Some unusual features of the ultrastructure of the chloroplasts of the green algal order Caulerpales and their development

The ultrastructure of developing and mature chloroplasts of members of the green algal order Caulerpales is described. The mature chloroplasts develop from small starch containing plastids. These small starch containing plastids may also develop into the large amyloplasts characteristic of this order. The “thylakoid organizing body” (TOB), a system of concentric lamellae found at one end of the plastid, appears to be involved in initial thylakoid membrane synthesis. During early plastid development the first formed thylakoids, the plastid DNA and lipid are closely associated with this body. Many developing plastids also have a number of microfilaments near the chloroplast envelope. These microfilaments extend from the TOB towards the opposite end of the plastid. The size and structure of the mature caulerpa lean chloroplast varies greatly between species, as does the size and structure of the TOB. The simplest type of TOB occurs in Avrainvillea erecta and the most complex in Caulerpa cactoides. The membranes of the TOB are connected by crossbridges and they are also connected with the inner chloroplast envelope membrane. The structure of the TOB, its relation to the chloroplast envelope, its association with the thylakoids and its possible functions are described