This micrograph may show important features involved in calcareous plate formation within the alveoli that underlie the plasma membrane in Coleps. Densities are seen on the inner alveolar membrane at its corners with septa. These densities are not known at this time in other ciliates and may be involved in calcareous platelet formation within the alveoli or in stabilizing the surface shape. Filamentous material fills the cytosolic space between two densities. Rough endoplasmic reticulum bears prominent ribosomes. Standard glutaraldehyde fixation followed by osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in alcohol and embedded in an epoxy resin. Microtome sections prepared at approximately 75nm thickness. TEM taken on 3/4/69 by R. Allen with Philips 300 operating at 60kV. Neg. 39,900X. Bar = 0.5?m. A print of the negative was scanned and processed in Photoshop. This image is best used for qualitative analysis. A high resolution image (CIL:9254) is available for quantitative analysis. Additional information available at (http://www5.pbrc.hawaii.edu/allen/).
Biological Process: Membrane transport, Calcium ion transport
Author: Richard Allen
Source: The Cell: An Image Library