The grana as structural units of chloroplasts of mesophyll of Nicotiana rustica and Phaseolus vulgaris

Three-Dimensional Organization of Higher-Plant Chloroplast Thylakoid Membranes Revealed by Electron Tomography

“…Since Menke's observation of thylakoids in electron micrographs of chloroplast cross sections (Menke, 1960), several models have been proposed to describe the structure and interconnections of granum-stroma assemblies in the thylakoid membranes of higher-plant chloroplasts (Weier and Thomson, 1962;HeslopHarrison, 1963;Weier et al, 1963;Wehrmeyer, 1964;Paolillo, 1970;Brangeon and Mustardy, 1979;Arvidsson and Sundby, 1999). At present, two models dominate the field.…”

Architecture of Thylakoid Membrane Networks

“…Subsequently, elucidation of the double membranal nature of the thylakoid lamellae with its enclosed luminal space (Heslop-Harrison, 1963) and the emerging notion that the lumen is likely to be continuous throughout the entire lamellar system gave rise to a renewed view of the spatial relationship between grana and stroma lamellae. In 1963, Weier et al (1963) proposed a highly interconnected fretwork in which the grana are transversely intersected at multiple planes along their long axis by the stroma lamellae, which take the form of narrow bridges or tubes (Fig. 6b).…”

Chlorophyll-Deficient Mutants in Tomato Requiring Vitamin B1

“…The mature chloroplasts of higher plants are lens-shaped bodies about 5 p long and 2-3 p thick bounded by a double membrane envelope and containing a highly ordered lipoprotein lamellar system embedded in a proteinaceous matrix (GRANICK, 1962;MENKE, 1962). With regard to the organization of the lamellar system, WEIER et al (1963) visualize the gram as discrete sub-plastid structures-cylindrical stacks of appressed discs whose margins are fused together to form an integral structure; adjacent grana are interconnected by an anastomosing flexuous system of lamellae which they term fretwork. Other workers, notably ERIKSSON et al (1961) and MENKE (1962), view the lamellar system as membranous discs of a Present address: Institute of Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.…”