A cytochemical study of the embryo sac in Lilium longiflorum.

I. Changes in the distribution of iron during the embryo sac development

Abstract

In each stage of the developing embryo sac of Lilium longiflorum changes in the distribution of iron (ferric type) were cytochemically investigated by means of the Prussian blue reaction.
The distribution of the granular blue deposits observed in the process of meiosis and mitosis indicates a close relationship between iron and the spindle body structure. Especially, in the 2nd 4-nucleate stage, the region between both triploid daughter nuclei, which corresponds to the region of a mass of connection fibers, carries much more deposits than other regions of the cytoplasm.
None of the deposits were observed in the nuclei, chromosomes, and nucleoli in all the stages investigated. It appears that an embryo sac gets a supply of iron from nucellus cells as judges from the rise and fall of the deposit number in them. An assumption about iron contained in embryo sac is discussed.