Plant Microtechnique: Some Principles and New Methods

TLDR

Common plant histology fixatives and embedding media often destroy or distort structural features such as mitochondria and fine transvacuolar strands, but suitable fixatives and embedding media can preserve these structures. The study recommends using non‑coagulant fixatives (e.g., osmium tetroxide, acrolein, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde) together with plastic embedding media. It details a method of fixation in acrolein and embedding in glycol methacrylate polymer. In a wide range of plant specimens prepared with this method, 1–3 µm thick stained sections showed excellent preservation of tissue and cell structures.

Abstract

Some easily seen structural features of living plant cells are destroyed or badly distorted by most of the common fixatives and embedding media used in plant histology. In stained sections of plant tissues fixed in FAA (formalin-acetic acid-alcohol mixtures) and embedded in paraffin wax, for example, mitochondria and fine transvacuolar strands of cytoplasm are usually not visible. Many structural features such as these can be preserved, however, with suitable fixatives and embedding media. Specifically we recommend fixation in non-coagulant fixatives (e.g., osmium tetroxide, acrolein, glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde) and the use of plastics as embedding media, and we describe in detail a method of fixation in acrolein and embedding in glycol methacrylate polymer. In a wide range of plant specimens prepared in this way, stained sections 1–3 microns thick showed excellent preservation of tissue and cell structures.