Ancistrum is a marine ciliate that inhabits the mantle cavity of mytiliid mussels. This image shows a good view of the macronucleus, mitochondria with tubular cristae, and what are probably flask-shaped endosomes. This group of images is located in a part of the cytoplasm that especially exhibits these vesicles, and CIL:24921 has a view at an appropriate angle to exhibit what may be dynamin or a dynamin-like protein decorating the tube of the flask shaped organelle. In addition, the macronuclear membrane is well demonstrated in this particular micrograph. TEM taken by G. Antipa in 1969 on a Hitachi HU11A operating at 75kV. The raw film was scanned with an Epson Perfection V750 Pro. This image is best used for quantitative analysis. Standard glutaraldehyde fixation followed by osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in alcohol and embedded in an epoxy resin. Microtome sections prepared at approximately 60nm thickness.
Biological Process: Cortical cytoskeleton organization, Macronucleus organization, Mitochondrion organization, Mitochondrial membrane organization, Endosome organization
Author: Gregory Antipa (San Francisco State University)
Source: The Cell: An Image Library