Effect of mutation on the peripheral reticulum in Tradescantia albiflora chloroplasts.

In the defective plastids of Tradescantia albiflora cv. aureo-vittata, a C3 plant, the mutation (localized with high probability in the plastom) increases the quantity of the peripheral reticulum (PR). The enhancement of PR may be connected with the mutation of a repressive gene or with some metabolic change caused by the mutation. In the early phase of the plastid destruction, the PR can be distinguished from the thylakoid derivatives on the basis of its DAB-negativity. The positive DAB-reaction in the thylakoid membranes is explained by their PS I activity.