VARIATIONS IN THE BASIC PATHWAY OF CHLOROPLAST DEVELOPMENT

SUMMARY The sequence of ultrastructural changes which take place during chloroplast development in leaves of plants of Phaseolus vulgaris grown in the light is compared with that of plants grown in the dark. Further comparisons are made with the developmental sequence found in the hypocotyls of Phaseolus and in the leaves of Zea mays. It is concluded that there is a single basic pathway of chloroplast development. Variations in this pathway are related to blocks in the sequence resulting in the accumulation of storage materials such as phytoferritin and prolamellar bodies, characteristic of the species or tissue concerned. An attempt has been made to assess the ubiquity and duration of an association between plastids and the E.R. in lower plant species compared with the angiosperms. A plastid‐E.R. association is common and persistent in lower plant species whereas in angiosperms it is apparently transitory and confined to immature or specialized cells.