Application of Cryo-sectioning Technique in Weed Fruits

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  • 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 date: 2010-04-13

  Revised date: 2010-07-27

  Online published: 2010-09-20

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.

Cite this article

Ruhai Li1, 2, 3, Sheng Qiang1* . Application of Cryo-sectioning Technique in Weed Fruits[J]. Chinese Bulletin of Botany, 2010 , 45(06) : 739 -743 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-3466.2010.06.011

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