Some fine structural and biochemical features of Acetabularia major (Chlorophyta, Dasycladaceae) grown in the laboratory

Abstract Acetabularia major has been successfully grown in laboratory cultures. A number of properties make this species a suitable organism for cell biological investigation. Among these properties are the unique size, the extremely large single n ucleus, its localization in the rhizoid, and the high number of chloroplasts. In comparison to other species of Acetabularia, the cysts of A. major can be easily induced to release the gametes. A. major is able to survive cell surgery like enucleation, transplantation, and injection. Of primary importance with respect to molecular biological studies, is the low RNAase activity of these cells. The occurrence of 80S ribosomes in Acetabularia was first demonstrated in A. major. A thorough investigation of the ultrafine structure by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy establishes A. major as an advantageous test-system in experiments which use nuclear transplantation techniques.