Ultrastructural examination of
Streblonema sp. revealed icosahedral virus-like particles (135–150 nm) throughout the cytoplasm of vegetative cells. The densely packed particles consist of an osmiophilic coat around a fibrillar core. Most cytoplasmic organelles are excluded from the regions where the particles are extremely abundant, but no degeneration of plastids, mitochondria or dictyosomes is evident. The

virogenic stroma

contains many ribosomes and fibers possibly representing DNA strands remaining from the lysed nucleus. No decrease in vigor seemed to be associated with the presence of the particles.