Abstract
A simple and rapid procedure is described in which the fluorochromes 33258 Hoechst and DAPI were used to stain algal cells. Three types of extranuclear fluorescent particles could be distinguished. Type 1 particles, which fluoresced with an orange color, were polyphosphate granules. Type 2 particles, found only in one variety of Volvox species, represented an intracellular bacterial population. Type 3 particles, presumably representing chloroplast DNA, were irregular in shape and ranged from 2 μm downwards in size. These particles surrounded the pyrenoids and were scattered in other regions of the chloroplast in all the algal cell types examined. Like the bacteria and the nuclei, the type 3 particles emitted a blue-white fluorescence which was absent when cells were pretreated with DNase. The ease with which preparations can be examined with these fluorochromes should encourage their widespread use to monitor extranuclear DNA of various sorts.
Published Version
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