| Abstract: | Ultrastructure of the chloroplasts of white rubber rabbitbrush ( Chrysothamnus nauseosus (Pallas) Britt. ssp. albicaulis ) was observed with electron microscopy. In addition, leaf anatomy was observed with light microscopy. Previously, it had been reported that the leaves of this desert shrub exhibited a relatively high rate of photosynthesis when compared to other C 3 plants. Comparisons with chloroplasts of other C 3 and C 4 plants demonstrated a reduced amount of granal stacking in the rabbitbrush. However, the classification of rabbitbrush as a C 3 plant is confirmed. RUBP-carboxylase concentration is reported at about 450 mg · ml -1 stromal space based on the estimation of 1 mg of chlorophyll per 25 ul of stromal space in a normal C 3 chloroplast and data from an assay to determine the ratio of RUBP-carboxylase to chlorophyll. |
