Abstract
Selected features of Alaria marginata Postels et Ruprecht, Laminaria saccharina (L.) Lamouroux and Cymathere triplicata (Postels et Ruprecht) J. G. Agardh meiospores were described using flow cytometry. The relative sizes (forward scatter), chlorophyll contents (red fluorescence) and DNA contents (blue fluorescence) were measured on living, fixed, Hoechst and DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) stained and unstained cells. The meiospores were similar among species and the frequency distributions of the monitored features were essentially normal. Meiospores sorted for low blue fluorescence departed significantly from the expected 1:1 male to female ratio in favour of the male. Cells sorted for high blue fluorescence did not result in a departure from the expected 1:1 ratio. We suggest that our ability to sexually sort meiospores is a result of a differential nonstoichiometric fluorescence in DNA, which possibly reflects a greater DNA compactedness and/or nuclear protein content in the male meiospores.
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Communicated by R. Doyle, Halifax
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Druehl, L.D., Robertson, B.R. & Button, D.K. Characterizing and sexing laminarialean meiospores by flow cytometry. Mar. Biol. 101, 451–456 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541646
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541646