Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2013, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (6): 643-650.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1259.2013.00643

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Cryo-sectioning Conditions and Histochemistry Comparison with Paraffin Sectioning

Jianxia Li1, Chulan Zhang1, Xiaofei Xia2, Liangcheng Zhao1*   

  1. 1College of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

    2Beijing Museum of Nature History, Beijing 100050, China
  • Received:2012-11-01 Revised:2013-01-09 Online:2013-11-01 Published:2013-12-03
  • Contact: Liangcheng Zhao

Abstract: Cryo-sectioning is an important experimental method in plant histology. The freezing temperature and time are the key factors for section quality. In this paper, we compared 15 different conditions and found the optimal freezing temperature and time for direct cryo-sectioning of fresh plant tissues. Also, by observing histochemical staining in 5 different tissues, we compared the similarities and differences between cryo-sectioning and paraffin sectioning in identifying plant chemical substances, and their own application characteristics in plant histochemistry. The 2 methods did not differ in the identification of polysaccharide, protein and cutin, but only cryo-sectioning could be used for fat identification. This study is of value for improving experimental methods in plant histology.