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Diversity of Sperm Cell Architecture in Ferns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Thomas H. Johnson ,
Steven J. Schmitt  and
Karen S. Renzaglia
Thomas H. Johnson
Affiliation:
Micro-Imaging and Analysis Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL62901-4402
Steven J. Schmitt
Affiliation:
Micro-Imaging and Analysis Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL62901-4402
Karen S. Renzaglia
Affiliation:
Micro-Imaging and Analysis Center, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL62901-4402
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Abstract

Among land plants, lower vascular plants produce the most elaborate of all male gametes. in order to characterize the degree of variability in sperm cell architecture among ferns, this scanning electron microscope study was undertaken on three highly disparate genera: Ceratopteris(a derived leptosporangiate fern) Angiopteris(a derived eusporangiate fern) and Psilotum(a putatively basal eusporangiate fern).

Mature gametophytes were placed in 0.01M phosphate buffer (pH ca. 7.2) or distilled water until spermatozoids were released. Gametophyte portions were removed and the spermatozoid suspension fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.05M phosphate buffer. Post-fixation utilized 1% aqueous osmium tetroxide for lhr, followed by rinsing and dehydration in ethanol (10 min @ 25, 50, 75 and 100%). The dehydrated pellet was suspended in 100% hexamethyldisilazane, immediately centrifuged and the pellet deposited onto clean glass coverslips. Specimens were dried at 60°C, sputtered with ca. 350 A of palladium/gold and imaged in a Hitachi S570 SEM.

Type
Student Research Forum (Organized by R. Koch and Z. Mason)
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 7 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis 2001, Microscopy Society of America 59th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 35th Annual Meeting, Long Beach, California August 5-9, 2001 , August 2001 , pp. 452 - 453
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2001

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References

1. Pryer, K. M., et al. Nature 409(Feb. 1, 2001)618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2. Renzaglia, K. S. et al. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 355(2000)769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

3. Renzaglia, K. S. et al. Crit. Rev. Pl. Sci. (2001) (in press).Google Scholar

4. This study was supported by NSF grant DEB-9527735, and Undergraduate Research Awards from the Microscopy Society of America and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Google Scholar