A Study on the Unit Cell Structure of the Crystalloid in the Kloeckera Microbody Using Digital Image Processings and Computer Simulations

A morphological study on the unit cell structure of the crystalloid in the micro-body in cells of Kloeckera sp. 2201 was done using the conventional ultrathin sectioning technique, digital image processing and computer simulations. Three types of lattice images were clearly observed in the ultrathin sections of the microbody crystalloid, with the aid of filtering techniques. These lattice images were also classified by the patterns of Fourier transformation of the original images. These experimental results were compared with those obtained by computer simulations, in which cubic structure models were rotated at appropriate angles and sectioned at various thicknesses, before simulating their images and diffraction patterns. Two types of model, the NaCl-type and its modifled-type, which were composed of large and small particles assumed to be alcohol oxidase and catalase molecules respectively, were examined. The comparisons with the computer simulations demonstrated that the ultrathin sections revealed the (001), (111) and another lattice plane of the cubic crystal as profiles of the crystalloid. Some conclusions reached by comparing the simulations and the experimental results are discussed.