Observations on the Fine Structure of the Eyespot and Associated Organelles in the Dinoflagellate Glenodinium Foliaceum

Abstract

The eyespot of the marine dinoflagellate Glenodinium foliaceum is a flattened orange structure, more or less trapezoid in shape with an anterior hook-like projection. It is situated on the ventral side of the organism in the vicinity of the flagellar bases at the anterior end of the sulcus. In the electron microscope the eyespot is seen to contain two layers of osmiophilic granules 80-200 nm in diameter which usually show hexagonal close-packing. The eyespot is surrounded by a triple-membraned envelope and is not connected to any other organelle. Adjacent to the eyespot is a distinctive organelle termed the ‘lamellar body’. This consists of a stack of up to 50 flattened vesicles or disks, each 16 nm thick and about 750 nm wide, the whole being orientated in an antero-posterior direction. The lamellae are continuous, at the ends of the stack, with rough endoplasmic reticulum and are joined together by occasional bridges at their edges. The bases of the two flagella lie just ventral to the lamellar body and from them roots arise which pass by the eyespot and join the subthecal microtubular system. The eyespot of Glenodinium is unique both in structure and the presence of the associated lamellar body. It differs from eyespots which have been described from other algal groups and also from the more complex ocellus found in certain dinoflagellates belonging to the order Warnowiaceae. The method by which the eyespot functions is discussed and it is suggested that unidirectional stimuli could be perceived by shading of the lamellar body.