(pl. clamp connections)
Terms discussed: clampless, medallion (pl. medallions), simple-septate
See Also:
Hyphal System
When some Basidiomycetes diploidize, they form special tubes to bypass their septa and help their new extra nuclei spread throughout the mycelium. These tubes form at each septum and create a little loop around the septum. These tubes are called clamp connections. They are created both in spreading the new nuclei throughout the mycelium and in creating new cells with both nuclei.
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At their largest, the clamp connections look like curved slinkys connecting one cell to the next onepast the septum. These are sometimes called medallion clamp connections. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of those, just the one shown here, where the clamps are just a swelling in the hypha. The picture shows two clamped hyphae with a total of three clamps, and two clampless (or simple-septate) hyphae.
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