• Applied Microscopy
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.52-61
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• 1995

Ultrastructural characteristics were examined with leaves of three species, O. japonicus A. Berger, O. malacophyllus Fisch., and O. sikokianus Owhi that probably have CAM mode. The mesophyll cells of these Orostachys possessed vacuoles with precipitates, myelin-like figures, and plasmalemmasomes, along with typical chloroplasts, microbodies and darkly stained bodies in their thin peripheral cytoplasm. Separation of the plasmalemma from the cell wall, leaving a space between them, was a common phenomenon in these species. A complex array of small to large vacuoles which contain small, membrane-bounded vesicles or vacuole-like structures were frequently found. A well-developed thylakoid system was observed in the chloroplasts and this indicates that the photosynthetic capacity of these mesophyll cells is probably active. A peculiar configuration of cytoplasm, especially around the chloroplasts, was also encountered. The variety of cytoplasmic constituents and vacuoles suggest the water-storing mesophyll cells may be complex in function. Some cellular features detected in this study strongly suggest the possible occurrence of CAM mode in Orostachys species.