Effects of water soluble oncostatic fraction from Rheum officinale Baill. rhizomes on Allium cepa root meristem. III. Morphological changes in cytoplasm

Spiral concentric and linear configurations of membraneous structures were observed in the cytoplasm of fixed meristematic cells from the root apex of Allium cepa under the light microscope. They appeared after incubation in sublethal and lethal conditions in Rheum ofiicinale rhizome extracts. During postincubation these structures disappeared. They were interpreted as ER membranes. On the basis of literature data the physiological significance of these structures is discussed. It would seem that they are an indication of enhanced metabolic activity evoked either exogenously by various injuries as a form of defence reaction of the protoplast or endogenously during cytodifferentiation. Prolonged treatment in ,noxious conditions causes the ER membranes to transform into inactive myelin structure