AN OBSERVATION ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE GOLGI APPARATUS

Abstract

The status of the Golgi apparatus as a distinct cellular organelle and its role in the formation of secretory products are now firmly established (Dalton, 1961). There have, however, been few definitive observations about the pattern of its functioning. In the outer root-cap cells of maize and other species, as well as in other plant cells, the Golgi apparatus forms membrane-bounded vesicles, the contents of which are secreted through the plasma membrane of the cell. Progressive changes in the staining reaction of the contents of these Golgi vesicles are observable not only after the vesicles leave the Golgi apparatus but within the apparatus itself (Figs. 1-3). Study of these changes