Cell-wall studies in the Chlorophyceae l. A preliminary study of the effect of continuous illumina­tion on wall structure in Cladophora rupestris

Abstract

Cultures of Cladophora rupestris under continuous illumination, for periods up to six months, have shown that the wall structure is modified as compared with control cultures with more normal illumination. This has been demonstrated by means of X-ray analysis and by polarization optics, and supported by ancillary observations on both cultures. Under continuous illumination transverse microfibrils are laid down much more abundantly than are the longitudinal microfibrils. This may form the first step towards an understanding of the genesis of the crossed fibrillar structure of plant cell walls.