[Effects of Na-fluorescein on the ultrastructure of root hairs in Lepidium sativum].

Cytoplasmic disarrangements in the root hairs of Lepidium sativum caused by the vital stain Na-fluorescein (Uranine) after applications of different duration were analyzed by electron microscopy. After an application time of eight min there appear microbody-like structures and vacuoles in the cytoplasm. After a 16-min application severe disorganizations of membranes are brought about. There are distortions and dissolutions of the internal mitochondrial structures. The long cisternae of the ER are fragmented. Vesicle-like structures with a twofold border appear, which probably arise from Golgi cisternae transformed into "rings". Between the cell wall and the plasmalemma, which is masked by a substance of high contrast, vacuole-like structures are formed. As these processes coincide with the extrusion of the dye from the cytoplasm, which may be observed in the light microscope, a connection between the two phenomena is assumed, the possibility of which is discussed under the aspect of decompartimentation.