Plasmatubules: an alternative to transfer cells?

Tubular evaginations of the plasmalemma of the scutellar epithelial cells of barley are described. The evaginations are similar to those present at other sites where solute flux occurs for a limited period only and wall development of the transfer-cell form has not occured. Differential uptake of the fluorescent dyes fluorescein, which moves into the symplast, and 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulphonic acid, which remains in the apoplast only, indicates that the scutellar epithelial cells contain the boundary between the apoplast and symplast. We suggest that i) the plasmalemma evaginations, which have a specific form and localisation, may be referred to as plasmatubules rather than by the general term plasmalemmasome, and that ii) the plasmatubules may act in membrane amplification in a short-term structural modification which is an alternative to transfer cells.