Fine Structure and Cytochemistry of the Hydrogenosome of Tritrichomonas foetus1

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Abstract
Fine structural studies of the hydrogenosomes of T. foetus using an improved fixative reveal that they are enclosed by 2 closely apposed 6 nm membranes which separate at some regions, forming a large intramembranous vacuole where Ca2+-binding sites are located. Fixation of the cells in a glutaraldehyde solution containing 5 mM CaCl2 and postfixation in an Os tetroxide-K ferrocyanide solution led to the appearance of a reaction product associated with certain regions of the membrane of the hydrogenosomes and in the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum, in the recurrent flagellum, and in the plasma membrane. Treatment of ultrathin sections with EGTA [ethylene glycol bis[-amino ethyl ether]-N,N''-tetraacetic acid] removed the reaction production. Several similarities probably exist between the hydrogenosomes and the mitochondria.