Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2010, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (06): 739-743.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-3466.2010.06.011

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Application of Cryo-sectioning Technique in Weed Fruits

Ruhai Li1,2,3, Sheng Qiang1*   

  1. 1Weed Research Laboratory, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China;

    2Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Science, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430064, China;

    3Hubei Key Laboratory for Crop Diseases, Insect Pests and Weeds Control, Wuhan 430064, China
  • Received:2010-04-13 Revised:2010-07-27 Online:2010-11-01 Published:2010-09-20
  • Contact: Sheng Qiang

Abstract: A fast, simple and effective technique for weed fruit cryo-sectioning is introduced. Highly lignified fruits of 4 weed species that can float on water were selected to be dissected by a cryo-sectioning technique so that the internal structure adaptive to floating could be clearly observed. The method includes six steps: material fixation, pre-treatment, fixing to cold stage, cryo-sectioning, section flattening, stain and observation and photography. The successful application of cryo-sectioning technique to weed fruit anatomy demonstrated its advantage without a long process of softening, dehydration and embedding. The crucial steps of the technique are to select a proper concentration of glycerin, a suitable temperature of freezing and an appropriate way of section flattening. In this study, the better micrographs could be obtained when the weed fruits were pretreated with 15% glycerin.