A Prolamellar Body-like Structure in Chlamydomonas Reinhardi

The prolamellar body (PLB) appears in the etioplasts of dark-grown higher plants (3, 16, 18, 21). I t has a well-defined structure consisting of a central core built of an array of interconnected tubules, from which peripheral tubular elements extend into the plastid matrix. The tubular elements of the central core can be arranged in a crystalline (3, 7) or random pattern (19). The peripheral elements consist of tubules, which may have a smooth appearance or be lightly corrugated or helically coiled (22). During the greening process of etiolated plants the PLB undergoes a series of structural transformations, the tubular elements giving rise to flattened vesicles and finally to lamellae or thylakoids which eventually fuse to form the grana system of the chloroplast