Use of triton WR-1339 in cytochemical and biochemical characterization of phytolysosomes.

A new cytochemical assay of acid phosphatase activity employing Triton WR-1339, a non-ionic detergent, has been used to demonstrate the probable origin of the phytolysosome system and of the organization of the Golgi complex in the root meristem, Cucurbita pepo. The results were controlled biochemically by differential and linear density gradient ultracentrifugation of extracts from normal and Triton-treated roots. The various fractions were characterized by electron microscopy or by assay of marker enzymes.