Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T07:34:56.102Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Arrested development in Fucus spiralis (Phaeophyceae) germlings exposed to copper

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 1999

Peter R. Bond ,
Murray T. Brown ,
Roy M. Moate ,
Martha Gledhill ,
Stephen J. Hill  and
Malcolm Nimmo
Peter R. Bond*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Murray T. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Roy M. Moate
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Martha Gledhill
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Stephen J. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
Malcolm Nimmo
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
*
Correspondence to: Peter Bond, Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, UK. Tel/fax: +44 (0) 1752 233092. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Exposure of Fucus spiralis germlings to precise copper concentrations (0 to 844 nM Cu2+) in chemically defined medium demonstrated a relationship between ultrastructural changes and growth retardation with increasing copper concentration. Electron-translucent vesicles, present in ova, which normally disappear after fertilization, accumulated in germlings exposed to Cu2+ above 10·6 nM, suggesting that copper may inhibit a metabolic pathway involved in cell wall formation which is initiated by fertilization. No membrane damage was observed during the exposure period. During a post-exposure period in copper-free medium, recovery occurred (rhizoid extension, apical hair formation) in germlings previously exposed to concentrations below 106 nM Cu2+ and electron-translucent vesicles became granular and disappeared. It is proposed that the electron-translucent vesicles contain a cell wall precursor and that copper inhibits its incorporation into the cell wall, preventing growth and development of the zygote.

Keywords

copperelectron-translucent vesiclesFucus spiralisgermlingsultrastructure
Type
Research Article
Information
European Journal of Phycology , Volume 34 , Issue 5 , November 1999 , pp. 513 - 521
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)