ELECTRON MICROSCOPY OF ISOLATED PLANT MITOCHONDRIA AND PLASTIDS USING BOTH THE THIN-SECTION AND NEGATIVE-STAINING TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Six types of plant mitochondria have been isolated by improved techniques and examined with the electron microscope by the thin-section and negative-staining techniques. In general, the mitochondria appeared well preserved. There was minimal contamination by endoplasmic reticulum but some plastids were present. The morphology of the plant mitochondria is compared with that of animal cell mitochondria. Negative staining showed that the inner membranes were covered with projecting knob-like subunits, as previously described for animal and insect cell mitochondria. The outer membrane showed a characteristic pitted appearance that was apparently due to 28 Å holes in the membrane. A preliminary report is also given of the appearance of negatively stained membranes of chloroplasts.