•  
  •  
 

Document Type

Research

Abstract

An extensive literature has accumulated dealing with the cytology of Malpighian tubules of insects as revealed by the light microscope, but relatively few papers have dealt with a study of their ultrastructure (Bradfield, 1953; Beams, Tahmisian and Devine, 1955). Shiwago (1915) called attention to the behavior of the mitochondria in the Malpighian tubules of the cockroach. He observed that they apparently migrate from the cell body into the striated border and hence, into the lumen of the tubule. Beams, Tahmisian and Devine (1955) have, in essence, confirmed Shiwago's results and they have been able to reveal, because of the high resolution of the electron microscope, that the striated border is composed of microvilli, instead of cilia as claimed by some (Davis, 192 7). In addition, they describe in detail how the mitochondria migrate from the cell body into the microvilli and how the tips of the mitochondria-laden villi are eventually pinched off into the lumen of the tubule. Since this type of mitochondrial behavior is unusual, even to the extent of their presence in the microvilli, it was thought important that a further study of them be made in other species of insects to determine how widespread this condition is.

Publication Date

1957

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

64

Issue

1

First Page

680

Last Page

685

Copyright

©1957 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.