COMPARATIVE FINE-STRUCTURE OF PELLICULAR CYTOSKELETON IN EUGLENA EHRENBERG

The cells of euglenoid flagellates possess a peculiar structural compl ex located under the plasmalemma, known as the pellicular complex or p ellicle. So far this structure has been investigated in a limited numb er of species; comparative aspects have been neglected. The present st udy is based on the following 14 Euglena strains, grown in the Collect ion of Photosynthetic Microorganisms of the Institute of Biological Re search, Cluj-Napoca, or collected from different water bodies located near Cluj-Napoca (Romania): E. acus EHR., E. texta (DuJ.) HUBNER, E. o xyuris SCHMARDA, E. viridis EHR., E. stellata MAINX, E. geniculata DUJ ., E. tristella CHU, E. pisciformis KLEBS, E. gracilis KLEBS, E. splen dens DANG., E. polymorpha DANG., E. san-guinea EHR., E. deses EHR. and E. mutabilis SCHMITZ. Species with a high degree of metaboly exhibit a narrower strip, a thinner membrane cytoskeleton, and the plate-like projections may be absent. Species with a low degree of metaboly or ri gid ones possess broad, thick pellicular strips and long plate-like pr ojections. Microtubules may be absent (e. g. E. texta). The present in vestigation has shown that the peripheral cytoskeleton of Euglena spec ies is relatively homogeneous and based on the same structural model, which differs in various species in relation to the degree of metaboly .