Ultrastructure of the Wall of the Germinating Sporangiospore of Linderina pennispora (Mucorales)

Carbon replicas of germinating sporangiospores of Linderina pennispora show the outer wall complex to break open basally, during the phase of swelling, and the surface of the germ tube to be smooth. Chemical treatment reveal the microfibrillar wall of the germ tube to be continuous with the microfibrillar inner wall complex of the spore. Microfibrils of the germ tube are randornly arranged and appear to be finer than those of the spore wall. Ultra-thin sections reveal the wall of the germ tube to consist of an outer electron-dense layer and an inner microfibrillar electron-transparent layer and both layers originate in the basal region of the spore between the plasmalemma and the inner wall complex of the spore.