STUDIES IN HETEROBASIDIOMYCETES .80. THE SYMPLECHOSOME - A UNIQUE CELL ORGANELLE OF SOME BASIDIOMYCETES

An unusual cell organelle of some basidiomycetes, the symplechosome, is described and illustrated in detail using Saccoblastia farinacea as an example. Symplechosomes are structurally similar, but not identical to "classical" dictyosomes of green plants and animals. As is typical for dictyosomes, each symplechosome consists of a stack of platelike cisternae. The central portions of the symplechosome-cisternae are flattened, and adjacent cisternae are separated in the mid-region by an intercisternal space of constant width. In contrast to dictyosomes, the intracisternal spaces are completely obliterated in the central area, and hexagonally arranged bars extend between adjacent cisternae. Identical bars often connect the symplechosomes with mitochondria. Symplechosomes are highly complex-structured organelles which differ significantly from the simple individual Golgi cisternae or "Golgi bodies" observed in asco- and basidiomycetes.