Effect of low-molecular-weight alkanes on the plant cell photosynthetic apparatus.

The effects of aliphatic hydrocarbons--methane, ethane, propane, butane, and their mixture--on the photosynthetic apparatus of maize (Zea mays) and raygrass (Arrhenetherum elatius) leaves have been studied. The pathology of subcellular organelles as well as of the whole architectonics of the cell was observed. An especially destructive action of alkanes is expressed on the granalamellae system of chloroplasts. This action is more profound in the upper part of the leaf.