The ultrastructure of anthocyanoplasts in red-cabbage.

A study of the ultrastructure of anthocyanoplasts from the seedling hypocotyl and leaves from the heart of red-cabbage plants has been made. Evidence is presented that the anthocyanoplast does not represent a hydrophobic droplet but is bounded by a single tripartite membrane approximately 10 nm in thickness. The results provide further support for the view that the anthocyanoplast is an intracellular compartment containing at least the later enzymes of anthocyanin biosynthesis, which are thereby separated from the hostile acidic environment of the vacuolar sap.