CHLOROPLAST DEVELOPMENT IN NICOTIANA TABACUM ‘MARYLAND MAMMOTH’

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Abstract
The development of chloroplasts in light‐grown and in previously etiolated tissues of tobacco has been studied. A single membrane‐bound body is found in the developing plastids of both light‐ and dark‐grown tissue. The contents of the body appear homogeneous, becoming progressively granular as the chloroplast develops. In the mature chloroplast the body contains a fibrillar network resembling strands shown to be DNA by other workers. The prolamellar body persists even in moderately well developed chloroplasts in light‐grown plants. Frequently the prolamellar body is connected to the membrane‐bound body as well as to the grana. Relatively mature chloroplasts are seen to divide in this tissue. The membrane‐bound body may have a role in the formation of lamellae, but the nature of its contents is yet to be determined.
Funding Information
  • Botany Department, University of Minnesota