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J Bacteriol. 1969 November; 100(2): 1020-1026
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ultrastructural Changes During Germination of Dictyostelium discoideum Spores

David A. Cotter¹, Leatrice Y. Miura-Santo and Hans R. Hohl²

^a Pacific Biomedical Research Center and Department of Microbiology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

ABSTRACT

Spores of Dictyostelium discoideum undergo significant changes in fine structure during germination. The mitochondria progressively become less dense and lose their peripherally attached ribosomes, and the tubuli become more pronounced as germination proceeds. During this period, the three-layered spore wall breaks down in two stages: first, the outer and middle layers are ruptured as a unit, and, second, the inner wall is breached. Crystals and dark (lipid) bodies disappear shortly before or during emergence of the myxamoebae. Autophagic vacuoles are found in dormant spores and throughout the entire germination process. The addition of cycloheximide to germinating spores inhibited the loss of the crystals and dark (lipid) bodies. In addition, the drug inhibited the breakdown of the inner wall layer. Cycloheximide did not prevent the formation of the water expulsion vesicle or the apparent function of the autophagic vacuoles.

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FOOTNOTES

¹ Present address: Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, Ind. 46207.

² Present address: Cytological Laboratory, University of Zurich, Birchstrasse 95, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland.

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J Bacteriol. 1969 November; 100(2): 1020-1026
Copyright © 1969 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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