Some observations on the nuclear envelope.

In maize root meristem cells, fixed in KMnO(4), embedded in epoxy resin, ultrathin sectioned, and studied with an electron microscope, the nuclear envelope is demonstrated to be a double membrane structure. In the nuclear envelope there are: pores of the sort reported in many species of animals and plants; different types of openings associated with extensions of both nuclear membranes into the cytoplasm; and also, often, large discontinuities. The nuclear envelope is a component of the general vesicular reticulum. The reticula of neighboring cells including the nuclear envelopes make up, at certain stages at least, a "systemic" structure. The status of the nuclear envelope as a component of the general cellular reticulum is recognized to change during differentiation. The existence of several types of discontinuities in the nuclear envelope and the extent of nuclear-cytoplasmic surface relationships indicated suggests alteration in concepts of transport and exchanges between nucleus and cytoplasm.