FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF THE FORMATION OF GIANT MITOCHONDRIAL NUCLEI IN THE YOUNG OVULES OF PELARGONIUM-ZONALE

The size of mitochondrial genomes in higher plants are known to range from 200 to 2400 kilobase pairs. However, we failed to identify cytochemically any mitochondria that contain an identifiable master mitochondrial genome. In the present experiments, we have found the giant mitochondrial nuclei which have the capacity for including the master mitochondrial genome in the young ovaries of Pelargonium zonale by use of a 4′-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) epifluorescence microscopy, a Technovit embedding, and a video-intensified photon counting system. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.