Figure 2

Isolation of polar capsules from whole myxospores. (a) Intact C. shasta myxospores with two polar capsules (P) and a binucleate sporoplasm (S). (b) Myxospores after valve cells (V) have been opened by SDS treatment, and polar capsules (P) stained dark with Toluidine blue. Note that polar capsules and valves are still held together with the spilled content of the spore. (c) Dissociated polar capsules and valves following enzymatic digestion. Scale bars = 5 μm.