ULTRASTRUCTURE OF PORPHYRIDIUM AERUGINEUM A BLUE-GREEN COLORED RHODOPHYTAN(1,2,3) .

The ulstrastructural study on Porphyridium aerugineum showed vesicles in the peripheral cytoplasm which contain fibrous material similar in appearance to the cell sheath. In most respects the morphology of P. aerugineum, a freshwater form, is very similar to that of P. cruenturn, a marine species. However, there is a marked difference in the shape of the phycobilisomes which are attached to the chloroplast lamellae. In P. cruentum the phycobilisomes are always spherical or oblate, whereas in P. aerugineum they are disk shaped. The possibility is considered that the shape of the phycobilisomes may be determined by the phycoerythrin and phycocyanin content.