation and high pressure freezing followed by freeze substitution (HPF/FS) were used to prepare zoosporangia of the oomycete Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae inside infected host leaves for study with transmission electron microscopy. Both fixations gave good preservation of ultrastructural details and data from the two sample types were highly complementary. However, HPF/FS gave better overall specimen contrast and superior preservation of microtubules, basal bodies and curved vacuoles closely associated with basal bodies. The basal body-associated vacuoles appear to represent cleavage vesicles involved in zoospore formation. Although HPF/FS did result in the rupture of some vacuoles and the extraction of lipid bodies, these problems did not interfere with our study. Overall zoosporangium morphology was similar to that reported previously for A. candida. Each zoosporangium was multinucleate and contained numerous mitochondria, lipid bodies, a variety of large and small vacoules/vesicles, and conspicuous arrays consisting of parallel strands of rough endoplasmic reticulum. Golgi cisternae and a pair of basal bodies were closely associated with each nucleus.