Production and fates of unique organelles (transosomes) in ovarian follicles of Gallus domesticus under various conditions. II.

Production and fates of transosomes (sacs of ribosomes made in the follicular cells of an ovarian follicle and subsequently passed to the cytoplasms of the oocyte) have been studied by electron microscopy in ovaries of young chicks, a testosterone-treated hen, aged hens which had ceased laying eggs and a "non-layer" mutant. Study was also made of "primitive yolk" (vacuoles present in both follicular cells and ooplasms of small follicles of normally laying hens). It was found that both transosomes and vacuoles of primitive yolk were present in small oocytes of young chicks, and "non-layer" mutants. However, the transosomes deep within the ooplasms were present within lysosomal vesicles in both of these instances and the vacuoles containing primitive yolk were patently abnormal in the "non-layer" mutant. Very few transosomes or primitive yolk vacuoles were present within the ooplasms of follicles from a testosterone-treated hen or from those of aged hens which were no longer laying. In both of these latter cases such bodies were present in the follicular cells. However, many transosomes were seen to be in the process of being lysed within the cytoplasms of these follicular cells.