Nuage constituents arising from mitochondria: is it possible?

An ultrastructural study of nuage-mitochondria complexes in spermatogonia of the sea urchin, Anthocidaris crassispina, was carried out. Release of mitochondrial contents into the cytoplasm was observed. The mitochondrial derivatives persisted as cristae-containing globules of friable material that subsequently contacted and integrated with nuage. The present ultrastructural findings agree with the results of other researchers who proposed that germ plasm substance probably produced by the nucleus is supplemented by the mitochondrial genome.